When Agatha Christie died in 1976, aged 85, she had become the world's most popular author. Publishing at least one book every year since the 1920s, each one a bestseller, it was even claimed that Agatha must have a photographic memory. Was this true? Or did she resort to more mundane methods of planning her ingenious crimes? Unearthed among Agatha Christie's affairs at the family home of Greenway were her private notebooks, 73 volumes in Agatha's almost unreadable handwriting. When archivist John Curran began deciphering the notebooks, the extent of this treasure trove became apparent... This book lifts the lid on Agatha Christie's biggest secret -how her pencilled notes, lists and drafts led to her many successful books, plays and stories. Different plots, alternative endings, deleted scenes - John Curran's investigation reveals a wealth of unpublished material, including two complete Hercule Poirot short stories never before published, "The Incident of the Dog's Ball" and the unseen thirteenth "Labour of Hercules!"