Book info

• Title Poirot's Early Cases
• Author Agatha Christie
• Year 1974
• Genre Short Stories

In this set of short stories Captain Hastings recounts 18 of Poirot’s early cases from the days before he was famous... Hercule Poirot delighted in telling people that he was probably the best detective in the world. So turning back the clock to trace eighteen of the cases which helped establish his professional reputation was always going to be a fascinating experience. With his career still in its formative years, the panache with which Hercule Poirot could solve even the most puzzling mystery is obvious. Chronicled by his friend Captain Hastings, these eighteen early cases – from theft and robbery to kidnapping and murder – were all guaranteed to test Poirot’s soon-to-be-famous ‘little grey cells’ to their absolute limit.

Thoughts

Loved this. I don’t know a huge amount about Poirot really, but I’m hoping to read and learn more. This audiobook version is read by the two different narrators, and there’s a slight issue in that one is much better than the other, but still, the stories are the main focus and they are nearly always interesting.

They’re not all mysterious murders either, but sometimes dodgy business dealings or rogue family members doing wrong to each other. The lovable but irritating eccentricities in Poirot’s character make each story fun and engaging, you can try and guess what is happening but I nearly always got it wrong. Great stuff.

Rating: 4 / 5