The Love Detectives

The Love Detectives is a short story by Agatha Christie which was first published in the U.S. in Flynn's Weekly in Oct 1926 and in the U.K. in the The Story-Teller magazine in December 1926. Its first appearance in book form was as part of the collection Three Blind Mice and Other Stories, published only in the U.S. in 1950. In the U.K., the story only appeared as part of a collection in Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories in 1991.

Synopsis

Mr Satterthwaite and Colonel Melrose are comfortably ensconced in the Colonel’s study when the phone suddenly rings. Someone has been murdered, and, as the county chief constable, the Colonel invites Satterthwaite to accompany him to the scene of the crime. The two of them have opposing opinions on why Sir James Dwighton has been bashed over the head with a blunt instrument. Rumor had it that red-haired beauty Laura Dwighton and her guest, the very attractive Mr. Paul Delangua, were engaged in an illicit affair, and Paul was thrown out by the disgruntled Sir James. The facts of the murder all seem to add up too nicely. Fortunately Mr. Quin is on the scene but he is more concerned about protecting lovers than finding a murderer.

Characters

• Mr Satterthwaite
• Harley Quin
• Colonel Melrose
• Inspector Curtis
• Sir James Dwighton
• Laura Dwighton
• Paul Delangua
• Derek Capel (mentioned)
• Miles
• Jennings
• Jane

Tropes and Themes

• False confession

Publication history

• 1926: Flynn's Weekly, vol. 19 no. 3, 30 Oct 1926 as "At the Crossroads".
• 1926: The Story-Teller, issue 236, Dec 1926 as "At the Crossroads".
• 1946: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, vol. 8 no. 37, Dec 1946, as "The Love Detectives".
• 1950: Three Blind Mice and Other Stories, Dodd, Mead and Company (New York), Hardback, 250 pp
• 1954: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine (U.K. edition), vol. 4 no. 3, Apr 1954, as "The Love Detectives".
• 1976: Ellery Queen's Mystery Magazine, vol. 67 no. 6, whole no. 391, Jun 1976, as "The Love Detectives".
• 1976: The Best of Argosy Annual, no. 1, 1976.
• 1991: Problem at Pollensa Bay and Other Stories, HarperCollins, November 1991, Hardcover, 232 pp ISBN 0-00-223922-
• 1997: Detective Duos, Marcia Muller and Bill Prozini, OUP US, 1997.
• 2008: Detectives and Young Adventurers: The Complete Short Stories, HarperCollins (London), 2008
• 2022: A Deadly Affair. HarperCollins, January 2022. Paperback, 272 pp; ISBN 978-0063142343