The Mysterious Mr Quin

The Mysterious Mr Quin is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by William Collins & Sons on 14 April 1930 and in the U.S. by Dodd, Mead and Company later in the same year The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $ 2.00

Each chapter or story involves a separate mystery that is solved through the interaction between the characters of Mr Satterthwaite, a socialite, and the eponymous Mr Quin who appears almost magically at the most opportune moments and disappears just as mysteriously. Satterthwaite is a small, observant man who is able to wrap up each mystery through the careful prodding and apposite questions of Quin, who serves as a catalyst every time the men meet.

In Agatha Christie's Autobiography, she claims that Quin and Satterthwaite became two of her favourite characters. The latter character reappeared in the 1935 novel, Three Act Tragedy. Outside of this collection, Quin appeared in two further short stories The Harlequin Tea Set and The Love Detectives which were both included in the 1992 UK collection Problem at Pollensa Bay. In the US, the former story appeared as the title story in the 1997 collection The Harlequin Tea Set and the latter in the earlier 1950 collection Three Blind Mice and Other Stories.

The Love Detectives, The Harlequin Tea Set, Three Act Tragedy (a Poirot story in which Satterthwaite makes an appearance) and Dead Man's Mirror were included in the collection The Complete Quin and Satterthwaite: Love Detectives (UK, HarperCollins; ISBN 978-0-00-717115-6).