Agatha Christie was an English detective novelist and playwright whose books have sold more than 100 million copies and have been translated into some 100 languages. Educated at home by her mother, Christie began writing detective fiction while working as a nurse during World War I. Sparkling Cyanide was first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in February 1945 under the title of Remembered Death and in UK by the Collins Crime Club in the December of the same year under Christie's original title. The novel uses the basics of the short story, including the method of the poisoning, but changes the identity of the culprit. Iris Marle reflects a tragic event nearly a year ago; the death of her elder sister, the attractive and extrovert Rosemary Barton. She invited five people to come for her birthday dinner, during which all of a sudden her face became blue and convulsed after drinking the wine. Presently cyanide was found in her handbag and her death was deduced as a suicide case. George Barton has received two strange letters stating that his late wife was murdered. Casting his mind back to a night at Luxembourg, he recalls seeing her body sprawl forward on the table – lifeless. Only an hour before she looked so lovely despite a little thin in the face after a bout of influenza. The suicide verdict was suggested owing to depression that might have occurred in the recovery. If the letters were right, who would have murdered her? You can listen online to free English audiobook “Sparkling Cyanide” by Agatha Christie on our website.
