"So few writers are producing the pure puzzlenovel, and no one on either side of the Atlantic does it better than Christie."--New York Times

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are just settling into their new home in the resort town of Hollowquay when they come across a collection of children's books hidden away by a previous owner. But the message left in one of them is hardly child's play: Mary Jordan did not die naturally...

"So few writers are producing the pure puzzlenovel, and no one on either side of the Atlantic does it better than Christie."--New York Times

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are just settling into their new home in the resort town of Hollowquay when they come across a collection of children"s books hidden away by a previous owner. But the message left in one of them is hardly child"s play: Mary Jordan did not die naturally. Thanks to the long and colorful memory of the local gossips, the Laurels" former occupant has been kept very much alive--at least in spirit. So have the questions about the woman"s real identity, her strange and powerful secrets, and the warnings that someone in Hollowquay wants to keep Mary Jordan"s mysterious life and death--a secret forever...

BOOK ONE

1. Mainly Concerning Books

2. The Black Arrow

3. Visit to the Cemetery

4. Lots of Parkinsons

5. The White Elephant Sale

6. Problems

7. More Problems

8. Mrs. Griffin

BOOK TWO

9. A Long Time Ago

10. Introduction to Mathilde, Truelove and KK

11. Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast

12. Expedition on Truelove; Oxford and Cambridge

13. Methods of Research

14. Mr. Robinson

BOOK THREE

15. Mary Jordan

16. Research by Tuppence

17. Tommy and Tuppence Compare Notes

18. Possibility of Surgery on Mathilde

19. Interview with Colonel Pikeaway

20. Postern of Fate

21. The Inquest

22. Reminiscences About an Uncle

23. Junior Brigade

24. Attack on Tuppence

25. Hannibal Takes Action

26. Oxford, Cambridge and Lohengrin

27. Visit from Miss Mullins

28. Garden Campaign

29. Hannibal Sees Active Service with Mr. Crispin

30. The Birds Fly South

31. Last Words: Dinner with Mr. Robinson