I purchased this book for my own collection.
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Published: September 27, 2011 (first published 1947)
Summary:
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.
My thoughts:
May’s theme for #ReadChristie2026 is Best Short Story Collection and I went with the official pick, as it was one I had not yet read, The Labors of Hercules.
This is one of the last Hercule Poirot books and is set in the period leading up to Poirot’s retirement. He decides to take on 12 more cases – hence 12 short stories.
As is the case with most short story collections, I liked some more than others, but because it was Hercule Poirot at the center of them all, I read the whole collection. I can see how Christie had fun writing these, tying in his name to mythology. There are the classic Christie-isms — misdirection, red herrings and everything we’ve come to love — not bad, considering these are short stories!
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