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Poirot Investigates: A Hercule Poirot Collection
Written by Agatha Christie
Narrated by David Suchet
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Start Listening- Publisher:
- HarperAudio
- Released:
- Jul 3, 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780062232069
- Format:
- Audiobook
Description
Poirot Investigates a host of murders most foul—as well as other dastardly crimes—in this intriguing collection of short stories from the one-and-only Agatha Christie.
First there was the mystery of the film star and the diamond . . . then came the "suicide" that was murder . . . the mystery of the absurdly cheap flat . . .a suspicious death in a locked gun room . . . a million dollar bond robbery . . . the curse of a pharaoh's tomb . . . a jewel robbery by the sea . . . the abduction of a prime minister . . . the disappearance of a banker . . . a phone call from a dying man . . .and, finally, the mystery of the missing will.
What links these fascinating cases? Only the brilliant deductive powers of Hercule Poirot!
Book Actions
Start ListeningBook Information
Poirot Investigates: A Hercule Poirot Collection
Written by Agatha Christie
Narrated by David Suchet
Description
Poirot Investigates a host of murders most foul—as well as other dastardly crimes—in this intriguing collection of short stories from the one-and-only Agatha Christie.
First there was the mystery of the film star and the diamond . . . then came the "suicide" that was murder . . . the mystery of the absurdly cheap flat . . .a suspicious death in a locked gun room . . . a million dollar bond robbery . . . the curse of a pharaoh's tomb . . . a jewel robbery by the sea . . . the abduction of a prime minister . . . the disappearance of a banker . . . a phone call from a dying man . . .and, finally, the mystery of the missing will.
What links these fascinating cases? Only the brilliant deductive powers of Hercule Poirot!
- Publisher:
- HarperAudio
- Released:
- Jul 3, 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780062232069
- Format:
- Audiobook
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Reviews
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11 3 different not-so-short stories: that did not really engage me.
All were: featuring a person who asked for help, Hastings being a lost as ever, M. Poirot being as clever as ever, but without much of a story or clues. After a brief explanation of the situation and a short discussion between M. Poirot & Hastings; VOILA! M. Poirot has the solution.
1. The Adventure of "The Western Star": Jewel thievery & duplicity at the Full Moon
2. The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor: M. Poirot investigates a murder made to look like suicide
3. The Adventure of the Cheap Flat: Two spies, Naval Plans, a murderous Italian in a cheaply sublet flat
4. The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge: A wife & maid are locked out of the room while the man of the house is killed by a bearded stranger,
5. The Million Dollar Bond Robbery: A banker's nephew is sent abroad w/ a million in bonds, when they disappear en route to their destination, M. Poirot investigates
6. The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb: Death by curse of several Egyptologists, a nephew in need of money, a wife convinced of the curse
7. The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan: A rich woman goes to her room in order to show M. Poirot her exquisite pearls, but she find they are gone!
8. The Kidnapped Prime Minister: On his way to a very important & secret peace conference the Prime Minister is waylaid, M. Poirot sets out to find him.
9. The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim: Mr. Davenheim goes out to post some correspondence, he does not return to meet his visitor... The safe's contents are missing... M. Poirot solves it all and never leaves his chair
10. The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman: A telephoned cry for help from the Count, the butler takes a stroll, a table set for dinner and then cleared
11. The Case of the Missing Will: An Uncle leaves his clever niece a will, but then he writes a second one and hides it.... M. Poirot is hired to find it.
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12. The Veiled Lady: A jewel theft in broad daylight, a young woman being blackmailed, and a Chinese Puzzle Box
13. The Lost Mine: Poirot was once given shares in an ancient Chinese mine as payment for an investigation, but the papers were lost and a visit to an Opium Den was necessary to locate them
14. The Chocolate Box: M. Poirot's one "failure" to uncover the murderer of the French Deputy who was living in Brussels and was about to play an important political role in the separation of Church & State
And, Hastings is still an idiot.
