A newly reissued edition of Agatha Christie's 'Mary Westmacott' novel, a Crime of the Heart novel about a loyal wife's discovery of her husband's infidelity. 'The one book that has satisfied me completely - the book I always wanted to write.' Agatha Christie Returning from a visit to her daughter in Iraq, Joan Scudamore finds herself unexpectedly alone and stranded in an isolated rest house by flooding of the railway tracks. This sudden solitude compels Joan to assess her life for the first time ever and face up to many of the truths about herself. Looking back over the years, Joan painfully re-examines her attitudes, relationships and actions and becomes increasingly uneasy about the person who is revealed to her...

阿加莎·克里斯蒂

Agatha Christie

1890.09.15─1976.01.12

“侦探女王”阿加莎·克里斯蒂尽管已去世三十余年,却至今仍是吉尼斯世界纪录中“人类史上最畅销的作家”──作品被译成百余种语言,全球发行超过二十亿册,只有《圣经》及莎士比亚的作品销量在她之上。

推理小说为阿加莎·克里斯蒂带来无上的荣耀及财富。在五十余年的写作生涯中,她共出版了六十六部长篇小说、一百多篇短篇故事、十八个剧本,许多作品都被拍成电影或电视影集,《捕鼠器》舞台剧更自1952年推出至今仍在伦敦剧场上演；英王伊丽莎白二世也于1971年册封其为女爵。

但真实生活中的克里斯蒂,也曾经历种种生命风暴。她因承受不了第一任丈夫外遇及母亲过世的接连打击,而于1926年发生失忆及失踪事件；1930年再婚,嫁给比她年轻十四岁的考古学家；经历两次世界大战……因此除了推理小说外,她也以玛丽·韦斯特马科特（Mary Westmacott）为笔名发表了“心之罪”（crimes of the heart）系列六本探讨“爱”的小说。这六部作品,部部都有她个人生命的投射,是了解这位神秘女作家最重要的线索。

1976年,克里斯蒂逝世于英国牛津港,作品至今畅销不衰。