Written by Agatha Christie
SUMMARY:
Released by publisher William Morrow in 2013, this 867-page softcover anthology compiles the Hercule Poirot mysteries and novellas from these Agatha Christie collections: Poirot Investigates (1924); Murder in the Mews (1937); The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories (1939); The Labors of Hercules (1947); Three Blind Mice (1950); The Under Dog and Other Stories (1960); and Double Sin and Other Stories (1974).
Per the table of contents, the fifty-one stories are as follows:
1. “Affair at the Victory Ball” 27. “Double Sin”
2. “Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan” 28. “Wasps’ Nest”
3. “King of Clubs” 29. “The Third Floor Flat”
4. “Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim” 30. “Mystery of the Baghdad Chest” [1]
5. “The Plymouth Express” [2] 31. “Dead Man’s Mirror” [3]
6. “Adventure of the ‘Western Star’” 32. “How Does Your Garden Grow?”
7. “The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor” 33. “Problem at Sea”
8. “The Kidnapped Prime Minister” 34. “Triangle at Rhodes”
9. “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery” 35. “Murder in the Mews”
10. “The Adventure of the Cheap Flat” 36. “Yellow Iris” [4]
11. “The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge” 37. “The Dream”
12. “The Chocolate Box” 38. “The Labors of Hercules” [5]
13. “Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb” 39. “The Nemean Lion”
14. “The Veiled Lady” 40. “The Lernean Hydra”
15. “The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly” 41. “The Arcadian Deer”
16. “The Market Basing Mystery” [6] 42. “The Erymanthian Boar”
17. “Adventure of the Italian Nobleman” 43. “The Augean Stables”
18. “Case of the Missing Will” 44. “The Stymphalean Birds”
19. “The Incredible Theft” [7] 45. “The Cretan Bull”
20. “Adventure of the Clapham Cook” 46. “The Horses of Diomedes”
21. “The Lost Mine” 47. “The Girdle of Hippolyta”
22. “The Cornish Mystery” 48. “The Flock of Geryon”
23. “The Double Clue” 49. “The Apples of the Hesperides”
24. “The Theft of the Royal Ruby” [8] 50. “The Capture of Cerberus”
25. “The Lemesurier Inheritance” [9] 51. “Four and Twenty Blackbirds”
26. “The Under Dog”
Note 1: This anthology isn’t quite complete. For instance, these three rarities aren’t included: 1. “Poirot and The Greenshore Folly,” which later morphed into Dead Man’s Folly; 2. “The Incident of the Dog’s Ball,” which later became Dumb Witness; and, despite claims that it’s in this collection, 3. Poirot’s version of “The Regatta Mystery,” before Christie transformed it as a Parker Pyne tale.
Note 2: Considering Christie’s propensity for recycling various stories under alternate titles, only one version of such tales is included in this anthology. Please see the footnotes re: this literary déjà vu.
Note 3: HarperCollins previously published a version of this book in the United Kingdom in 1999.
REVIEW:
Considering so many of these tales date back nearly a century, the mystique of Agatha Christie’s Poirot remains timeless. Case in point (pardon the expression): the ingenious political scenario (and its amusing finale) re: “The Augean Stables” could just as easily occur today as it would have then. Furthermore, unlike a near-omniscient Miss Marple, Christie noticeably tries harder to make Poirot’s “little grey cell” deductions seem plausible and mostly fair to readers.
She falters a few times – i.e. the solution of “The Adventure of the Cheap Flat,” is improbable, even by Poirot’s standards. The same applies to an unnecessarily prolonged “Under Dog,” as its contrived ending is perhaps the collection’s weakest.
As entertainment, this anthology is a near-perfect reading experience … that is, with one caveat. Unfortunately, citing these stories: “The Adventure of the ‘Western Star’” and “How Does Your Garden Grow?,” as among some examples, blatant racism/bigotry sporadically creeps into Christie’s storytelling. It’s unfathomable why the publisher didn’t omit or modify such offensive language for the sake of good taste. One would think, since Christie’s suspense masterpiece, And Then There Were None, is now deservedly sanitized, that same modern standard should also apply to Poirot’s considerable repertoire.
Keeping this fair warning in mind, Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories spells out why the ultra-conceited Belgian sleuth’s exploits are on a par with Sherlock Holmes.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
Charles Todd provides a two-page foreword. There is also is a brief Christie biography. The original publication dates, titles, and sources of these stories are included. However, the foreword from The Labors of Hercules has been omitted.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 9 Stars
Note 4: Also available from the same publisher in an identical format is 2011’s “Marple – The Complete Short Stories.”
[1] This tale was later revised into “The Mystery of the Spanish Chest,” where Miss Lemon makes an appearance while Hastings is omitted.
[2] It’s a shorter variation of Mystery of the Blue Train.
[3] It expands and improves an obscure Poirot tale, “The Second Gong.”
[4] It’s a short version of the Poirot-less novel, Sparkling Cyanide.
[5] Re: Stories # 38-50, David Suchet’s TV movie adaptation is a hybrid of several of these stories.
[6] Despite its differences, this tale is an earlier and shorter draft of Story # 35: “Murder in the Mews.”
[7] It’s an expanded rendition of “The Submarine Plans.”
[8] Its alternate title is “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding.” The story’s original Poirot source is titled “Christmas Adventure.”
[9] This tale was among the few not filmed for David Suchet’s TV series, but one episode makes a brief reference to the name.
