Customer Rating: 
Summary: Print is way too small to read
Comment: I love Agatha Christie but won't buy any more of these until they print them in a legible format. I am a young person and can't squint through a whole book. Tiny print is going to be the death of the book business. At least on the internet you can enlarge text... you'd think they'd at least make type 12 points at a the very smallest. What's the deal with this tiny type? I won't buy any more.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Even Poirot would not approve
Comment: The book contains Poirot mysteries that were also produced for the television series. Reading the book, I was immediately familiar with several of the stories- but was quickly disappointed completely.
Each mystery is presented as brief as possible, almost in a Cliff Notes fashion-- no, make that in newspaper-article fashion. There is little in the way of atmosphere, almost no character development. The names of faceless characters in each story swim by, surrounded by a brevity of facts and mismash of details, with Poirot incredibly solving each in the final paragraph. In many of the mysteries, Poirot presents the solution with facts from out of nowhere. Each mystery has the feel of a book report written in 200 words or less. I'm halfway through the book, and Poirot's signature moustache has not even been mentioned once!
The book is subtitled "A Hercule Poirot Anthology", and should be treated as such: a miscellaneous assortment of.. not much. If you're looking for a good read, go elsewhere. This one is not worth a look.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Sherlock Holmes style stories
Comment: This is a very pleasant collection of short stories;
Although we have a tipical Poirot and the Agatha Christie style is evident, I think it was intended as a sort of tribute to the Sherlock Holmes adventures: the titles, subject matter and general feel reminded me of those. These stories are to be found also in the tv series starring David Suchet.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Poirot and Hastings as their most Holmes and Watson
Comment: This is the first collection of Poirot short stories, originaly published in 1924. Christie appears to have been very heavily influenced by the Sherlock Holmes stories while writing these. The relationship between Poirot and Hastings is very like that of Holmes/Watson, the stories in general are reminiscent of some of the Sherlock Holmes stories, particularly "The Veiled Lady" and "A Scandal in Bohemia". While the tone and settings of the stories are somewhat derivative the solutions are pure Christie.The stories included in this collection are:
The Adventure of the Western Star
The Tragedy of Marsdon Manor
The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge
The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
The Kidnapped Prime Minister
The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
The Case of the Missing Will
The Veiled Lady
The Lost Mine
The Chocolate Box
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Short Take on Hercule Poirot
Comment: Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's wonderful Belgium creation, plows through the short stories in Poirot Investigates with somewhat less literary success than he does through the author's delightful Poirot novels. The short story form does not suit the mystery as practiced by Christie as there are always too few suspects and too few clues (or red herrings) and it becomes easier and easier to guess the solution. The author relies too heavily on similar devices, particularly the use of disguises (taken to an unbelievable level in "The Kidnapped Prime Minister" but stretching at the levels of credibility even before then). The stories can still be delightful for Poirot fans and there is even a story in which the great detective gets it wrong. Perhaps on a muggy, steamy day (like today for me) these stories can be fun when one wants to read a mystery but realizes the air is too heavy to concentrate for more than a dozen or so pages at a time. Recommended for those already enamored of the Belgian and his little gray cells. Not so much for readers new to Christie.
