I can't help but compare this book to the David Suchet tv adaptation and the book comes up short, especially without Hastings's hapless charm. My general feeling is that while the novels are vastly better than the tv versions, the short stories suffer in comparison. ( )

This book is actually a novella and three short stories, rather than a continuous book. At least one of the short stories bears a strong resemblance to a novel length mystery, so close it was likely either abridged (with changes) from the novel, or formed the base kernel for the novel. The work is standard Agatha Christie, with anachronistic language and familiar character types. It was a quick read, and as usual, fun without being a lot of work. The culprits were reasonably easy to spot in all the stories. ( )

Murder in the Mews is the sixteenth book in the Hercule Poirot series - but is pretty misleading considering it's simply a short story collection. Having purchased the Complete Short Stories, I was annoyed to find this wasn't a full Hercule Poirot book like I thought and contained four stories I already had. If I had of known then what I know now and all that jazz.

For a short story collection I found this to be pretty strong, with three of the four stories being rated 4 stars. Murder in the Mews, The Incredible Theft and the Dead Man's Mirror all featuring clever plots with well planned solutions to the crimes. The fourth entry, Triangle at Rhodes, is what lets the collection down. It was bizarre and I didn't really like it much at all. Still three out of four is pretty good for a short story collection and still leaves the entire book with an average rating of 3.5 stars. Individual reviews and ratings below.

16.1 MURDER IN THE MEWS: Poirot and Japp team up once again, when their dinner out speculating on why no one commits more murders on Guy Fawkes day results in a dead body and a shot no one heard fired. I enjoyed this one. I like Japp and I love him and Poirot teaming up. Japp ribs him something fierce and it's hilarious.

“So that’s what you were getting at!” Japp sighed. “Always have to get at things in such a tortuous way.”

Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories (Hercule Poirot Mysteries) (p. 597). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

Poor Japp. I like Japp better than Hastings too. He's much smarter for one. Even when he's not entirely sure where Poirot is going with things, he is usually aware something is going on. 4 stars.

16.2 THE INCREDIBLE THEFT: Important plans are stolen when a prominent political figure throws a party. I liked this one. Once again I guessed parts and completely missed others but I enjoyed it all the same. 4 stars.

16.3 DEAD MAN'S MIRROR: Poirot is sent a letter by Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore requesting his presence to investigate a matter of fraud, but when Poirot arrives, the man is found to have committed suicide. I really liked this one. Mr Satterthwaite (from the Harley Quin series) also makes a brief appearance, giving Poirot his impressions of Sir Gervase. And Major Riddle, the police detective assigned was fantastic. I mean he was no Poirot but I was amused by his conclusions;

“Well,” said Riddle, “everything seems quite clear and aboveboard. Door locked, window fastened, key of door in dead man’s pocket. Everything according to Cocker—but for one circumstance.” “And what is that, my friend?” inquired Poirot. “You!” said Riddle bluntly. “What are you doing down here?”

Christie, Agatha. Hercule Poirot: The Complete Short Stories (Hercule Poirot Mysteries) (p. 457). William Morrow Paperbacks. Kindle Edition.

The crime was very clever and I enjoyed the motives. 4 stars.

16.4 TRIANGLE AT RHODES: On holiday at Rhodes, Poirot comes across a love triangle that ends in murder. Well I only guessed half the crime. As in that Chantry killed his wife. Not that he had an accomplice. Honestly, I didn't really get this one. It was strange. 2 stars. ( )

The reason Hercule Poirot is so good at solving mysteries is that Christie has him solving the same murders over and over. Not that I object. ( )

4/8/22