Parker Pyne Investigates
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Parker Pyne Investigates (published in 1934), also known as Mr. Parker Pyne, Detective is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie. The collection comprises twelve of her fourteen stories featuring detective Christopher Parker Pyne; the two remaining stories, "Problem at Pollensa Bay" and "The Regatta Mystery" were collected in The Regatta Mystery in 1939. It also features the characters of Ariadne Oliver, and Miss Felicity Lemon, both of whom would go on to have working relationships with Hercule Poirot in later books.
[edit] Plot
Christopher Parker Pyne is a retired government employee who considers himself to be a "detective of the heart." He works alongside his neurotic assistant Miss Lemon, novelist Ariadne Oliver, handsome "lounge lizard" Claude Luttrell and disguise artist Madeline de Sara.
The first six stories deal with Pyne solving cases in England, while the second six stories detail Pyne's vacation, where he hopes not to have to detective work only to end up helping others anyway.
[edit] Film versions
Two stories, "The Discontented Soldier" and "The Middle-Aged Wife", were adapted for television in 1982.