Mostly Murders

“I am Hercule Poirot. Shall we walk a little way into the wood and you shall tell me your story? As I say, I think I can aid you.”

Hercule Poirot has decided to retire and grow marrows. But before doing so, he wants to solve twelve cases mirroring the twelve labours of his namesake in Greek mythology. What follows is The Labours of Hercules, a collection of twelve short stories named after Heracle’s twelve tasks, all starring Hercule Poirot.

The connection to Heracles is symbolic. Poirot isn’t chasing and killing mythological creatures, but rather involving himself in cases with characters who in some way resemble elements from Heracle’s tasks. The many-headed Lernaen Hydra from Greek mythology is represented by gossip, as rumours sprout and grow just like the hydra’s heads redouble when one is cut off. The impossible task of cleaning the Augean Stables is represented by an equally impossible task of stemming a political scandal, and the three-headed dog Cerberus who guards the gates of Hades is represented by a fierce guard dog in a night club called Hell.

If your favourite thing about Agatha Christie is complex cases filled with alibis, clues and red herrings or elaborate character portraits, you may find this short story collection lacking, as each story is too short to provide much in terms of mystery and the depiction of characters. What you do get, is twelve easy to read stories with subtle humour and completely different settings and themes, all with their own twist or surprise at the end. The concept is fun, and though some of the connections to Greek mythology are a bit far-fetched, each story is entertaining on its own, and the variety is interesting as the cases range from light-hearted romance to devious, cold-blooded murder.

My favourite stories in this collection were The Augean Stables for the clever political scheme, The Cretan Bull for the gothic atmosphere and The Flock of Geryon for the fun side character Miss Carnaby.

Do you like short stories, or do you prefer full length novels?

Agatha Christie – Crime classics