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 pharoah’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 willl.

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

Poirot Investigates is a collection of short stories, and I was fortunate enough to have seen the TV adaptations. It helped me tremendously because I have come to realise that the structure and wording of Agatha Christie are not easy for my brain to process.

Film star and the diamond… S2 E9 – The Adventure of the Western Star

Poirot’s pretty pumped when he gets an invite from the famous Belgian actress Marie Marvelle. It turns out she’s being hounded by anonymous letters about her diamond, the “Western Star”—a pricey gem her husband snagged for a bargain years ago. The notes have this whole mystical vibe, claiming the stones need to go back to their “rightful owners.”

Things get weirder the next day when Lady Yardly pipes up, saying she’s getting the same creepy letters about her own rock, the “Eastern Star.” But while Poirot and Hastings are over at the Yardley place, the diamond gets snatched in a bold-faced robbery. Obviously, Poirot isn’t thrilled; he’s got a seriously tangled mess on his hands, and he’s ready to get to the bottom of it.

Cheap flat… – S2 E7 – The Adventure of the Cheap Flat

Poirot’s juggling two cases at once, and the first one feels more like a fun little side project—at least to start. After hitting it off with a charming couple, Stella and James Robinson, at a party, he decides to prove to Hastings that there’s no way they landed such a sweet apartment for that cheap without a catch.

At the same time, Inspector Japp drags him into some official business involving a loud-mouthed FBI agent. The American is hunting down thieves who made off with secret US Naval plans for a new sub, and he’s definitely not a fan of the fact that Scotland Yard hired a private eye—or that Japp took away his gun. Things take a turn when Poirot spots the guy the FBI is tracking and realises it’s the exact same person he saw creeping around outside the Robinsons’ place.

Million dollar bond robbery… S3 E3 – The Million Dollar Bond Robbery

Mr. Shaw, a guy from London and Scottish Bank, is supposed to hop on the Queen Mary’s first-ever trip to deliver $1 million in Liberty Bonds to the States. But after someone almost mows him down in the street and then tries to poison him, he’s sidelined, and the assistant manager has to step in to take the bonds instead.

The bank brings Poirot along to play bodyguard for the trip, which is a huge win for Hastings since he’s stoked to be on the ship’s maiden voyage. But things go south when the bonds get swiped anyway. Now, all eyes are on the assistant manager—mainly because he’s got a bit of a messy history with some heavy gambling debts.

Curse of a pharaoh’s tomb… S5 E1 – The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb

Poirot’s headed to Egypt to check out a string of creepy deaths centred around the Valley of the Kings. It all started when Sir John Willard dropped dead the second he and his team stepped into an ancient tomb. The team doctor, Dr. Ames, called it a heart attack, but then the rest of the crew started dying off in really weird ways. One guy died from blood poisoning after a tiny cut, another caught tetanus, and someone else who made it back to New York ended up taking their own life.

Naturally, everyone’s whispering about an ancient Egyptian curse hitting anyone who messed with the tomb. Poirot and Hastings decide to fly out to the desert to see what’s actually going on and figure out who’s really pulling the strings.

Abduction of a Prime Minister… S2 E8 – The Kidnapped Prime Minister

The British Prime Minister’s car is attacked by a band of thugs. He manages to escape with minor injuries, but a few days later, he is kidnapped. The British government are desperate for the PM to be found quickly – he is due to attend an important conference. Upon the recommendation of Chief Inspector Japp, they call in Hercule Poirot.

Disappearance of a banker… – S2 E5 – The disappearance of Mr. Davenheim

A wealthy banker, Mathew Davenheim, goes missing after his wife spots him walking away from their property. Naturally, everyone points the finger at his long-time business rival, Gerald Lowen. Chief Inspector Japp brings Poirot into the mix, but things get interesting when Poirot’s ego kicks in.

He and Japp make a bet that Poirot can crack the case without even setting foot outside his apartment, which means he’s stuck at home for a week. That leaves Hastings to do the legwork and gather clues—and we all know how “great” he is at playing detective. Meanwhile, to kill the time, Poirot spends his days practising magic tricks and babysitting a friend’s parrot while he tries to solve the mystery.

Phone call from a dying man… S5 E5 – The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman (no Miss Lemon or romance in the audiobook)

Poirot and his friend Captain Hastings find themselves investigating the murder of Count Foscatini, who was found in his flat. As for the dead nobleman, the police believe he was being blackmailed. The Italian Embassy denies any knowledge of the man and claims he had no official role in the country. Poirot doubts the veracity of their claims but also concludes that others are lying.

Mystery of the missing will… S5 E4 The Case of the Missing Will

Back in 1926, a wealthy guy named Andrew Marsh wrote a will that took care of his friends and their kids, but left the lion’s share to a medical foundation. He totally snubbed his young ward, Violet Wilson, basically saying girls don’t need money because their husbands will pay for everything. Super old-school and sexist, right?

Well, fast-forward a few years, and Violet grows into this impressive, independent woman running a feminist magazine. Marsh finally realises he was wrong and announces he’s changing his will to leave her everything. That same night, he tells Poirot he’s terminally ill and wants him to handle the estate, but then he’s lured outside and murdered before he can sign the new papers.

To make things messier, the lawyer realises the old will is missing as well, leaving the entire inheritance in limbo. The local police think it was just natural causes, but Poirot suspects Marsh had an illegitimate son—and he’s betting that finding the guy will lead him straight to the killer.

I enjoyed this listen immensely. This, the third instalment in the Poirot series, is narrated by David Suchet, and I started listening, thinking that the rest of Poirot’s adventures would also be narrated by Suchet, but alas, most are narrated by Hugh Fraser, with Suchet narrating the more famous stories. I finished this listen on a day when the weather was gloomy, dark, wet, and full of hailstones. My head felt like it was trying to calve itself in half, and my insides couldn’t work out whether they wanted to remain inside or not. This was a welcome distraction, and I enjoyed it completely.

I don’t remember all the short stories in this book. I have listed the ones that resonated with me (and that I remember) above. I found that I was able to connect to the stories on a deeper level because I remembered the TV episodes on them, and that gave me a better understanding of what was happening. I think without it, knowing how my attention span is, I wouldn’t have absorbed half as much of what I was listening to.