Sure, the murders, crimes and mysteries are all very well thought off, much distinct and unique, but there is hardly any room in the stories for plot lines other than the straightforward one of solving the case. Nor do the stories shed much extra light on the characters of Poirot or Hasting or do you see them evolve throug the book. The fact that all stories are so short and quickly solved also leaves little room for the reader to try and break his head over it himself.
Nevertheless, an enjoying read if one doesn't go through all the stories in one night, I suppose. :-)
Christie’s first collection of short stories united eleven Poirot and Hastings tales first published in The Sketch magazine in 1923. This is the first incarnation of Poirot: a respected detective, certainly, but one who struggles just as often with being a foreigner, and whose understanding of Western mores is far from complete, while his abilities can often be overshadowed by his arrogance. It is, indeed, the characterisation that has been the template for all the film adaptations, and the actors who have portrayed the Belgian. David Suchet, with his desire to create a more nuanced character (and 20 years in which to develop him), was able to take this as the basis for Poirot’s early years, and then develop him through the 1940s incarnation – someone who wants to retire and, as he ages, grows slightly gruffer – to the final Poirot, an older, justifiably famous man who now understands humankind all too well, and begins to wonder about the things he missed in life. (The Suchet TV series, incidentally, utilised these short stories as templates for some lovely episodes. The central quartet – rounded out by Miss Lemon and Inspector Japp – made those early episodes delightful. They don’t all work, but they’re a good lesson in taking a short story and developing it into a full hour.)
There’s nothing explicitly wrong with this collection: a few stories sparkle, and the pairing of Hastings and Poirot (even though Christie quickly tired of it) works quite well. There is a sense of newness and wonder in their relationship, being set only a few years after their meeting in (or after?) World War I. But, truth be told, these are the lesser short stories in Poirot’s canon. Robert Barnard, in his analytical book "A Talent to Deceive", sees them as very much “in the shadow of Holmes and Watson”, and it’s hard to disagree. Picking one story and reading it can be good fun, but reading a few quickly exposes the formula. Hastings can easily be written off as a bit of a goof, so Christie made the right decision in limiting his appearances from here on out. This is not a waste of time, but – as with all Christie – her short stories have nothing on the novels.
[For once, US and UK readers got essentially the same collection this time. Nowadays, seek out a copy of the lovely "Complete Short Stories of Poirot" instead.]
Two and a half stars.
Poirot ranking: 32nd out of 38.
This book was comprised of 14 Hercule Poirot short story mysteries. Some are really interesting, and a couple were lacking. My favorite stories in this book were The Veiled Lady and The Chocolate Box because, the first clearly displays Poirot’s ingenuity and cunning skills, and the latter displays Poirot’s weakness and a failure on his behalf. Agatha Christie is my favorite all-time author, and I generally turn to her Poirot books when I’m either in a reading slump, or I need a pick me up after reading a drastically boring book. As I was reading this book, I noticed that they stirred up some familiarity and I then realized that I’ve seen quite a few of them in the Acorn Media movie productions of Agatha Christie’s Poirot (Masterpiece Mystery) featuring David Suchet. Here are the mysteries I’ve already had an acquaintance with through these movies:
-The Tragedy at Marsden Manor
-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 Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
-The Chocolate Box
Quotes:
“‘And what do you think of Dr. Bernard, Hastings?’ inquired Poirot, as we proceeded on our way to the Manor.
‘Rather an old ass.’
‘Exactly. Your judgements of character are always profound, my friend.’” (45 The Tragedy at Marsden Manor)
“‘Yes, yes,’ my little friend continued. ‘Once more shall I be myself again, the great Hercule Poirot, the terror of evildoers! Figure to yourself, mon ami, that I have a little paragraph to myself in Society Gossip. But yes! Here it is: ‘Go it---criminals---all out! Hercules Poirot---and believe me, girls, he’s some Hercules!’” (87 The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge)
“Poirot was busy mopping a grey suit with a minute sponge. Never was there a dandy such as Hercule Poirot. Neatness and order were his passion.” (176 The Kidnapped Prime Minister)
Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, Hercule Poirot Mysteries (1-4): Mini Op-Ed Reviews, 10/10/2011