Christie, Agatha "Hercule Poirot"

Christie, Agatha "Hercule Poirot. The Complete Short Stories" - 1923-61

Hercule Poirot. As soon as you hear that name you think, moustache, French accent, hat. I am not a huge fan of crime stories. Or short stories. But I love to watch Agatha Christie's stories on TV. For "the Monsieur Poirot", I liked the old ones with Sir Peter Ustinov, even any of the others with Albert Finney and Alfred Molina (who I really, really like) or the new one with Sir Kenneth Brannagh. But my favourite, sorry to all the others, is, of course, Sir David Suchet. He is the epitome of Hercule Poirot as Agatha Christie described him. I'm sure she would have loved him.

So, when I saw this book, I thought, why not? Give Agatha a try and read some of her stories. You can always stop halfway if you're bored since they are all short stories. Guess what? I read them all.

Not only are the stories funny which was to be expected from the films, her writing is just great. Her stories are easy reads and even someone who doesn't guess right away who the killer was (like me) finds fun in trying to guess whodunnit.

Of course, the book is not like the films. Some stories were thrown together to make one film, others were just merely mentioned in the series. That was also fun, trying to think in which episode had I seen that.

If you like crime stories and/or Agatha Christie, this is an absolutely great collection.

From the back cover:

"More than 50 Poirot short stories, including one unique to this volume!

Hercule Poirot, the Belgian detective with the egg-shaped head and immaculate black moustache, has a passion for order, rational thought, and an overwhelming confidence in his deductive genius. He is, after all, the most famous detective in the world!

There is a spectacular diversity in the plots and themes of these cases. Violent murders, poisonings, kidnappings and thefts, all are solved or thwarted with Poirot's usual panache - and the characteristic application of his 'little grey cells'.

Includes Poirot And The Regatta Mystery, An early short story not published since 1936!"

These are the stories in the book:

Introduction: Enter Hercule Poirot

The Affair at the Victory Ball
The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
The King of Clubs
The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
The Plymouth Express
The Adventure of "The Western Star"
The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
The Kidnapped Prime Minister
The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge
The Chocolate Box
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
The Veiled Lady
The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
The Market Basing Mystery
The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
The Case of the Missing Will
The Incredible Theft
The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
The Lost Mine
The Cornish Mystery
The Double Clue
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
The Lemesurier Inheritance
The Under Dog
Double Sin
Wasps' Nest
The Third-Floor Flat
The Mystery of the Spanish Chest
Dead Man's Mirror
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Problem at Sea
Triangle at Rhodes
Murder in the Mews
Yellow Iris
The Dream
Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds
The Labours Of Hercules - Foreword
The Nemean Lion
The Learnean Hydra
The Arcadian Deer
The Erymanthian Boar
The Augean Stables
The Stymphalean Birds
The Cretan Bull
The Horses of Diomedes
The Girdle of Hyppolita
The Flock of Geryon
The Apples of the Hesperides
The Capture of Cerberus
Poirot and the Regatta Mystery

If you cannot find this edition, you can find the different stories in these books:

POIROT INVESTIGATES
The Adventure of "The Western Star"
The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge
The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
The Kidnapped Prime Minister
The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
The Case of the Missing Will
The Veiled Lady
The Lost Mine
The Chocolate Box

DEAD MAN'S MIRROR
(Goodreads)
Dead Man's Mirror
The Incredible Theft
Murder in the Mews
Triangle at Rhodes

THE REGATTA MYSTERY
(Goodreads)
The Mystery of the Bagdad Chest or The Mystery of the Spanish Chest
How Does Your Garden Grow?
Yellow Iris
The Dream
Problem at Sea

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES
(Goodreads)
The Nemean Lion
The Learnean Hydra
The Arcadian Deer
The Erymanthian Boar
The Augean Stables
The Stymphalean Birds
The Cretan Bull
The Horses of Diomedes
The Girdle of Hyppolita
The Flock of Geryon
The Apples of the Hesperides
The Capture of Cerberus

From THREE BLIND MICE
(Goodreads)
The Third-Floor Flat
The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds

From THE UNDER DOG
(Goodreads)
The Under Dog
The Plymouth Express
The Affair at the Victory Ball
The Market Basing Mystery
The Lemesurier Inheritance
The Cornish Mystery
The King of Clubs
The Adventure of the Clapham Cook

From DOUBLE SIN
(Goodreads)
Double Sin
Wasps' Nest
The Theft of the Royal Ruby or The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
The Double Clue