October 2013 Guest Editor Linwood Barclay on The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie...
My introduction to the mystery genre was really the Hardy Boys, but my first real, honest-to-God crime novel for grownups (although I read it when I was around twelve) was this one by the Grand Dame of whodunits. While this was my first, it was far from my favourite. Around the age of eleven or twelve, I read And Then There Were None, and that one made my head spin. Christie came up with countless original plots that the rest of us have been ripping off and disguising as our own for decades.
Collins brings the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, to English language learners. Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time and in any language. Now Collins has adapted her famous detective novels for English language learners. These carefully adapted versions are shorter with the language targeted at upper-intermediate learners (CEF level B2). Each reader includes: A CD with a reading of the adapted story Helpful notes on characters Cultural and historical notes relevant to the plot A glossary of the more difficult words Pretty, young Anne Beddingfeld comes to London looking for adventure. But adventure finds her when she sees a man fall off an Underground platform and die on the rails. The police think the death was an accident. But who was the man in the brown suit who examined the body before running away? Anne has only one clue, but she is determined to bring the mysterious killer to justice. Anne’s adventure takes her on a cruise ship all the way to Cape Town and on into Africa…
