Poirot Investigates by Agatha Christie, Berkley Books, 2000
ISBN: 0425174727
Plot Summary
Poirot Investigates describes fourteen cases of Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Here readers will learn of the mysterious diamond entitled The Western Star, spiritualist hijinks, vanishing bonds, and a flat that is being let at an unbelievably low price. Poirot’s adventures will take him to a variety of locales including country manors, hunter’s lodges, docks, sumptuous hotels and even Egypt where he will recover lost property, lost people and lost reputations! Villains range from husband and wife teams to money-grabbing friends to dishonest maids. Readers will be pleased to see Poirot’s best friend Hastings accompanying him on most of his adventures while chief inspector Japp is also included in some of the tales. Indeed fans of all ages will appreciate Poirot’s clever plans and cunning solutions in Christie’s Poirot Investigates.
Critical Evaluation
There is nothing quite like sitting down with a cup of tea and a Poirot mystery as Agatha Christie’s stories never disappoint. Indeed, in reading Poirot Investigates it is easy to see why over two billion Christie books have been sold worldwide (General FAQ). Like in her other thirty-two Poirot novels, Christie elegantly weaves method, motive, and murder together to create fourteen delightful short stories. Perhaps the best part of Poirot Investigates is its variety of scenes and situations that the Belgian detective finds himself in. Within the pages of the book readers catch a rare glimpse into Poirot’s early days in the Belgian police force as well as his vacations that are often punctuated by crime. Christie includes a wide cast of characters ranging from film stars to British maids to mysterious businessmen. And the cases featured in the collection are equally as eclectic with Poirot solving mysteries for the rich and powerful as well as ones for Hastings’ acquaintances. Fans will also be delighted to see Christie infusing her well-known subtle humor into her storylines as she gently mocks Poirot’s meticulous, egotistical ways as well as Japp’s blustering, ill-laid plans. Indeed, Poirot Investigates is a wonderful collection of short stories that shows Christie at her finest.
General FAQ (n.d.). Agatha Christie. Retrieved from http://agathachristie.com/frequently-asked-questions/all-faq/
Reader’s Annotation
Poirot is at it again! In this collection of fourteen stories, world-famous detective Hercule Poirot discovers missing jewelry, catches cunning murderers, and rescues state officials by only using his “little grey cells”.
About the Author
“Dame Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time. In a career that spanned more than fifty years, Christie wrote eighty novels and short story collections, nineteen plays—one of which, The Mousetrap, is the longest-running play in history—and five nonfiction books, including her autobiography…Two of the characters she created, the ingenious Belgian Hercule Poirot and the irrepressible and relentless Miss Jane Marple, became world-famous detectives…[She] achieved Britain’s highest honor when she was made Dame of the British Empire. She died in 1976” (Berkeley Books, 2000).
Perhaps one of the most intriguing stories involving Christie is her short disappearance in December 1926. After authorities found her car and some of her clothing strewn about there immediately was a public uproar. Many believed her dead and the lake near her home was even dredged. Before her disappearance Agatha wrote several letters to various family members claiming different reasons for her disappearance from going on vacation to fearing for her life. In the end, through the help of guests, the authorities found her staying at a spa in Yorkshire under an assumed name. The reason people still talk of this incident is because Agatha Christie has refused to mention this event, even in her autobiography. Some believe that she suffered from amnesia, others think it was a publicity stunt, while still others believe that the stress produced by her cheating husband and mother’s death made it essential that she flee her everyday life for a time. To this day, this incident remains an unsolved mystery.
First paragraph: Berkeley Books. Poirot investigates. New York, NY: Berkley Books.
Second paragraph: Adams, C. (1982, April 2). Why did mystery writer Agatha Christie mysteriously disappear? The Straight Dope. Retrieved from http://www.straightdope.com/columns/read/361/why-did-mystery-writer-agatha-christie-mysteriously-disappear
Genre
Cross-Over, Detective novel, Historical fiction, Mystery, Short stories,
Tags
Jewelry, theft, murder, poisoning, Poirot, Hastings, 1920s, World War I, missing person
Curriculum Ties
N/A
Booktalk Ideas
--Tell one of the short stories from the perspective of Hastings.
Reading Level/Interest Age
Reading Level: 6th grade
Interest Level: 9th-12th grade (14-18 yrs)
Reading level rounded up from the AR BookFinder site found here:
http://www.arbookfind.com/bookdetail.aspx?q=142336&l=EN&slid=189297075
Challenge Issues
N/A
Favorite Quotes
Hercule Poirot’s description of himself as might appear in a society column: “Go it—criminals—all out! Hercule Poirot—and believe me, girls, he’s some Hercules!—our own pet society detective can’t get a grip on you. ‘Cause why? ‘Cause he’s got la grippe himself’!” (p. 63-64)
Why Was This Included?
I absolutely love Agatha Christie mysteries and it is my goal to read and own all of them. In fact, her novels are the equivalent to comfort food for me. I was first introduced to her novels in high school but found them too confusing. I returned to them in college and became hooked. Because plenty of high schoolers read Christie’s mysteries, and even have them assigned through school, I thought I would include one. I also liked how this was a collection of short stories, a type of book that is not often given much attention. I actually had already started to read this collection just for fun before I realized that I could use it in my blog.
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