The Under Dog and Other Stories audiobook

A good collection of shorts for anyone looking to dip their toes in. I’ve left a link to each individual story at the end of the review, but that’s mostly for me to help keep track of what stories I have and haven’t read. Ok. While I think Hugh Fraser is the most excellent narrator on his own, these Poirot novels are really fun when David Suchet guest stars in the audio versions with him. It's just the best of both worlds for me. The gist is that Poirot and (sometimes) Hastings solve some unsolvable mysteries.

An excellent collection of short stories. I marvel at Agatha Christie's ability to produce well thought-out and interesting mysteries in less than 10 pages at times. Most of the stories had excellent conclusions, albeit I was a bit disappointed with the hurried endings of a couple of stories. All in all, a fun quick read!

Oh how I missed Hastings!I’m trying to follow the publication order of the Poirot novels but I somehow forgot about these short story collections. And lately there wasn’t any Hastings in the narrator’s spot so this was like a breath of fresh air for me.I think I might have read some of these short stories before as I could answer questions otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to, but it was enjoyable nevertheless.

It's always a pleasure to read a cozy mystery by Christie and this was no exception.I enjoyed the audiobook of this collection of short stories.

A good collection of Poirot stories. I do like the novels better, though.

The Under Dog was already covered in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding , and thank goodness because it goes on forever. While this is my only cheat for the book, I’ve learned that every other story here is also found in Poirot’s Early Cases . In fact of the 18 stories in that book there are only three I haven’t covered. I’ve added the American release of Poirot Investigates to my to-read list to try and finish off those last three (the UK version doesn’t include them because it’s a jerk).As I read The Plymouth Express I knew I’d already seen it recently, and I eventually realized it was a prototype of The Mystery of the Blue Train . The plot is too similar to bother recapping it as only names and some minor details are changed.Poirot investigates The Affair at the Victory Ball, where six guests were dressed as characters of the commedia dell’ arte and the man and woman dressed as Harlequin and Columbine respectively ended their night as corpses. The mystery is wrapped up fairly quickly and, as Hastings admits in the opening, it doesn’t make use of Poirot’s more impressive logical deducing, but it’s a good mystery and a good telling. One thing I’ll always love about Hastings being shoved in the Watson role is how he refuses to go down without a fight and isn’t shy about telling Poirot off for teasing him and keeping secrets.Japp’s intention to coax Poirot and Hastings into joining him for a quiet weekend in the country is foiled when he’s called on by the local constabulary to solve The Market Basing Mystery. A man is murdered in his mansion and it appears to be suicide, yet the pistol is found in the wrong hand. What puzzled me about this story is why Japp was called in to help at all. All signs pointed to a murder via the man’s houseguest. The testimony of the housekeeper and a passing homeless man should have sealed the deal. The police are wrong of course, but the clues are unlikely to be picked up on so it should have been an open and shut case. Door locked from the inside? Does it lock with a key? That trick is so over used in old mysteries I’d be shocked if it wasn’t well-known in Christie’s time too.A curse hunts down the first-born son in a wealthy family for many years and many deaths. When the mother of the latest heir to The Lemesurier Inheritance suspects the ghostly curse may be getting help from someone more substantial, Hercule Poirot is called in to investigate. This one had a conclusion that was both psychologically interesting but also just struck me as being a normal motive dressed up as an Insanity Defense. Like, for it to fit the curse only the first-borns would be dying but for it to have gotten so far there are second, third, and fourth sons dying too. Blaming it all on the curse is just hand-waving that the villain is doing this for their own gains.A woman suspects her husband of poisoning her and calls on Mr Poirot to investigate The Cornish Mystery, but she is already dead upon their arrival. The summary reminded me of one of my favorite Poirot books, Poirot Loses a Client , so I was excited to read it but was careful not to expect too much. I did enjoy it more than I was expecting to and the plot was devious, but the ending left me rather indifferent. Just a simple, private confrontation without any of the drama Poirot is so well known for.The Submarine Plans was previously published as The Incredible Theft in Murder in the Mews and Other Stories . I’m having an easier time with this book than I thought I would. At first glance there’s only one repeat, but it turns out Christie was just pulling her old sleight of hand trick again.A quiet family bridge game (Hah! Bridge! That’s one for Agatha Christie Bingo!) is interrupted in The King of Clubs by a woman bursting into their home covered in blood and speaking of a murder. I quite enjoyed this. The murder was well planned out and the family dynamic of the neighbors was intriguing. It’s also one of the rare stories where Poirot lets the killer get away completely instead of just giving them a head start. I don’t understand his motive for doing so, but perhaps the victim’s little hobby rubbed him the wrong way. It’s never said in the story, though it’s vaguely implied he had a healthy enterprise going and this wasn’t a one-time thing.The Adventure of the Clapham Cook is one of Poirot’s favorites, having located a missing cook and followed the threads of this trivial case to a clever murder. I loved this. Poirot is hired by a ‘Karen’ and gets so affronted by her dismissive attitude towards him that he solves the case just to show her up. It’s delightful to see him get so upset after all the time he spends winding up Hastings for his own amusement.EDITING: No problems that I could find, but these stories have been reprinted so often that any editing mistakes must have been caught by now.ENJOYABILITY: A good Poirot is always enjoyable. It made for a nice afternoon read.THEME: It’s a Hercule Poirot collection so I have to give it full marks. I keep forgetting to rethink this category.THE VERDICT? A fine batch of perfectly appealing mysteries.

