An outbreak of kleptomania at a student hostel was not normally the sort of crime that aroused Hercule Poirot’s interest.

But when he saw the list of stolen and vandalized items – including a stethoscope, some old flannel trousers, a box of chocolates, a slashed rucksack and a diamond ring found in a bowl of soup – he congratulated the warden, Mrs. Hubbard, on a "unique and beautiful problem". The list made absolutely no sense at all. But, reasoned Poirot, if this was merely a petty thief at work, why was everyone at the hostel so frightened?

PS: did you know that Mrs. Hubbard is Miss Lemon's sister? That's how the case came to M. Poirot in the first place!

In Mrs. McGinty’s Dead , one of Agatha Christie’s most ingenious mysteries, the intrepid Hercule Poirot must look into the case of a brutally murdered landlady.

Mrs. McGinty died from a brutal blow to the back of her head. Suspicion falls immediately on her shifty lodger, James Bentley, whose clothes reveal traces of the victim’s blood and hair. Yet something is amiss: Bentley just doesn’t seem like a murderer.

Could the answer lie in an article clipped from a newspaper two days before the death? With a desperate killer still free, Hercule Poirot will have to stay alive long enough to find out. . . .

First published in book form in 1947, The Labours of Hercules comprises an even dozen mysteries starring Christie's most popular sleuth, the ever-dignified Hercule Poirot. The introductory chapter of the collection sets up the rest of the book. At a dinner party, another guest compares the labors of Poirot to those of Hercules, and the little Belgian is not amused. He has already decided to retire, but makes up his mind to take on 12 great cases - each somehow reflecting the labors accomplished by Hercules - as a farewell to crime solving. All of the cases are quite different from each other, from searching for a lost poet to hunting down a particularly ferocious murderer, from solving mysterious deaths of religious cult members to saving a young would-be politician from potential blackmailers. Frequent Christie interpreter Hugh Fraser brings stories like The Cretan Bull and The Apples of the Hesperides to dazzling life.

Librarian's note: this entry is for the collection of four short stories by the author. Entries for each of the stories, including the title one, can be found elsewhere on Goodreads.

Are you ready for a question about each of the stories? How did a woman holding a pistol in her right hand manage to shoot herself in the left temple? What was the link between a ghost sighting and the disappearance of top secret military plans? How did the bullet that killed Sir Gervase shatter a mirror in another part of the room? And who destroyed the "eternal triangle" of love involving renowned beauty, Valentine Chantry?

Hercule Poirot is faced with four mystifying cases: 1. Murder in the Mews, 2. The Incredible Theft, 3. Dead Man's Mirror, and 4. Triangle at Rhodes. Each of them is a miniature classic of characterization, incident, and suspense.

Listening length: 4 hrs. 26 mins.

Many of Poirot's early cases are short stories. With each one, Poirot further proves his reputation as the greatest mind in detective fiction. In "The Plymouth Express," the body of the daughter of a wealthy American industrialist is found stuffed under a train seat. "Problem at Sea" finds a disliked rich woman murdered in a locked room on a ship. "The King of Clubs" involves a prince, his dancer fiancée, and a fiendish bit of blackmail. There are 15 more!

This "Mystery Masters" audiobook includes all the tales, unabridged, from the print book first published in 1974. These gems are alternately read by David Suchet and Hugh Fraser, whose roles as, respectively, Poirot and his sidekick, Captain Hugh Hastings, in PBS's "Mystery!" series and the Arts and Entertainment's "Poirot" series are considered definitive.

This collection contains the following stories: 1) The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly, 2) The Adventure of the Clapham Cook, 3) The Affair of the Victory Ball, 4) The Chocolate Box, 5) The Cornish Mystery, 6) The Double Clue, 7) Double Sin, 8) How Does Your Garden Grow?, 9) The King of Clubs, 10) The Lemesurier Inheritance, 11) Lost Mine, 12) Market Basing Mystery, 13) The Plymouth Express, 14) Problem at Sea, 15) The Submarine Plans, 16) The Third-Floor Flat, 17) The Veiled Lady, and 18) Wasps' Nest.

Librarian's note: this entry is for the collection of short stories, "Poirot's Early Cases." Entries for the individual titles can be found elsewhere on Goodreads. All Agatha Christie's Poirot short stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Hercule Poirot Short Story."

One of Christie's most famous short stories.

The story concerns a lonely wife, the use of poison, and a husband attracted to a lady on holiday in the Greek islands with her fifth husband. It just so happens that Hercule Poirot is on holiday on the island of Rhodes at the same time to watch it happening. Will his warning prevent a tragedy?

Librarian's note: this entry is for the story, "The Triangle at Rhodes." Collections of short stories by the author can be found elsewhere on Goodreads. The individual entries for all Poirot short stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Hercule Poirot Short Story."

An aging, heavily-insured country squire whose estate is in financial ruin is thought to have committed suicide. Hercule Poirot investigates by taking the guise of a representative of the victim's insurance company. His real task? Uncover the identity of the actual murderer.

Librarian's note: this entry is for the story, "The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor." Collections of short stories by the author can be found elsewhere on Goodreads. The individual entries for all Poirot short stories can be found by searching Goodreads for: "a Hercule Poirot Short Story."

A popular Christie mystery now available on CD. A Complete and Unabridged recording read by Hugh Fraser. There's a serial killer on the loose, bent on working his way through the alphabet. And as a macabre calling card he leaves beside each victim's corpe the ABC Railway Guide open at the name of the town where the murder has taken place. Having begun with Andover, Bexhill and then Churston, there seems little chance of the murderer being caught -- until he makes the crucial and vain mistake of challenging Hercule Poirot to frustrate his plans!