A Hercule Poirot Collection (Hercule Poirot Mysteries)

This is the first collection of Poirot short stories, originaly published in 1924. Christie appears to have been very heavily influenced by the Sherlock Holmes stories while writing these. The relationship between Poirot and Hastings is very like that of Holmes/Watson, the stories in general are reminiscent of some of the Sherlock Holmes stories, particularly "The Veiled Lady" and "A Scandal in Bohemia". While the tone and settings of the stories are somewhat derivative the solutions are pure Christie.
The stories included in this collection are:
The Adventure of the Western Star
The Tragedy of 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 Nobleman
The Case of the Missing Will
The Veiled Lady
The Lost Mine
The Chocolate Box

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)

Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's wonderful Belgium creation, plows through the short stories in Poirot Investigates with somewhat less literary success than he does through the author's delightful Poirot novels. The short story form does not suit the mystery as practiced by Christie as there are always too few suspects and too few clues (or red herrings) and it becomes easier and easier to guess the solution. The author relies too heavily on similar devices, particularly the use of disguises (taken to an unbelievable level in "The Kidnapped Prime Minister" but stretching at the levels of credibility even before then). The stories can still be delightful for Poirot fans and there is even a story in which the great detective gets it wrong. Perhaps on a muggy, steamy day (like today for me) these stories can be fun when one wants to read a mystery but realizes the air is too heavy to concentrate for more than a dozen or so pages at a time. Recommended for those already enamored of the Belgian and his little gray cells. Not so much for readers new to Christie.

All the characters that delight on television are recreated in these unabridged audiobooks. Suchet's reading is a treat and he handles Colonel Hastings and Inspector Japp's voices very well. Your mind accompanies the reading with scenes from the television shows.

One drawback is his voice grates when handling the female lines. I wished for a female to chime in, but the flow of the story carried me past those bits so it did not detract that much.

Pop these into your CD player to listen and you will find yourself catching some details that you may have overlooked in the dramatizations on TV.

All the characters that delight on television are recreated in these unabridged audiobooks. Suchet's reading is a treat and he handles Colonel Hastings and Inspector Japp's voices very well. Your mind accompanies the reading with scenes from the television shows.

One drawback is his voice grates when handling the female lines. I wished for a female to chime in, but the flow of the story carried me past those bits so it did not detract that much.

Pop these into your CD player to listen and you will find yourself catching some details that you may have overlooked in the dramatizations on TV.

Fine collection of stories with Hastings narrating all of them. Humorous and far fetched and still diverting enough to finish. A nice way to see Poirot's earlier cases plus one he even failed -(the best story of the bunch.) Compared to her other story collections, this one isn't great, but it's still highly readable. Try her Witness for the Prosecution collection, too and the shorter Jane Marple pieces. They make a well rounded whole. Christie was skilled in many forms of writing (novels, plays, etc, even romance, under another name)

"Poirot Investigates" is a collection of short stories featuring the Belgian detective. His friend Captain Hastings relays the varied tales, ranging from crimes of robbery to kidnapping to murder. It even includes one of Poirot's failures, where he didn't solve the crime correctly ("The Chocolate Box"). Thoroughly enjoyable for all of Dame Agatha Christie's fans.

David suchet does such a wonderful job with Poirot! I watched his portrayal in the BBC series before buying this and I was not disappointed. He can change his voice so much he makes such an interesting narrator. Definantly would recommend

The colorful Belgian detective with the waxed mustache and the egg-shaped head uses his little gray cells to solve 14 of his most baffling cases. It is an interesting read; but none of the crimes were proven beyond a reasonable doubt

This is a very pleasant collection of short stories;

Although we have a tipical Poirot and the Agatha Christie style is evident, I think it was intended as a sort of tribute to the Sherlock Holmes adventures: the titles, subject matter and general feel reminded me of those. These stories are to be found also in the tv series starring David Suchet.