Soy fan del Coronel Hastings y la amistad que tiene con Poirot. Y que decir de Hércules Poirot ? El y su peculiar forma de resolver hasta el misterio mas insignificante, rendirse jamás! 🤣🤭

Estuvieron muy buenos estos 8 casos, me han gustado mucho

Poirot es todo un personaje! Me gustaron los casos! #detectivefrudtrada

The Underdog. Charles Leverson has been arrested for the murder of Sir Reuben Astwell. But Lady Astwell, wife of the deceased, believes that Charles is innocent – her intuition tells her that the murderer is Sir Reuben’s secretary, Owen Trefusis. She insists that Poirot come and investigate further. Poirot, he agrees – the matter holds some interest for him. And often times the woman, like the cat, can sense these things…The Plymouth Express. A woman’s body has been found under a seat on the Plymouth Express. And she’s not just any woman – she’s Mrs. Rupert Carrington, daughter of the steel king of America. She was stabbed through the heart and robbed of several hundred thousand dollars worth of jewelry. But who killed her? The jealous husband? The passionate lover? Or was it someone else entirely…The Affair at the Victory Ball. Two people died on the same night – one by overdose of cocaine, the other by stabbing. They were both in attendance at the sumptuous Victory Ball the eve of their murder. Is there any other connection between their deaths?The Market Basing Mystery. Poirot and Hastings are enjoying a little weekend holiday with Inspector Japp when Constable Pollard informs them that a man, one Walter Protheroe, has shot himself. At least, the doors were locked and the windows bolted. But the doctor attending the case is being obstinate. He’s insisting that Protheroe couldn’t have committed suicide – not considering where the bullet entered the brain…The Lemesurier Inheritance. The legend goes that a curse was placed on the Lemesurier family – that no firstborn son will ever inherit. And none ever has. But when a new rash of firstborn deaths breaks out in the Lemesurier family, Poirot does not believe that it is the curse at work. No, it is the work of a cold-blooded murderer.The Cornish Mystery. Mrs. Pengelley wants Monsieur Poirot’s help. You see, she’s not sure, but she thinks she’s being poisoned. By her husband. Poirot agrees to visit her the next day, but by the time he arrives at her house, she’s already dead. Was it at the hands of the husband? Or is there more to this case than meets the eye?The King of Clubs. A woman burst into the Oglander home, crying that a man had been murdered in the home next door. The woman was the beautiful dancer, Valerie Saintclair, and the man, Henry Reedburn, was the man she feared most in the world…The Submarine Plans. Lord Alloway had devised the perfect scheme to catch Mrs. Conrad, the suspected German agent. His plan was to lure her to his home as a guest, then let it be known that important submarine plans were lying in his study. That was before the plans disappeared and no one witnessed the robbery…The Adventure of the Clapham Cook. Mrs. Todd wants Monsieur Poirot to find her cook. Not a new one – the old one who disappeared on Wednesday. Poirot hesitatingly agrees – the disappearance of the domestic is not a case which he usually accepts, but he is intrigued. His intrigue soon turns to concern as he investigates the disappearance of the Clapham Cook…Discussion.I must say, I enjoy Poirot’s cases so much more whenever Arthur Hastings is along for the ride, as he was for this collection of stories. Poirot’s investigations take on a much more British aspect whenever he is aided by his trio of sidekicks – Hastings, Japp, and Miss Lemon.PSA – the plot of The Plymouth Express is the same as The Mystery on the Blue Train, only much shorter. So, read the full-length novel before experiencing the twist in this shorter story.Conclusion. Great fun – a collection of genuinely engaging mysteries.

Libros recomendados colección Agatha Christie. Policíaca, misterio, relatos breves… Si hago una reseña por libro… igual me tiro un mes; así que todos de golpe ;) Descubrí a esta autora prolífica, inteligente y misteriosa de pequeña; pero fue cuando trabajaba fuera de casa, para otros, cuando me llevaba libros para leer en la hora de descanso. Y fui, con la ayuda de los míos, completando la colección. Me falta algo; pero posterior a su muerte y de pseudónimo, aunque creo que lo tengo todo, ya ni lo sé, con tantos libros… En fin… Si algo tenía esta mujer era inteligencia (dicen que gracias a sus estudios se dieron con soluciones para algunos casos) y una narrativa adictiva y en realidad fácil de leer. Yo debo confesar que con mi 6º sentido, al conocerla y leerla constantemente, la fui ‘’pillando’’; aunque a veces me daba la vuelta… Nos encontramos que entre todos los años de escritura, las palabras se endurecen y actualizan; pero la educación, así como la miseria anímica humana están presentes en sus libros, que siempre nos recuerdan las diferentes clases sociales… Se supone que todo el mundo, al menos, la conoce, o se hace una idea: poco puedo aportar, aparte de recomendarla si no la has leído y te gustan el asesinato, el misterio, la acción, y detectives que usan sus células grises y su experiencia con la naturaleza humana… Te encontrarás con relatos breves que hacen libros, y alguna historia puntual de fantasmas… Algunos escritores suelen tocar siempre el mismo tema, más o menos, y no está mal; pero te encuentras con que aunque sean tus escritores favoritos: el escenario es el mismo… por eso te familiarizas.En la 1º foto-video están mis títulos favoritos ;)Por cierto, que también hemos disfrutado de las series varias de televisión y películas… y de obras de teatro basadas en sus libros, y me lo he pasado muy bien, la verdad. En una ocasión, sentada en 1º fila, ‘’el malo’’, al acabar la función dijo (a todos; pero mirándome a mí :-0) que si alguien se chivaba del final de la obra iría a por esa persona… Por supuesto, yo le hice la señal de cremallera en boca ;)