Joyfully Retired

Poirot Investigates

by Agatha Christie

Dodd, Mead and Company, 1924

C+

If you are a fan of Agatha Christie and/or Hercule Poirot, this is a nice little book to tuck into a tote bag or the door of your vehicle for those times when you need a quick short story. It’s composed of fourteen stories, all featuring the master Belgian detective. They are classic Poirot: some impossible-to-solve crime has been committed and only he can see the solution.

The stories vary in terms of the type of crime and who, besides Poirot and Hastings, is involved. My favorites are:

• The Kidnapped Prime Minister in which men at the highest levels of government ask Poirot to help them find the missing Prime Minister.
• The Chocolate Box, which is told primarily in the first person by Hercule Poirot himself.

Although I love all the works of Agatha Christie, I rated this one a C+ because most of the mysteries were just too easy. For instance, read The Million Dollar Bond Robbery. I was surprised that even Hastings didn’t guess the who and how.

Her writing is still wonderful and the stories are creative. But even I could figure them out early on. I prefer to be puzzled by a mystery until close to the end of the story. Don’t let that stop you from picking up this book. It’s great for when all you need is a short story.

This is my seventh book in the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge. The goal is to read them in order of publication. This one was actually her fifth novel to be published. I read the book out of order as I couldn’t find a copy until recently. I’m back on track now and should be able to continue to read in order.