The Labors of Hercules: A Hercule Poirot Collection (Hercule Poirot Mysteries, 26)
The Labors of Hercules: A Hercule Poirot Collection (Hercule Poirot Mysteries, 26) book cover

The Labors of Hercules: A Hercule Poirot Collection (Hercule Poirot Mysteries, 26)

Paperback – September 27, 2011

Price
$14.44
Format
Paperback
Pages
336
Publisher
William Morrow Paperbacks
Publication Date
ISBN-13
978-0062073983
Dimensions
5.31 x 0.76 x 8 inches
Weight
8.8 ounces

Description

Review “Hercule Poirot was and is the gold standard among brilliant and quirky detectives, and the Christie touch with plot and puzzle has never been equaled, much less exceeded.” — John Lescroart, New York Times bestselling author “A finely shaped book, richly devious and quite brilliant―by far the best volume of Poirot shorts.” — San Francisco Chronicle “Twelve little masterpieces of detection. Poirot and Agatha Christie at their inimitable best.” — Sunday Express (London) From the Back Cover In appearance Hercule Poirot hardly resembled an ancient Greek hero. Yet—reasoned the detective—like Hercules he had been responsible for ridding society of some of its most unpleasant monsters. So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot makes up his mind to accept just twelve more cases: his self-imposed “Labors.” Each would go down in the annals of crime as a heroic feat of deduction. About the Author Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976, after a prolific career spanning six decades. Read more

Features & Highlights

  • In this exclusive authorized edition from the Queen of Mystery, the twelve cases Poirot must solve in this captivating collection of short crime fiction stories are dangerous, demanding, and positively ingenious.
  • In appearance Hercule Poirot hardly resembled an ancient Greek hero. Yet—reasoned the detective—like Hercules he had been responsible for ridding society of some of its most unpleasant monsters.
  • So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot makes up his mind to accept just twelve more cases: his self-imposed “Labors.” Each would go down in the annals of crime as a heroic feat of deduction.

Customer Reviews

Rating Breakdown

★★★★★
30%
(324)
★★★★
25%
(270)
★★★
15%
(162)
★★
7%
(76)
23%
(248)

Most Helpful Reviews

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Surprising plots, great characterization of M. Poirot!

Certainly I like the way Agatha Christie puts her stories together. Her plots are truly surprising. I love the titles of these chapters. The subjects are not what anyone would expect from these titles! Got to love it! I am only part way into this book, now it is time to delve into it some more. These stories will be read more than once. There is a lot to them, and to the characterization of Hercule Poirot.
8 people found this helpful
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Great book

The Labors of Hercules is really several smaller cases of Poirot. All the cases are written with the expert details of Agatha Christie and we really enjoyed the book.
2 people found this helpful
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#66

I loved it!!!! I guessed wrong about who did it every time, groan! Outsmarted again. The various tails and how they related to the original myths was fun to figure out.
1 people found this helpful
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Fun Dozen Mystery Romps with Poirot

Re-reading this classic collection, I couldn't help think what fun Christie had coming up with the different connections to the mythological Labors of Hercules, and sitting her little Belgian fop Poirot in the middle of them! The Nemean Lion becomes a pekinese dognapping ring, The Augean Stables becomes a political scandal that must be swept away, etc. In the end, whether or not some of the mysteries stand up (and some are very minor indeed), they are fun to read and as always Poirot is the star attraction.

While most of the mysteries are very minor, the subject matter is varied (dog-napping, blackmail, disappearance of precious items, murder), and there are a few good ones here, and the gift of the short story is that if one doesn't take your fancy, it's only a short read until the next. Some of my favorites: "The Lernean Hydra" concerns the many-headed evil of gossip, and a death that may have been murder; "The Girdle of Hipolyta" concerns a disappearing schoolgirl and an art theft, and how they may be related; "The Erymanthian Boar" a an interesting tale with concerning espionage in the Swiss Alps, and Poirot himself almost gets killed chasing an international crime figure, and there is a twist ending! While some of the mysteries might not be up to Christie's standards, they are all very enjoyable and this collection is a really easy read, killing an afternoon.
1 people found this helpful
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One Of Agatha Christie's Excellent Lesser Known Treats

Written by Dame Agatha Christie, "The Labours of Hercules" is a collection of short stories featuring Hercules Poirot.

Each of the chapters is named for one of the Labours performed by the mythical god Hercules. (Poirot's namesake.)

The stories can be enjoyed equally by reading them sequentially or in random order.

My personal favorite chapter involves a certain dog - and reveals Poirot's deep respect and affection towards the furry, tail wagging species.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Awesome, intriguing, brilliant work!

Loved it!
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Enjoyed an old writing in a new paperbook

Purchased this book for my husband.
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Good

Good
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Three Stars

Very confusing, putting together numerous short stories and trying to make them coherent.
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Five Stars

I have read almost all of her books this one is short stories but still good