Poirot Investigates

‘Poirot Investigates’, originally published in 1924, is a collection of fourteen Poirot stories, told over 211 pages. They are short, energetic, playful pieces, all centring around Poirot’s brilliance in solving apparently unsolvable puzzles.

At an average of fifteen pages per story, there isn’t a lot of space for anything more than exposition, investigation and resolution – think the kind of thirty-minute TV mystery shows that were pumped out in the 1970’s – but they’re delivered with brio, self-confidence and humour that makes them engaging.

The subjects of the stories range widely. We have spies, blackmailers, jewel thieves, cursed Egyptian tombs, a kidnapped Prime Minister and opportunistic but devilishly cunning show more murders.

The only thing that they have in common is that they let Hercule Poirot play his part of Magician Detective, the man who can and does solve crimes while sitting at his desk with his eyes closed.

What pulls the stories together, and what I found more interesting than the puzzles posed, is the way Poirot and Hastings are revealed to us. With rapid, deft strokes, Christie gives us a clear portrait of both men and the relationship between them.

Poirot, the small man with the large ego, a compulsion for neatness, a self-serving sense of humour and an analytical mind that treats people and their actions as no more than puzzle pieces. A man whose vanity is displayed as much in his refusal to speak English fluently as his luxurious moustaches. He is bright but often less than kind. My main impression of him? M. Poirot, il est un connard, non?

Christie skilfully manages to give us Hastings through his own eyes and still present someone different from the man Hastings sees when he looks in the mirror. He’s an affable, reliable man, the epitome of his class, one step up from Bertie Wooster. Woman are an alien species to him but he is always willing to worship at the altar of the auburn-haired beauty, provided she’s a woman of good family and character and not one of these ‘new’ women. It was pointed out to me that he’s a perfect example of the Dunning-Krugar effect, a cognitive bias that allows a person of low ability to sustain an internal illusion of superiority.

The early stories read like playful trope twists on Sherlock Holmes stories. They all read as if Christie is having fun playing with ideas and using her stories as a lab for testing them out. Yet, taken together, they give a picture of this odd couple that is very different from Holmes and Watson and much more endearing. show less

Continuing my adventures with Monsieur Poirot, I plowed through the third "book" in the series, which is really a collection of fourteen short stories, all narrated by the often clueless Arthur Hastings. Short stories aren't usually my cup of tea, and that still applies to Ms. Christie and her charming little Belgian detective. I much prefer the novels, where the case is more fully developed and I have at least a slight chance of figuring out the solution before Poirot reveals all.

I'm not sure how much longer Hastings will be narrating these stories, since he fell in love with "Cinderella" in [b:The Murder on the Links|639787|The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot, #2)|Agatha show more Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1384562979l/639787._SY75_.jpg|625995] and is supposed to follow her to South America at some point. While he's still around, I'm enjoying Poirot's little barbs:

"Ça vous dit quelque chose? (Does that remind you of something?) I perceive a struggling impression that you will arrive someday. Now let us continue." (from "The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman")

"Ah, mon ami, one can have romance without golden-haired girls of matchless beauty--no, I am wrong; it is auburn hair that so excites you always." (from "The Lost Mine")

Although it looks like the exact stories vary between publications, my copy contains the following:

