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Fiction. Mystery. Short Stories. Historical Fiction. HTML: 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… (more)
User reviews
Two things bind these eleven stories together - the brilliance and uncanny skill of the diminutive Belgian detective, and the stupidity of his Watson-like partner, Captain Hastings. Beyond narrating the stories, Hastings serves only one purpose
This short story collection saw Hercule Poirot's third appearance in 11 stories. He had previously appeared in THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES and THE MURDER ON THE LINKS.
Besides Poirot and Hastings, Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard makes several appearances. The stories are all pretty well set in the early 1920s and are narrated by Hastings. Poirot often tells Hastings that he really doesn't have what it takes to be a good detective, with the result that Hastings gets quite angry with Poirot's pomposity, but has to admit that, in the long run, Hercule Poirot is always right.
For me the pick of these stories is The Adventure of "The Western Star", The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, and The Disappearance of Davenheim.
The cover shown top left is the dust-jacket illustration of the first UK edition. It certainly shows a familiar figure doesn't it!
All of the stories were first published, unillustrated, in the UK in The Sketch magazine during 1923.
In the US, all of the stories first appeared in the monthly Blue Book Magazine, 1923-1925, with 3 extra stories during 1925.
The stories are
The Adventure of "The Western Star"
The Western Star is a flawless diamond given to an actress by her doting husband as a wedding present. Legend says that it was once the left eye of a temple god, and the actress is receiving letters that threaten to steal it. The actress insists, against Hercule Poirot's advice, that she will be wearing it at a country houseparty on the weekend, and it is stolen under Poirot's very nose.
Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
Poirot is asked to investigate the death of a man who recently insured his life for a fortune. The doctor gives a verdict of heart failure. The widow is much younger than her dead husband and Poirot finds that suspicious.
The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
This is the most tangled of the stories in this collection, and really the one that I found most difficult to follow, and that I liked the least. A friend of Hastings recounts the tale of a newly married couple who have managed to rent a flat in Knightsbridge for a remarkably low price. And yet others were told that the flat was already let. Hastings "solves" the mystery, and then Poirot demonstrates just how wrong Hasting's solution is.
The Mystery of Hunters Lodge
Poirot is recovering from influenza, and so he sends Hastings to Derbyshire to investigate a murder. Poirot says Hastings knows his methods but asks that Hastings report to him fully every day, and then follow to the letter any instructions he may send. Inspector Japp is already at the scene of the crime and rather unkindly remarks that to send Hastings is rather like to send the cart without the horse. Hastings finds the murder scene disappointingly lacking in clues. He reports to Poirot in a long letter and sends some photographs with it. Poirot is scathing about his efforts, and predictably solves the crime easily, although the culprits by this time have escaped.
The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
A million dollars worth of Liberty Bonds which the London and Scottish Bank were sending to New York, have disappeared on board the liner in transit. And yet the bonds didn't vanish. They were sold in small parcels within half an hour of the ship docking in New York. Poirot takes on the case to oblige the pretty young fiance of the man who was in charge of the bonds on the voyage. According to Poirot the solution is too easy. Hastings get annoyed that Poirot has such a conceited opinion of himself.
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
Are the Egyptian tombs cursed? It certainly seems so when excavators of an Egyptian tomb die suddenly, one from a heart attack, and the other from blood poisoning. A few days later the nephew of one of them shoots himself. Lady Willard, the widow of the man who died of a heart attack, fears for her son and consults Hercules Poirot. Hastings finds it strange that Poirot seems to agree that a curse is a real possibility. Poirot even agrees to travel to Egypt to investigate, despite the fact that he is extremely prone to sea sickness. They arrive to find that there has been yet another death.
The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
Hastings treats Poirot to a weekend at the Grand Metropolitan in Brighton, where the dresses and the jewellery of the women at dinner are magnificent. Hastings sees a couple that he knows and the man's wife wants to show him the pearl necklace she has in her room. She is devastated to find that they have disappeared. Who better to work out where they have gone than Hercule Poirot?
The Kidnapped Prime Minister
This story is set just after the end of the First World War. England's Prime Minister has nearly been assassinated on the eve of the approaching Allied Conference. But there is worse to come. The Prime Minister has disappeared, kidnapped. It appears the abduction took place in France, although his secretary has been found chloroformed and gagged, in an abandoned farm. This was a national crisis in which Poirot made a valuable contribution.
The Disappearance of Davenheim
Poirot and Hastings are expecting Inspector Japp to tea. The papers are full of the strange disappearance of the senior partner of a firm of well-known bankers and financiers. Japp lays the evidence before them, Hastings jumps to the obvious, and Poirot tells Japp exactly where to find Davenheim.
The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
Dr. Hawker, a near neighbour, often drops in on Hastings and Poirot for a chat. Hawker is a great admirer of Poirot's genius. Hawker's housekeeper comes to tell him that he has had a very strange phone call from an Italian Count he has been attending. When they arrive, the Count is dead, killed by a nasty blow to the head. Poirot is puzzled by the murder scene, by the absence of something he thinks ought to be there.
The Case of the Missing Will.
Miss Violet Marsh has been left Crabtree Manor by her uncle in an extraordinary will. She may live in the house for a year, but must prove her wits in that time, otherwise his large fortune will pass to charity. Poirot concludes there must be a second will, one she is meant to find, and he undertakes to look for it for her. Hastings on the other hand thinks Miss Marsh is really cheating by employing Poirot to solve the problem for her.
There are a few pages at the end of the book where Christie explains
This collection of short stories, however, didn't
Granted, Christie's schemes were still brilliant and there were a couple fascinating stories in here. My favorites were The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim, and The Chocolate Box (the first Christie book/short story in which Poirot actually fails to figure out whodunnit).
So while many of the scenarios were entertaining and fun to read, I missed the chance to solve the case myself. I would still recommend this book for die hard Agatha Christie lovers out there who want to read all of her books (like me) but a casual reader might want to just skip this book.
11 stories about the cases of the famous detective Hercule Poirot told by his friend Captain Hastings. The crimes vary from robbery and kidnapping to murder and take mostly place in London (one story in Egypt, one partly in France) before, while or after the first World War.
Opinion:
While
The best story was "The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim", as I would have never thought of that conclusion!
Redacted from the original blog review at dog eared copy, Hercule Poirot Mysteries (1-4): Mini Op-Ed Reviews, 10/10/2011
And, Hastings is still an idiot.
Sure, the murders, crimes and mysteries are
Nevertheless, an enjoying read if one doesn't go through all the stories in one night, I suppose. :-)
In |”The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge” Poirot cannot even go to investigate the case in person as he is suffering from influenza. Instead he has Hasting go, ask questions and then telephone him. To everyone’s surprise he is able to solve the case immediately which stretched my believability somewhat. I also enjoyed that some of these stories were very easy for the reader to figure out, making me feel a little more on a level with Poirot. The both of us could feel smug while Hastings and the police struggled to find the answer.
Overall I found Poirot Investigates a very engaging set of stories which included a locked room mystery, the abduction of a Prime Minister, a million dollar robbery and enough murders to satisfy the bloodthirsty. All are written with Christie’s light touch and flair. Reading this book is very much like taking a trip back to 1920’s Britain with the added bonus of the amazing deductive powers of Hercule Poirot.
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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
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
No matter what the case, from blackmail, jewels that have gone missing, an unusually inexpensive apartment in a very costly block of flats, missing Prime Ministers or Egyptian curses (keep in mind Dame Agatha’s husband was an archeologist) our detective shines his searchlight of an intellect and reveals the hidden truths.
The thing to remember with a book such as this is that this is the basis for much of what comes later. I’ve seen the film and television adaptations of Dame Agatha’s detectives, but going back to the source material is very refreshing. Poirot is still a “NEW” detective. His quirks are not expected but fresh, his “little gray cells” are not a cliched saying for him but rather a novel look at the detection process (okay, purists will look to Mr. Holmes and his bowl full of shag as meditation device) and his habit of not acting like a bloodhound but sitting and thinking carefully, well, that is still brand new.
If in long form or the short story, Poirot never fails to entertain.
A clever and lively group of eleven short stories by Agatha Christie, featuring Hercule Poirot!
Short stories are a hard sell for me, normally, but this book was a perfect fit for me right now. The
4 stars!