Unsatisfactory. The leaps of logic are too far to be believed, and the reveal is rather flat. ( )

A Poirot short story. Framed as Hastings retelling Poirot early case, this is set the night of a Victory ball. It's a fancy dress ball and the group of 6 we concern ourselves with attend dressed as the 6 characters from Commedia dell'arte. Two end up dead and the who, how and why take Poirot to get to the bottom of. He does so from a verbal report from Inspector Jaap, and a little bit a shadow play with the fancy dress costumes. It's not terribly well fleshed out, I think it relies on knowing Poirot and the way he works. That's not to say it's not enjoyable, though. ( )

Who killed the young Lord Cronshaw at the Victory Ball, and was the death of his actress girlfriend that same night a coincidence. Poirot investigates
Another enjoyable short story ( )

The Affair at the Victory Ball was Agatha Christie's first published short story. It ran in The Sketch magazine in March 1923, following publication of the first Hercule Poirot novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles in 1920/1921 (UK and US versions were published at different times).

In this first story, Poirot is approached by Inspector Japp to assist in a case involving a murder and a suspicious overdose death following a fancy dress ball. Poirot puts his little grey cells to work, while mumbling about others having "no method'' to their investigation skills.

Great story! It is a relatively short read, but very enjoyable! Classic Poirot attitude and investigation. Loved it!

In its 3rd series, the television show Poirot had an episode based on this story (Season 3, episode 10). There are a few changes made to the story, but it follows the basics, according to online sources. I don't remember this episode in particular, but it's available online. Now that I've read the short story, I'm going to watch the television version and see what I think. David Suchet is always outstanding, in my opinion, so I'm sure I will love his performance.

Agatha Christie has been my favorite author since I was 9. I found a box set of five Hercule Poirot novels at a garage sale and spent an entire summer engrossed in the sleuthing of the little dapper Belgian man with the supremely awesome moustache. :) I have always wanted to read all of her works in publication order....and this year, I am starting on that quest!

66 novels. 14 short story collections, featuring 165 short stories, plus several other assorted writings....I have a lot of reading to do! Loving it so far! 3 books read....many to go!

I am reading these novels and stories from physical books while simultaneously listening to audio. There is method to my madness. Really. I promise. I have reasons. One -- I have come across several editions of Christie's books that give a disclaimer about "editorial edits" being made. I'm curious what these edits are...so I'm listening to newer unabridged audio books while reading my older paperback copies just to see what is different. And second, when it comes to Hercule Poirot especially, there are many foreign words in Christie novels. I skip over them while reading because (being honest here), I don't know how to properly pronounce them. I don't speak French except for elementary polite phrases or those related to ordering food and wine, which is a shame really. Plus, it's more fun to read a Poirot mystery with his dialogue being read in his awesome accent. While not every narrator is as wonderful as David Suchet, listening to the stories really does bring some extra happiness to my reading experience. This quest to read all of her works has been 41 years in the making. I wouldn't read and listen or compare editions for many other authors. Christie has a special place in my heart...so I'm going full out.

Because I am reading each novel and story from different sources to compare content....and skipping around within collections at times to read in order, I'm going to review each story separately. And then give my thoughts about certain story collections and editions (especially ones I come across that have been edited) when I've read all the stories contained in them.

On to the next story! ( )