This book of short stories may be the first such collection by Agatha Christie that I really loved. A lot of that has to do with the way it was structured—by the twelve labors of Hercules, each story relating to one of the twelve in some way. I think the ways in which Christie linked the mythology to Poirot’s cases were quite clever. I found the stories themselves much more engaging than other collections of her short stories, because her writing is particularly strong in its plotting and characterization, drawing the reader into Poirot’s world.

I particularly enjoyed Poirot’s interaction with the Russian countess, with whom he is apparently quite smitten. I always thought that maybe Poirot was a confirmed bachelor because he was gay, but his interaction with the countess seems to contradict that idea. Now having read so many novels and stories in which Poirot is a character, I can see that no one could live with the man for very long. He has his positive qualities, but he’s so persnickety and pompous that he would drive anyone (man or woman) crazy! Moreover, he is so picky that he would probably never be able to find a partner that would meet his standards of what a woman should be. On this note, I did get annoyed at Poirot’s rant about modern women’s style of dress. He can be a chauvinist!

Overall though, The Labours of Hercules is a really enjoyable group of short stories. It is one that I would recommend to new readers of Christie’s oeuvre.