Rating: Really Liked It! (4.5 Stars)
Source: Purchased
Description: The Labours of Hercules comprises an even dozen mysteries starring Christie's most popular sleuth, the ever-dignified Hercule Poirot. The introductory chapter of the collection sets up the rest of the book. At a dinner party, another guest compares the labors of Poirot to those of Hercules, and the little Belgian is not amused. He has already decided to retire, but makes up his mind to take on 12 great cases - each somehow reflecting the labors accomplished by Hercules - as a farewell to crime solving. All of the cases are quite different from each other, from searching for a lost poet to hunting down a particularly ferocious murderer, from solving mysterious deaths of religious cult members to saving a young would-be politician from potential blackmailers.
Genre: Mystery - Classic
Why I Picked This Book: This was the May pick for the Read Christie Challenge
My Impression: I really love Christie's short stories and this was a fun collection. There are some books that you can kind of feel Christie behind the scenes having a fabulous time playing with particular plots and themes and this is definitely one of them. The short stories have a wide range from major cases with political implications, to missing people, to the kidnapping of a small dog, along with a random assortment of other problems.
I liked the premise and I love Poirot in this book. He's clearly delighted with his little project and making the cases fit his idea. I am also a big fan of Miss Lemon so any book that involves her is always a good one. This is a fun collection of short stories and would be a good introduction to Poirot if you aren't familiar with him yet.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Of course! I'm looking forward to the June pick - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It's one I haven't read in awhile.
Would I Recommend this Book? I would. This is a good short story collection on its own and would be a good introduction to Poirot.
Would I Read More of this Series/Author? Of course! I'm looking forward to the June pick - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. It's one I haven't read in awhile.
Would I Recommend this Book? I would. This is a good short story collection on its own and would be a good introduction to Poirot.
Katherine, you have me sold on this one. As a matter of fact I think I am going to replace one of my classic club picks with this book. I tried reading Breakfast at Tiffanys and abandoned it. But this one sounds great. I am about to make my list of books to get to in June. Love list making.
ReplyDeleteI have read everything at some point but I'd like to reread it all again one day.
ReplyDeleteAnne - Books of My Heart