Reading the Detectives discussion

Dear all, we have a short story collection ahead of us for this month.
For those of you owning other formats of Poirot short stories, these 11 are included in this months reading:

1 The Adventure of the Western Star
2 The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
3 The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
4 The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge
5 The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
6 The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
7 The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
8 The Kidnapped Prime Minister
9 The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim
10 The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
11 The Case of the Missing Will

I hope we can structure the discussion in such a way that everyone has time to read the whole book this month and participate in the spoiler thread whilst doing so. Let's focus on 4 stories per week and have the last week for an overall discussion.

Personally, I was in a need of a Poirot fix last night and already read the first one. It was fun. Obviously, short stories can never compare to the "real deal" of a full-scale detective novel but at least with detective shorts, you can be sure of a satisfying ending.

The first story was decidedly Holmesian, with the window scene and parlour reception. I did feel sorry for Hastings though....

Hi! I'm sorry for you guys in the spoiler thread but your thread host is one who has never read the book before ;-), so I can only come here as I progress myself. I am now three stories in. I enjoyed them, though I find the active and fast Poirot a bit difficult to adjust to and oh my is Hasting getting a bashing!

I wonder why Poirot chooses him as his detecting companion, is he just an amusement?

I really enjoyed the first story, The Adventure of the Western Star - it made me laugh out loud at times. I agree with you, Jessica, that it is Holmesian.

I must confess I found the plot quite hard to follow and the whole idea of there only being one jewel was making my head spin, so I had to read through a recap of the plot at the end to make sure I'd understood it properly!

As well as jewels, actors and actresses often appear in Christie books. I did enjoy this collection as Hastings is so prominent and I am very fond of him :)

I was a bit disappointed by the solution to The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge, as it was very similar to a couple of other Christie short stories I've read previously (won't say which ones to avoid spoilers), so there was a touch of deja vu.

I also find the whole idea of someone in a house pretending to have two identities and nobody else noticing just too far-fetched, even if it's supposed to be that nobody looks at the servants! It's a bit like all those characters in Christie who fail to notice that people they once knew well, including family members, have turned up in unlikely disguises.

Having said that, I loved Hastings in this one and the way he enjoys people thinking of him as the detective in Poirot's absence!

Hastings can be beautifully comical, can't he, Judy? :)

The stories develop a bit too fast for me. But I do love their short format to read on public transport. I think so far I like the million dollar bond robbery most, a mystery that really needed the little grey cells.

Ooh, I have the Million Dollar Bond Robbery coming up next, so am pleased to hear you enjoyed that one, Jessica.

I do agree about short stories being great to read on public transport - or just before bed. I also like the fact that they mean I can watch a lot of the TV Poirot episodes which are adapted from the stories!

I did like The Million Dollar Bond Robbery - very clever solution to that one. I was completely misled by Christie's red herrings.

I also really liked The Adventure of the Cheap Flat, though the solution seemed extremely unlikely - the idea that a blonde Mrs Robinson of the right age was bound to turn up to rent the flat at just the right time!

In general, these stories do remind me a lot of the Holmes short stories, which has to be a good thing. :)

I've read almost all of the stories in this lot and really enjoy them-it's nice to be able to sit down for a short read and polish off one or two-they are clever and I've given up trying to solve Christie mysteries-I just roll with them and enjoy the characters and clever plots. Out of the first 8, I think I've enjoyed the Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan the most-I always enjoy the Upstairs, Downstairs sort of tales.

I am about 3/4 done, and I have enjoyed these. As others have said, sometimes it is nice to have a quick mystery that you can get through in one sitting, despite the lack of development on all fronts.
My favorite so far is The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb, mostly because I find all things Egyptian to be fascinating, and curses make great fodder for thrillers. Does anyone know if she ever wrote a full-length story on that subject?
My least favorite is The Adventure of the Cheap Flat, mostly because I disliked the TV version so much (I won't spoil for anyone who hasn't seen, but the American FBI agent has a much bigger role, and couldn't be any more of a blustering, blundering stereotype if he tried). Also, its nearly impossible to fathom the confluence of a woman of the right age, physical description, and name showing up to let the flat.

Not just me who found The Adventure of the Cheap Flat outrageously implausible then, Tara. It reminded me of some of the more far-fetched Holmes short stories! That one and The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge both had plots I just couldn't believe in, even in the world of GA crime!

I agree that the Egyptian tomb story is very enjoyable and the curse makes a good basis for the plot. I don't know if she ever did a full book about a curse, though?

Frances, I also like upstairs/downstairs tales, and think grand hotels make great settings for mysteries.

Yes, Tara, I also really enjoyed the Egyption Tomb. Did you also fall for Poirot's mystical tendencies or did you see through it immediatly? I thought it was fishy but did not see his hand in the appearance of Anubis at all!

I was skeptical Jessica, since it is not quite like Poirot to lose his composure in such a fashion, but then again, he does get himself quite flustered when he's amongst nature, so it was a possibility. It is quite fun when they play around with the supernatural, similar to the seance in The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor.

I didn't think Poirot could really suspect anything superstitious, so I was suspicious - but didn't spot any clues to the culprit!

I finished this collection last night and was confused by the last story, The Case of the Missing Will - how does Poirot work out where the will is hidden?! It would have helped me if he had explained it to poor Hastings at greater length!

I think I liked the "The Kidnapped Prime Minister" least so far. Still one story to go, so I'll see how it compares to the case of the missing will soon.

I enjoyed The Case of the Missing Will, just didn't understand it. ;)

Judy wrote: "I enjoyed The Case of the Missing Will, just didn't understand it. ;)"

I see your point! It was fun, and I don't agree with Hastings that it is kind of cheating by the niece hiring an "expert" here, if she were a man she would have inherited unconditionally.
I guess the smudgy envelope is the biggest clue in this story, though I also don't totally get it. Especially not why it seems like the male servant was lying when confirming the handwriting on it was his master's...

Overall, I really enjoyed these stories! I'm happy next month we'll have even more jolly shorts to go ;-)

Thanks, Jessica, not just me then! I also wasn't too keen on the Kidnapped Prime Minister, though it did remind me of some film that I've seen.