Hercule Poirot, mon ami

February 12, 2012 at 1:16 am (Reviews) (agatha christie, books, crime collection, detective, hercule poirot, mystery, poirot investigates, reviews, series)

Welcome back to my blog, Mes Amis! I have finished yet another book in the Hercule Poirot series, and just as she has done in the rest, Christie has brought a small smile to my face.

Hercule Poirot by Ceska Soda

Poirot Investigates has a bit of a different structure than the previous Poirot books. In this one, Captain Hastings narrates multiple mysteries in a series of short stories, rather than following one in a full length novel. Ironically, the format of Poirot Investigates would have lent itself to easier read aloud evenings by the fire, but I got greedy and read it all by myself!

As with every detective hero, Poirot manages to be cleverer and more astute than everyone with whom he comes in contact. He sees every clue and teases us with it, not telling us what it means until the end. He manages to be both exasperating and adorable, Hastings (and the reader) often want to wring his neck and simultaneously shake his hand while he lectures his younger ally on the use of his “little grey cells” in his brain. In the finale of one adventure,Hastings exclaims: “Poirot was right. He always is, confound him!”

I think my favorite thing about him is how often he toots his own horn. He has no sense of modesty and is constantly talking of himself in the third person, proclaiming his greatness and intelligence. When not speaking in the third person about how happy people will be to see the arrival of the “The Great Hercule Poirot” he’s is busy saying things like:

“I, who have undoubtedly the finest brain in Europe at present, can afford to be magnanimous!”

One would call him pompous, but with his short, round stature and that twinkle in his green eyes, how can you hate him? In fact, if he were real, I’d hope that he would call me ‘mon ami.’