Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition (Hercule Poirot Mysteries, 38) Paperback – September 10, 2013

Delightful and huge collection of Poirot short stories but it might not be 100% complete. Pretty darn close if not, though. Hard to tell - There are so many short stories (and several different collections) it’s hard to tell. Also I think a few were renamed. A tad frustrating but not this book’s fault, it’s still a great & huge collection! .The audio book is fantastic too - narrated by David Suchet (who played Poirot for 25 years on TV) and Hugh Fraser (who played Capt. Hastings opposite Suchet’s Poirot on TV). I think Fraser does both Poirot and Hastings at the same time on some stories — he does a pretty darn good Poirot, but you can tell if you listen very closely. Not a complaint, still a very good job, just an observation & appreciation.). I love that Suchet & Fraser are doing the audiobooks too, the way the got Titus Welliver to start narrating the Harry Bosch books since he plays Bosch on TV.I have not run across Ms. Lemon yet, is she a TV adaptation addition? This is my first time through the Poirit books and I haven’t even gotten to the huge number of Poirot novels yet (also done in audiobook by Suchet and Fraser apparently!)I enjoy these when doing boring tasks like washing dishes, cleaning, mowing lawn, etc. Also to stay awake driving long distances. Recommended!

This volume collects all 51 of the Hercule Poirot short stories. The stories were written between 1923 and 1940, which was the period during which Christie did most of her best work. Not every story is a gem, but there are very few weak entries, even though the first 25 were all published during 1923 and, presumably, were written very rapidly. One indication that she was writing hurriedly is that the relationship between Poirot and Hastings changes almost from story to story. When did Hastings first meet Poirot? Do they share an apartment? Are they partners in the detective business? The answers to these questions seem to vary from story to story. Apparently Christie was in too much of a hurry to try to make the Poirot/Hastings backstory consistent across the stories. But this inconsistency didn't reduce my enjoyment of the stories.The publisher missed the opportunity to provide this volume with an introduction that would have placed the stories in the context of Christie's career. Charles Todd provides a forward but, frankly, it's a rather worthless two-page discussion of Poirot as a character. There's nothing about how or why Christie turned out so many Poirot stories early on and then stopped writing them after 1940. There's also nothing beyond a brief entry at the beginning of each story to explain the publishing history of the stories. Some were apparently rewritten and lengthened after their first magazine publication. It would be interesting to know why.Still, the volume does give us all the Poirot stories in one volume, which is very useful. Of course, reading all 51 stories straight through is probably not the best way to enjoy them. Better to read a few at a time.Finally, although this paperback is nearly 900 pages long, it's well produced so that it opens easily and the spine remains intact while reading through the book--none of the annoying cracking of the spine that often happens with paperbacks of this length.Whether you're new to Christie and Poirot or whether you are a long-time fan, this volume is well worth purchasing.

The challenge is to discover the murderer before the reveal. I’ve been rarely able to do so. Brava Ms Christy. Excellently written. A wonderful distraction from cares of this sad world.

So many good short stories in this one. Many I had never heard of before. Don't miss out on this one.

I didn't know these existed, and these are great. I am a very busy mom and at the end of the evening when I get to sit down, I can read a short story or two before heading to bed. Amazingly, the stories are all different. There might be a few of the same elements but her plots are varied and interesting.

Long standing detective work to a conclusion.

50 stories, many of them I know from other books, but a solid series of stories which I enjoyed reading over a couple of weeks. There were 51 stories but one story isn't a story as much as a introduction to some of the stories which are kind of linked to each other. Think the 12 tasks of Hercule's. So a story is needed to explain why he plans to find his 12 mysteries that will be his 12 tasks. Talk about ego.That's the best part about Hercule Poirot. He has a ego. Yet his ego fuels his need to win and overcome and solve the problems before him. Funny enough the author later disliked her own creation. But by then it was too late....he had become too famous to the public to be buried away.

I enjoyed these short reads. They all entertained nicely even as they came to quick conclusions. Poirot, with his consistent quirks and mannerisms, supplied the comfortable common denominator.