The Adventure of "The Western Star" An American movie star tries to do a double cross and steal a giant diamond
The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor A young wife kills her husband, but tries to make it look like a suicide based on a story she heard
The Adventure of the Cheap Flat An apartment that seems too good to be true ia almost fatal for a young couple being set up by an international spy
The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge A couple successfully covers up the murder of his rich uncle (Poirot knows, but can't prove they did it), but they later die in a plane crash.
The Million-Dollar Bond Robbery The bonds stolen on board a ship to the US are really fakes. The actual bonds were stolen in advance and taken to the States on a faster boat.
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb A "mummy's curse" turns out to be a murderous doctor who benefited financially from the deaths.
The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan Known jewel thieves pose as a chambermaid & valet to steal a pearl necklace, but fail to do their supposed jobs.
The Kidnapped Prime Minister The PM's crooked secretary helps German spies kidnap him in England during WWI, but using doubles, makes it look like he was shot in the UK & kidnapped in France.
The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim A banker creates a false identity (of a petty criminal) to allow him to disappear (by hiding in jail, accused of his own murder) after embezzling money from his company.
The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman An Italian blackmailer's servant murders him (for the ill-gotten gains), then stages the scene to look as if dinner guests were the murderers.
The Case of the Missing Will A sexist old farmer (with a small fortune) leaves a will challenging his college educated niece to find an alternate will, leaving her everything. She brings in Poirot to do the job.
The Veiled Lady That's no lady! That's a jewel thief with a cockamamie story about being blackmailed for a letter to an old beau. Poirot retrieves the letter, but also the jewels that she's really after.
The Lost Mine Poirot recounts the time he solved the murder of a Chinese mining heir, killed for a map of a lost mine (shares of which Poirot received as a reward). It's as racist as you might imagine.
The Chocolate Box Poirot tells Hastings about a case he didn't solve. Actually he did, but he let the murderer go, because she was a dying old woman who killed her evil, politician son by poisoning his nightly chocolate. show less

I'm re-reading Agatha Christie's books in order of publication. This is #5, published when she was 34.

These are stories Agatha Christie wrote for Sketch magazine, a new story every month. I don't think mysteries work very well as short stories. There isn't enough space to have clues and suspects and play fair with the reader. Several of these stories depended on facts known to or observations made by Poirot to which the reader didn't have access. Also, they are a product of their time. Some offensive Asian racial stereotypes are present in a couple of the stories. Not her best work.

A nice collection of short stories. Varying lengths, but each one digestible in one sitting. Each one is nicely plotted and a clever little tale. I must admit that Hastings is becoming a bit irritating!

A collection of Poirot short stories.

There are a few good mysteries in this one but the short story format doesn't always work as well for Poirot as every mystery feels a bit rushed. In addition, the characters beyond Poirot and Hastings are often brief sketches rather than the usual well-formed cast I expect from Christie so there's less virtues and foibles to appreciate. Also, did I mention how annoying I find Hastings? Much to my dismay, he's in Every Damn Story (although I will admit he's largely scarce in the final one, thankfully). Add in some slurs and casual racism in two stories including Chinese people, and this is not a collection I'd recommend to anyone but a completist.

Book on CD narrated by David Suchet

From the book jacket: What do a movie star, an archaeologist, a French maid, a prime minister, a wealthy dowager, and an Italian count have in common? Half of them have fallen victim to a terrible crime. The others have fallen under suspicion. Leave the deductions to Hercule Poirot.

My reactions
This was the first collection of short stories featuring the little Belgian and his “little grey cells” that Christie compiled. I love Poirot and I really appreciate the friendship and banter between him and Captain Hastings.

Of course, I am also a huge fan of the PBS series, starring David Suchet as Poirot, and recently I re-watched a number of episodes. As a result several of these stories were somewhat show more anticlimactic for me, because I knew the culprit from the beginning.

I do cringe at the way Christie characterizes certain characters who are not white men. But these are a product of the time and there was, unfortunately, little sensitivity to or tolerance of “others.” The short stories, also, do little to give the reader many of the clues which Poirot spends time thinking about, and rely heavily on his explanations to Hastings at the end of each episode outlining his “methodical thinking.” The full-length novels are much better at giving the reader more of a chance to match wits with Poirot.

Even so, he is still among my favorite detectives, and I enjoyed these stories very much.

The audiobook is marvelously performed by David Suchet. He is such a talented actor and well able to give the many characters unique voices, even doing a passable job with the women. However, the audio did not contain all the stories that were in the print version, so I read four of them in text version. show less

Poirot was an extraordinary-looking little man. He was hardly more than five feet four inches, but carried himself with great dignity. His head was exactly the shape of an egg, and he always perched it a little on one side. His moustache was very stiff and military. The neatness of his attire was almost incredible; I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound. Yet this quaint dandified little man who, I was sorry to see, now limped badly, had been in his time one of the most celebrated members of the Belgian police. As a detective, his flair had been extraordinary, and he had achieved triumphs by unravelling some of the most baffling cases of the day.

Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot 3-Book Collection 1: show more The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates (Kindle Locations 308-313). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.

I love Hercule Poirot. Such a great detective. Such a character. There's always a great mystery with lots of twists and turns and red herrings, all of which keep me riveted. The characters are interesting and have complex motives for their actions. That said, not a huge fan of Hastings. He's too busy being on his high horse to be likable. I've read many Agatha Christie books before but not all and not in order so I'm in the process of commencing a reread. Highly recommend to crime lovers.

Poirot Investigates is a short story collection. Most of the stories are good, but I'm just not a short story fan. I prefer more to sink my teeth into.

The Adventure of The Western Star: Poirot and Hastings look into the disappearance of a massive diamond. Hastings is his usual annoying self. Neatly wrapped up.

The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor: A woman's husband dies unexpectedly and the insurance company hires Poirot to check it wasn't suicide. This one was brutal. I like.

The Adventure of The Cheap Flat: A young couple manage to secure a cheap flat in a great area. God Hastings is arrogant. I think I may have missed something in this one. He had the first woman followed - but why was she in the flat? Wasn't the second woman supposed to be a diversion and actually living there?

The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge: A man's favourite uncle is shot and he hires Poirot to solve the murder - except Poirot is sick in bed and Hastings takes the case. This one was kind of funny. Only Hastings and Japp could be tricked so. I love that Poirot mocks them for it.

The Million Dollar Bond Robbery: Bank bonds are stolen from aboard a ship. Neatly wrapped up.

The Adventure of The Egyptian Tomb: Poirot and Hastings travel to Egypt to investigate a curse. Not my favourite.

The Jewel Robbery at The Grand Metropolitan: Poirot and Hastings have a weekend away and meet a couple that later have their necklace stolen. Lol, Poirot calling Hastings dumb.

‘Thank you, I accept most gratefully. You have the good heart to think of an old man. And the good heart, it is in the end worth all the little grey cells. Yes, yes, I who speak to you am in danger of forgetting that sometimes.’ I did not relish the implication. I fancy that Poirot is sometimes a little inclined to underestimate my mental capacities.

Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot 3-Book Collection 1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates (Kindle Locations 7158-7161). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition. And sometimes he doesn't underestimate Hastings' mental capacities.

I really liked this one. Particularly that the jewel thieves were let down by their method.

The Kidnapped Prime Minister: The British Prime Minister is kidnapped and Scotland Yard turn to Poirot to help find him in time for the Allied Conference. I enjoyed the twists in this one.

The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim: A gentleman disappears with no trace. Japp has tea with Hastings and Poirot and relates the case. Japp and Poirot make a bet that Poirot can solve the case without leaving the room.

‘I should have thought,’ I remarked, ‘that it would be almost impossible for anyone to “disappear” nowadays.’

Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot 3-Book Collection 1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates (Kindle Locations 7712-7713). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.

And yet people disappear now with internet and mobile phones and gps positioning and cctv. They had no idea how much worse it'd get. Insane.

Okay this story was really good. I loved it. The bet, the how of the crime, the alibi - epic. To go to so much effort to create a backstory for your alibi is truly epic. I hadn't quite seen it coming - I picked that he'd willingly disappeared but not that he was the other guy!

The Adventure of The Italian Nobleman: Dr Hawker visits Poirot and Hastings and receives a call from a patient that he is being murdered. Okay this one was pretty good too. I love all the detail that goes into these crimes.

The Case of The Missing Will: An uncle dies and gives his niece one year – “during which time my clever niece may prove her wits”

Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot 3-Book Collection 1: The Mysterious Affair at Styles, The Murder on the Links, Poirot Investigates (Kindle Locations 8138-8139). HarperCollins Publishers. Kindle Edition.

This was my favourite. I always love when women get the better of men. Particularly men who think they're clever. show less