Poirot Investigates

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: David Suchet

Length: 6 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

First there was the mystery of the film star and the diamond...then came the "suicide" that was murder...the mystery of the absurdly cheap flat...a suspicious death in a locked gun room...a million-dollar bond robbery...the curse of a pharaoh's tomb...a jewel robbery by the sea...the abduction of a prime minister...the disappearance of a banker...a phone call from a dying man...and finally, the mystery of the missing will.

What links these fascinating cases? Only the brilliant deductive powers of Hercule Poirot!

©1924 Agatha Christie Limited (P)1990 EMI Record trading on Music for pleasure Ltd

Don't let your mind wander!!!

STORY (short detective stories) - This is a collection of maybe 10-15 short stories by Agatha Christie, set in the early 1900's. The star is a Belgian detective named Hercule Poirot, a small man with a big ego who always manages to outsmart everyone and crack the case. The publisher's summary gives hints about the different stories so I won't repeat that here, except to say that there's a bit of everything -- kidnapping, murder, robbery, etc.

I think the mysteries are well-written and interesting. My only negative comment is that, since the stories are short, there is very little "fluff." Everything is important, so you must listen carefully. Unfortunately, I'm used to much longer books and, as I'm commuting to and from work, my mind wanders a bit. In a mystery which is, say, 30 minutes in duration, you can't afford to "zone out" for two or three minutes without missing something important. I found myself lost several times and having to rewind and rehear to understand. Alternatively, I often just continued and was completely lost at the end of the story.

PERFORMANCE - Throughout most of the book, Mr. Suchet performed convincing French and British accents, great emotional performances and probably the best female voices I've ever heard performed by a male narrator. The only reason he received a four-start rating is because the last few stories (about the last hour) seemed like a completely different narrator was reading! The great voice of Hercule Poiroit was gone and blended in with the voices of the other minor characters. What happened? Anyway, he went from a five-star rating to a four just because of the final hour.

OVERALL - No sex or cursing. There's kidnappings and killings but they're described with basically no violence. Recommended for any audience, but must be prepared to listen carefully and concentrate!

20 of 21 people found this review helpful

The moment when Poirot really starts to shine.

Would you consider the audio edition of Poirot Investigates to be better than the print version?

I have only listened to the audio edition, but I expect that it more than does the print version justice.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Um . . . Poirot . . . what kind of question is that? Seriously, he's the man. Next.

Any additional comments?

The two longer Poirot stories that came before were all right to pretty good. These short stories represent when the stories really start to get good.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Get your Poirot fix in bite-sized chunks!

I was skeptical that this was my next book in Poirot order as I didn't think I'd like the short story form, this works. 20-30 minutes each fit into my commute nicely. The plots are the usual Christie outlandish style, Poirot never fails to amuse - and Hastings slays me. Narrator Suchet knows his strengths. If I may say: if you like Poirot, your little grey cells will like this one, too!

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Poirot Classics

David Suchet is the one and only "Poirot"! To listen to him narrate this is a treat. He does a wonderful job with all the characters. I really enjoy this book.

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

Poirot at his best: short

What did you love best about Poirot Investigates?

Poirot, like Sherlock Holmes, is at his best in short stories, and this is a collection of mostly clever ones. Agatha Christie has a tendency to cheat sometimes, and Poirot's deductions are sometimes little more than guesswork, but that's a lot more forgivable in a short story than a full-length novel. It happens in some of these stories, but they're good enough to survive it.

Also, David Suchet pretty much is the voice of Poirot now. He does it well here.

Who was your favorite character and why?

There is only one character that matters here.

7 of 8 people found this review helpful

Entertaining Short Whodunits

This was a fun little collection of Poirot short stories. Glad to say, of the 14 mysteries, I caught the same clues as Poirot and guessed the culprit at least a few times. If nothing else, I can always tell what Hastings will pick up on and know that that will likely be wrong. Last story a rare gem in which Poirot relates a story of a case in which he failed.
As only my second Poirot book, though I have read many since, I thought these made a great introduction to Christie's style, almost like they were a way of breaking me in as a reader and getting to know Poirot's methods before getting to some more of the full-length novel mysteries.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Great Recording

If you enjoy well written mysteries and talented narrators then this is your next selection.
Excellent collection of Agatha Christie's best narratives and engaging narration by David Suchet who is able to get into character and
make him or her leap off the recording and into my sitting room.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Great short stories

I loved this audio book. The stories are short, well-crafted, and move quickly. Listening to them gives the reader an experience of quick gratification. Hugh Fraser performs the last 3 chapters. I prefer Fraser's narration to Suchet's, but even Suchet's narration is good. Fraser's voice is calming and he articulates his words very well. Surprisingly, Fraser's Poirot voice is closer to the one that Suchet plays in the TV series! Suchet plays a different Poirot voice in his audio book narration.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

David Suchet and Hugh Fraser

The last four or five are read by Hugh Fraser, the man who plays Hastings in the television series. He's no David Suchet, but he is also enjoyable to listen to.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Suchet quits partway through

What didn’t you like about David Suchet’s performance?

Suchet is the ultimate Poirot -- and for most of the book, his rendition is flawless. However, suddenly in the last couple of chapters his performance changes. Instead of the voice of the fastidious little Belgian we know and love, we get a sort of vaguely Frenchified accent with the same pitch and timbre as Hastings. Not sure what happened there, but it really spoiled my enjoyment of the thing.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful