Audio Book: Poirot's Early Cases
Written by Agatha Christie (Audio Partners)
Reviewed by Erick Mertz

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Hercule Poirot looks like a detective should look: face always carrying a wry expression, he is mustachioed and portly, yet not encumbered by his girth. He is no super hero who can fly or peer through stone to get his man, but he is mannerly and moves with deft confidence through the web of deceits laid before him. David Suchet, who depicts the portly detective on PBS-TV's Mystery series, is satisfying in his visual representation and, as shown in the Audio Partner's collection of his early cases, in his reading of the part as well.

Establishing himself as a celebrated sleuth, the classics in Poirot's Early Cases show the humble beginnings of his career. There are 18 unabridged in all, each possessing a degree of heightened intrigue that can only be courtesy of the Dame of British Empire herself, Agatha Christie. Her accolades are too many to mention here, but it is worth mentioning that her ability to set-up and deliver in these short stories is expert, and lumping her in as "just a mystery author" is faulty. Stories like The Third-Floor Flat or The Lemesurier Inheritance are so tight, there is nary a wasted word.

© 2003 - Erick Mertz