The Voice in the Dark by Agatha Christie

Mr Satterthwaite’s old friend, Lady Barbara Stanleigh, asks him to investigate her daughter Margery’s claim that the family seat is haunted. He and Mr Quin set about solving the mystery... From The Mysterious Mr Quin.

More about this story

Mr Satterthwaite investigates his friend's daughter, who appears to be hearing voices. Is it her imagination or is the sinister demand for something stolen a warning? Mr Quin glides into the picture, dropping clues and setting Satterthwaite's thoughts along the right path, as always leading him towards a resolution. In this story they again stay at 'The Bells and Motley', mentioned in an earlier short story of the same name.

Based on the character of Harlequin from the Italian Commedia dell'arte, Agatha Christie indulges in her fascination with the supernatural as well as her love of theatre and performance.

The story was first published in book form in the collection The Mysterious Mr Quin, published by Collins in 1930. The collection was dedicated to its eponymous hero and is the only book of Agatha Christie's to be dedicated to a fictional character.

This story has never been adapted.