The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile was shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway had been shot through the head. Hercule Poirot has to solve the mystery.

Mr Shaitana was famous as a flamboyant party host. Nevertheless, he was a man of whom everybody was a little afraid. So, when he boasted to Poirot that he considered murder an art form, the detective had some reservations about accepting a party invitation to view Shaitana's private collection. Indeed, what began as an absorbing evening of bridge was to turn into a more dangerous game altogether.

An outbreak of kleptomania at a student hostel was not normally the sort of crime that aroused Hercule Poirot's interest. But the list of stolen items - including a slashed rucksack and a diamond ring - made no sense. And why was everyone so afraid?

It's seven in the morning. The Bantrys awake to find the body of a young woman in their library. She is wearing evening dress and heavy make-up. But who is she? How did she get there? And what is the connection with another dead girl?

The gripping cases that comprise this collection have one thing in common - the astonishing deductive powers of Miss Marple. The collection also includes two non-Miss Marple mysteries. Staff Pick: Perfect for curling up on the settee with a cup of cocoa, curtains drawn, fire on, rainy day read. Short, easily digested neat little cosy crimes, set in more simple times (rose tinted specs optional). Picked by Clare

Hercule Poirot is intrigued by the details surrounding the murder of wealthy Mrs Inglethorp, mistress of Styles Court. This was Agatha Christie's first Poirot novel, published in 1921.

From seat number nine, Poirot was ideally placed to observe his fellow air passengers. What Poirot did not yet realise was that behind him, in seat number two, sat the slumped, lifeless body of a woman.

Miss Marple senses danger when she visits a friend living in a Victorian mansion which doubles as a rehabilitation centre for young delinquents. Her fears are confirmed when a youth fires a gun at the administrator, but that isn't the only shooting!