The Unexpected Guest

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title The Unexpected Guest
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Agatha Christie
Adapted by Charles Osborne
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:176
Dimensions(mm): Height 198,Width 129
Category/GenreClassic crime
ISBN/Barcode 9780008196677
ClassificationsDewey:823.914
Audience
General

Publishing Details

Publisher HarperCollins Publishers
Imprint HarperCollins Publishers Ltd
Publication Date 18 May 2017
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

A young man, broken down in the fog, witnesses a murder he is asked to conceal... A full-length novel adapted by Charles Osborne from Agatha Christie's acclaimed play. When a stranger runs his car into a ditch in dense fog in South Wales and makes his way to an isolated house, he discovers a woman standing over the dead body of her wheelchair-bound husband, gun in her hand. She admits to murder, and the unexpected guest offers to help her concoct a cover story. But is it possible that Laura Warwick did not commit the murder after all? If so, who is she shielding? The victim's young half-brother or his dying matriarchal mother? Laura's lover? Perhaps the father of the little boy killed in an accident for which Warwick was responsible? The house seems full of possible suspects... THE UNEXPECTED GUEST is considered to be one of the finest of Christie's plays. Hailed as 'another Mousetrap' when it opened on 12 August 1958 in the West End, it ran for 604 performances over the succeeding 18 months and has been staged many times around the world over the last 40 years.

Author Biography

Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and became, quite simply, the best-selling novelist in history. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, written towards the end of the First World War, introduced us to Hercule Poirot, who was to become the most popular detective in crime fiction since Sherlock Holmes. She is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in over 100 foreign countries. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 19 plays, and six novels under the name of Mary Westmacott.

Reviews

For Black Coffee: 'A lively and light-hearted read which will give pleasure to all those who have long wished that there was just one more Christie to devour' - Antonia Fraser, Sunday Telegraph 'A worthy addition to the Christie canon' - The Spectator