Review: POIROT'S EARLY CASES, Agatha Christie

• this edition published by Fontana Books 1979
  
• first published by William Collins in 1974
• 222 pages
• source: my local library

Synopsis

This is a collection of short stories, most of which were also published in other collections, and some of which I had already read.

• The Affair at the Victory Ball
  1923, The Affair at the Victory Ball - Hercule Poirot - The Under Dog and other stories, publ 1969
• The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
  1925, The Adventure of the Clapham Cook - Hercule Poirot - The Under Dog and other stories, publ 1969
• The Cornish Mystery
  1925, The Cornish Mystery - Hercule Poirot - The Under Dog and other stories, publ 1969
• The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
• The Double Clue
  1923, The Double Clue - Hercule Poirot - Double Sin and Other Stories, published 1961
  
• The King of Clubs
  1923, The King of Clubs  - Hercule Poirot - The Under Dog and other stories, publ 1969
• The Lemesurier Inheritance
  1925, The LeMesurier Inheritance - Hercule Poirot - The Under Dog and other stories, publ 1969
• The Lost Mine
• The Plymouth Express
  1924, The Plymouth Express - Hercule Poirot - The Under Dog and other stories, publ 1969
• The Chocolate Box
• The Submarine Plans
  1925, The Submarine Plans - Hercule Poirot - The Under Dog and other stories, publ 1969
• The Third-Floor Flat
• Double Sin
  1928, Double Sin, also published as By Road or Rail - Hercule Poirot, Double Sin and Other Stories, published 1961
• The Market Basing Mystery
  1925, The Market Basing Mystery - Hercule Poirot - The Under Dog and other stories, publ 1969
• Wasps' Nest
  1928, Wasps' Nest - Hercule Poirot, Double Sin and Other Stories, published 1961 
• The Veiled Lady
• Problem at Sea
• How Does your Garden Grow/ 

My Take

So that left me 7 stories to read. They all feature Hercule Poirot and are about 13 pages each in length.
Surprisingly they are all from relatively early in Christie's career.

• The Third-Floor Flat, first published 1929
  Patricia Garnett returns with her friends at night to find that she has lost her key to her flat. Her male friends decide to get into her flat, which is on the third floor, by accessing the service lift from the basement. They break into the wrong flat and discover a dead woman. Hercule Poirot is staying in the building and comes to the rescue.
• The Adventure of Johnnie Waverley, first published 1923
  Hercule Poirot solves the problem of the abduction of a three year old.
• The Chocolate Box, first published 1925
  Drinking a cup of chocolate by a warm fire reminds Hercule Poirot of a case that he regards as his greatest failure. It is set in Belgium when he is still in the Belgian police force and involves a sudden death.
• The Lost Mine, first published 1925
  Hastings is marvelling at his dwindling bank balance and suggests that Poirot buy some shares. Poirot tells him the story of how he was given 14,000 shares in Burma Mines for his role in solving a murder mystery.
• The Veiled Lady, first published 1925
  This story is narrated by Hastings who has noticed that Poirot is becoming increasingly restless. The newspapers are full of reports of a daring jewellery robbery in Bond Street. They are discussing this when a young lady arrives at Porot's flat. She is heavily veiled. She tells Poirot she is being blackmailed by someone and Poirot agrees to meet the blackmailer. But Poirot is cleverer than his visitor imagines.
• Problem at Sea, first published 1936
  Poirot is on a cruise to Alexandria. He has been keeping to his cabin with seasickness but now emerges to observe his fellow passengers. His attention is caught by Colonel and Mrs Clapperton. The latter seems to be a very unpleasant person who treats her husband with contempt. The day they arrive in Alexandria Mrs Clapperton takes to her bed and Colonel Clapperton goes on shore with a couple of young women. When he returns Mrs Clapperton is dead, murdered.
• How Does Your Garden Grow, first published 1932
  Poirot receives a letter from an elderly woman who wishes to consult him, but before he can visit her, she dies of strychnine poisoning, and her Russian companion, the major beneficiary of her will, has been accused of murder. This story show Poirot using Miss Lemon in an investigative capacity, slthough he mourns the fact that she does not have Captain Hastings' imagination.

I read these as part of the Agatha Christie Reading Challenge. Check my short story list. 

These stories are pretty quick reads, but each shows Christie's acute observation of character, and her great interest in what causes people to commit crimes. 

My rating: 4.0