Poirot Investigates (Hercule Poirot, #3) in Reading the Detectives

Apr 02, 2021 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: currently-re-reading, audiobook, my-library, want-to-reread, christie, reread

6/25/24: delighted to revisit these early Poirot short stories, when Hastings is still a sidekick and fixture, a gallant but bumbling Watson to the brilliant Papa Poirot! In later books, I always wondered at Poirot’s fame and expectation of being recognized and lauded. These early stories set the stage for what went on to become a looong career as Christie’s seemingly flawless detective (how old must he have been by the time we get to books like Hallowe'en Party, one of my later favorites?!) I p 6/25/24: delighted to revisit these early Poirot short stories, when Hastings is still a sidekick and fixture, a gallant but bumbling Watson to the brilliant Papa Poirot! In later books, I always wondered at Poirot’s fame and expectation of being recognized and lauded. These early stories set the stage for what went on to become a looong career as Christie’s seemingly flawless detective (how old must he have been by the time we get to books like Hallowe'en Party, one of my later favorites?!) I picked up my own paperback copy at the bookstore as I can see revisiting these stories often, handy to throw in my bag anytime I’ve got an appointment or long drive ahead, and I loved the vintage cover! I enjoyed the delightful Richard Armitage narration on Audible while I worked on my knitting, or simply read along - he does a lovely job and has a beautiful voice.

April 2021: This was a fun collection of short stories, many of which I recognized as episodes filmed for television with David Suchet as Poirot, and Hugh Fraser as his friend and sidekick, Captain Arthur Hastings. I read the ebook and listened the audiobook with most stories re-recorded with David Suchet, but the last several still read by Fraser. I prefer Fraser, even though Suchet brilliantly plays Poirot for TV - I love Fraser’s voice, and I find the accent he affects for Poirot easier to understand!

The cases Poirot tackles in this book vary, leaning heavily on thefts of jewelry, bonds, various cons, or people disappearing - at the end, he even recounts for Hastings one of his failures, from his days as a police detective in Brussels, in “The Chocolate Box”.

I enjoyed “The Tragedy at Marsden Manor” because I remembered what a wonderfully eerie TV show it was - the elderly owner of the manor dies, and Poirot is asked to investigate by the insurance company, as the deceased had taken out a large policy, and the beneficiary is his devastated young widow. Poirot tricks the killer into confessing with a seemingly restless ghost, a la Poe’s “Telltale Heart”! “The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb” takes our intrepid heroes (well, Hastings enjoys the trip, Poirot dreads seasickness!) to Egypt, where Poirot tricks another killer into confessing. A couple other standouts to me were “The Kidnapped Prime Minister” and “The Case of the Missing Will” - the first is pretty self-explanatory, but fun, with international intrigue and includes Japp, and the second had a likable heroine with an interesting problem for Poirot to solve.

Overall, an enjoyable collection that allows longtime fans to see the seemingly impossible early cases that built Poirot’s reputation, chronicled by Captain Hastings. ...more

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Aug 14, 2020 Brenda rated it really liked it

These were fun little short mysteries. Some were a little cheesy, but on the whole enjoyable. I do love Poirot, and find his character so entertaining.

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Feb 13, 2017 Nanosynergy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series, british, fiction, 2017read, reviewed, short-stories-and-essays, mysteries-thrillers-espionage, fiction-1920s

Collection of eleven Hercule Poirot/Captain Hastings short stories published in 1924. Nice introduction to Poirot methods and personality through this variety of cases.
-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 Nob ...more

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Sep 14, 2018 Carol Evans rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery, short-stories

I’m not sure if I’ve ever read Poirot Investigates before. I think I prefer the full-length novels to the short stories, although this is a good collection. Since these are all short stories, they are quick mysteries. We don’t get to know many characters well and in a few the Poirot jumps to the (correct) conclusion with a bit too little information. And almost making fun of Hastings for not being able to keep up. I didn’t really love any of them, but I didn’t hate any either. Really, unless you ...more

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May 04, 2012 Becky rated it really liked it

I loved Poirot Investigates. Perhaps because I had low expectations? This was my first experience reading Christie's short stories. And since I'm not generally a fan of short stories, I didn't have great expectations for enjoying these fourteen stories. Each story is narrated by Captain Hastings. And he is a character that I tend to love and adore. I've found that Hercule Poirot needs a little help either from Hastings or Ariadne Oliver to help tame his arrogance. I have definitely come to love ...more

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