Customer Reviews

Hercule Poirot's Early Cases

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While Agatha Christie wrote some of the most amazing mystery tales of our time, (I've read and re-read them all at least twice), she was additionally quite capable of generating some really marginal ones (such as a few of of the Parker Pyne entries) when she was a little shy on cash. Such is NOT the case in this instance.

The eighteen Hercule Poirot (Christie's Belgian Magnum opus detective) mysteries found herein are all just great. If readers have a complaint, it will likely be that the stories are much shorter than her HP novels -- well of course they are! This is a compendium... an omnibus work. But that has little to do with the actual quality of the mysteries presented. This edition is 250 pages in total length.

Here are the names of all the stories:

-- The Affair at the Victory Ball
-- The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
-- The Cornish Mystery
-- The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
-- The Double Clue
-- The King of Clubs
-- The Lemesurier Inheritance
-- The Lost Mine
-- The Plymouth Express
-- The Chocolate Box
-- The Submarine Plans
-- The Third-Floor Flat
-- Double Sin
-- The Market Basing Mystery
-- Wasps' Nest
-- The Veiled Lady
-- Problem at Sea
-- How Does Your Garden Grow?

Which one is best? Probably "The Chocolate Box" by most folks' estimation but each offers its unique niche of Christie/Poirot charm.

There's little more to say. If you're okay with "Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine-" length mysteries, and if you enjoy reading Christie in general, then there's no obvious reason as to why you would not savor this worthy collection. I should also mention that the 1974 Dodd, Mead & Company (reprint) hardcover edition comes with an attractive coral-colored (period) dust jacket -- I wouldn't recommend buying a copy without it. I paid 5 bucks for my edition in a junk store but I've seen it recently even cheaper at similar venues since that time.

Highly recommended.

Agatha Christie was certainly one of the best writers of detective novels--ever. And while the short stories in this collection are interesting, they fall short of the novels. The stories feel a bit sparse, particularly in the atmosphere, which Christie created so well in her novels.

This book is strictly for the Christie fan who has read all or most of her fine novels featuring the little Belgian with the egg-shaped head and the luxuriant mustache. A reader just coming across Christie as a writer might tend to yawn.

An average collection of books. Christie was not at fault for disliking this book however the reader will constantly be amazed at how christie manages to fool us over and over again. Like who is the mysterious 'veiled lady'. Overall an entertaining read which keeps you guessing.