Name: Sarah Sammis's review of Poirot Investigates (Poirot) by Agatha Christie
Item: Poirot Investigates (Poirot)
Rating: 3
Author: Sarah Sammis

Agatha Christie

Poirot Investigates (Poirot)

Sea 

Presents a selection of fourteen of Hercule Poirot's most baffling cases, including the country house murders and an adventure in an Egyptian tomb.

Poirot Investigates

Sarah Sammis

These short mysteries are an exercise in lateral thinking. They are the sort of solutions that are used in the cozies I enjoy, but without all the padding. There's very little fluff added: no extraneous characters, events, or B plots.

http://pussreboots.com/blog/2023/comm...

Barbara Williford

A compilation of short Poirot Mysteries. It seems that these were taking from the screenplays of the TV series. They are condensed versions of Agatha Christie books.

C. J. Daley 

Poirot Investigates Shorts:



The Adventure of “The Western Star”: 4*

I feel like this story felt the most whole out of all the short stories I’ve read so far. It felt like it was building the entire time and not just a random short story that was more just an idea, but was later published. I could have done with less stereotyping of “Chinamen,” but it was published in 1923...

I love how this story sets up Captain Hastings being in the right for once, just to later disprove him, making him the stupid one once more. What a brilliant literary tool he is. 



The Tragedy At Marsdon Manor: 4*

I liked that this story decided to go down the road of spookiness for a second there. Calling Mrs. Maltravers mediumistic and asking about séances and hauntings. For a second I really thought there was something supernatural going on, but I guess I should have known better. A little twist, but I enjoyed it. 

“You did not observe them, Hastings? No? As I always tell you, you see nothing!” And this right here sums up Hastings in a nutshell... 



The Adventure of the Cheap Flat: 3*

I liked how this story started with just Hastings and the people make him feel good about himself. He even gets in a good Sherlock and Watson reference, not know that he himself is worse than even Watson. Otherwise I think this story was incredibly short and didn’t really make a lot of sense. Without the lengthy explanation from Poirot we’re just left to believe his little blurb about it without more 



The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge: 4*

“Rather the case of the cart without the horse, you being here without him, isn’t it?” Japp dishes out the perfect summary for us. Captain Hastings finally gets an outing all on his own while Poirot is in bed with influenza. Once I saw that Poirot required him to contact him with details daily I realized he was done for. I was a little more surprised that Japp was also entirely wrong, but here we are again with Hercule Poirot being the smartest while half-dead with sick. 



The Million Dollar Band Robbery: 3*

Honestly I was originally really excited to read this one because I read a review on goodreads that said that Poirot solved the case without even leaving his armchair. Unfortunately that just is not the case, he certainly does leave it, and he does a deal of traveling and lunching while solving this case as well. The Mystery of Hunter’s Lodge is a story where Poirot is sick and solves a case from home while Hastings is on scene, so maybe they confused them? 

Regardless, this is a short, fun, run-of-the-mill Poirot short. 



The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb: 3*

“You misunderstood me, Hastings. What I meant was that I believe in the terrific force of superstition.” Christie once again tears my heart out by toying with supernatural stories and then taking them away right at the end through Poirot’s reason. I find these stories to have the power to be the spookiest and I hope throughout them every time even though I should know what’s coming. 



The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan: 3*

Not a bad short story, the crime and solving were interesting enough, however it was hurt by being what it is—short. I liked the idea that Poirot is so well established now that even when Hastings takes him on a weekend get away he’s immediately recognized and needed to solve a crime. Also, I’m pretty sure Christie remarks that Hastings “knows nothing” in every single short story she writes. 

Captain Hastings is the precursor to Jon Snow 



The Kidnapped Prime Minister: 3*

Strange that this one is later in the book because when he is approached by the UK government he asks why they are looking for his help because he is “unknown in London.” Unless he simply means in the sense that government agents would have taken notice? 

At least in this short story Poirot is assigned two additional helpers, so Hastings lack of understanding is actually due to his (mostly) being uninformed and uninvolved. However, this story really did grab me as being just a giant red herring with the trip to France and the lack on involvement of Hastings. Without constant interjections from Poirot, the reader only has the information provided by Hastings, which is NEVER good. It was harder to believe this way and luckily it was short. 



The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim: 3*

I believe this is the story someone confused with ‘The Million Dollar Bank Robbery’ because I saw a review saying he solves a crime without leaving his armchair and obviously that is this story instead. Poirot makes a bet with Japp that he can solve the case without leaving... although this includes updates from Japp and he is allowed to ask for things (pretty much the same as being there...???). I liked how both Poirot and Japp thought it was like stealing from a child from their POV with the bet. Otherwise it was as silly and ridiculous as most of the other short stories, but enjoyable nonetheless. 



The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman: 4*

“Endeavour to have the common sense.” “Never, never will you use the brains the good God has given you.” Hastings is a punching bag I don’t know why he sticks around. 

I liked how this one started with Captain Hastings recounting how their neighbor, a doctor, liked to stop by for intelligent conversation with Poirot. Even he himself doesn’t realize he’s an idiot by design. This is one story that is short but sweet. I enjoyed the simple twist as opposed to the many seen in some of the other ones. 



