Published by Harper Collins

Publication date – Quickreads edition 2016.

Source – own copy

Theft of jewels, two clues left. The mysterious disappearance of a banker. Three mysterious deaths after the opening of a Pharoah’s tomb. A suicide that may be murder. Only Hercule Poirot can find out what really happened.

These very short stories, the whole book is only around 88 pages. If you have watched the TV series you may be familiar with the tales, expanded as they were for the TV screen. It follows therefore that any review of them has to similarly be short. To go into too much detail would give the game away.

The stories don’t really allow for the reader to try to figure out what has happened. There is little page space so the red herrings are sparse. Still the clues are there to work out what actually happened. Each one did remind me somewhat of the logic puzzles I did as a child.

Despite the brevity of each story, the reader is not left feeling they have been short-changed. The skill of the author is obvious throughout. It made me eager to reader more of Agatha Christie’s novels and short stories.

This edition is a great introduction to Agatha Christie’s work. Short, sharp stories that give a brief insight into the little grey cells of Hercule Poirot.