The Case of the Missing Will: 4*

I really liked how this one involved a will and for once there was no crime, murder, or police involvement. I feel like overall this was a fitting story/showing for his skill-set, but it still included randomness in the end that we all accept as Poirot’s genius... 

I think this one was a good ending to her short story book in general because it ended happily, without a murder case, and with Poirot wholeheartedly believing Miss March has earned the money honestly by hiring him.

Colleen

3 Stars

This is the weakest of the Poirot series so far. Poirot Investigates is a set of short stories about various cases that Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings investigate.

The problem was that almost all of the stories felt rushed. They followed the same formula of laying out a case, and then having Poirot solve the case through some random observation. The thing is, I like to solve along, to make my own theories about who did it. But that is literally impossible with these stories, because the critical clues always ended up being things that were never mentioned to the reader until Poirot does the big reveal. For instance, in one case the crucial clue was a person’s shoes. But not a single word was mentioned about the damn shoes until the big reveal. So instead of seeming clever, it just felt like Christie was manufacturing an answer deus ex machina style. Most of the stories weren’t fleshed out enough, and lacked a true plot arc. That being said, there was still enough entertaining content. Although this certainly isn’t the author’s best work.

My other critique is that Hastings really needs to stop being a pushover and just punch Poirot in the nose for once! Poirot can be overly pompous and condescending especially towards his alleged friend.

But I will probably take a little break from this series. I’ll read some of Christie’s stand alones in the meantime. 

 
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 4 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 2 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Jonas

Actual rating: 2.5/5

This didn’t really work for me, to be quite honest. Seeing as these are short stories, by the time we as readers get only a handful of clues, Poirot has already solved the case in some miraculous way. I definitely prefer these kinds of stories in a longer format, so we can get acquainted better with all of the characters as well as clues, and misleading clues respectively, as to form our own theories.

Nonetheless, Christie’s writing is superb as usual and the mysteries are quite interesting, if not too short for my liking.

This Warbler Classics edition contains three stories that were added to the 1925 U.S. edition of the book, along with a detailed biography. In fourteen razor-sharp episodes Poirot dazzles while solving an array of spellbinding riddles.

A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Warbler Classics)

Liz B

A short story collection--nice for busy seasons or a quick read. Poirot being Poirot, which is always pretty fun

Eloise

It's a fascinating small collection, with many of the puzzles retaining Christie's typical approach — subtle twists that result in seemingly difficult situations, and a colorful detective to assist you through. The cases themselves are simpler than an usual Christie storyline, but they are extremely efficient at condensing the essential aspects of a conventional story into bite-sized bits. One of the best things about this collection of short stories is that it emphasizes the relationship between Captain Hastings and Poirot. Between the subtle teases about Hastings' tendency to lose his head over gorgeous women and his annoyance over Poirot's arrogance, you can understand (and sympathize with) exactly how insane Poirot drives Hastings at times. The clearest feeling that comes through, though, is Hastings' sincere fondness for his small friend that transcends respect for his talents. Although this isn't a must read for the Poirot series, I would recommend picking it up if you're looking for a light read full of interesting brain teasers, or if you want to go a bit more into the character of Hercule Poirot.

Yulande Lindsay

Les Enquettes D'Hercule Poirot

Sarah Escorsa

Je ne me lasse jamais d'Hercule Poirot et des ses aventures. J'en ai lu certaines de nombreuses fois et j'ai vu leurs adaptations à la télévision et au cinéma mais leur lecture me donne toujours autant de plaisir:)

Les enquêtes d'Hercule Poirot.

I think I could read Hercule Poirot mysteries over and over again and never get bored. I know some of the stories by heart and have seen their film adaptations but I still enjoy reading them very much!

Giulia Pianta

I read this quite a while ago so I have very little memories of the stories, but I remember that I thoroughly enjoyed all of them.

I love Poirot both in long novels and in short stories, and these were not an exception.

Nia C

3.5 Stars and a C.

I really enjoyed the stories and I was so happy to read about the adventures of one of my favourite detectives! Poirot really is incomparable. 

"Endeavor to have the common sense."

Oh, if only I could sass like Poirot.

Tim Oliver

Poirot Investigations (1924) by Agatha Christie: Elevent short stories featuring eccentric Belgian detective Hercule Poirot who solves mysteries involving revenge, greed and jealousy. Stories include The Kidnapped Prime Minister; The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman; and The Case of the Missing Will. The UK first edition featured an illustration of Poirot on the dust jacket, reprinted from the 21 March 1923 issue of The Sketch magazine. The US edition was published in 1925 with three additional stories. Author Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is best known for her 66 novels and much-loved fictional detective Hercule Poirot. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap murder mystery.Author Agatha Christie is best known for her 66 novels and much loved fictional detectives Hercule Poirot. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, The Mousetrap.

An Agatha Christie Murder Mystery

Gitte Bruyninckx

The very first collection of superb short stories featuring Hercule Poirot and Captain Hastings...

Sea &
Poirot Investigates (Poirot) by Agatha Christie

Reviews

Join the club

Sea &Poirot Investigates (Poirot) by Agatha Christie

Reviews

Join the club

Sea &
Poirot Investigates (Poirot) by Agatha Christie