Published from the 1920s through the 1940s, the tales in „The Complete Short Stories” present a full portrait of the Belgian police inspector enjoying a retirement career as a celebrity crime stopper in London. Poirot’s character emerges quite distinctly. His precision, fastidious attention to his appearance, obsession with neatness and order and fetishistic care of his prominent moustaches are constants. He is always the smartest person in the room, able to wring meaning from nuanced observation of a scene’s minutiae. Appearing in Agatha Christie’s very first novel in 1920 and her very last in 1975, Hercule Poirot became the most celebrated detective since Sherlock Holmes, appearing in 33 novels, a play, and these 51 short stories. In this complete collection, ranging from short tales to novellas, Poirot faces violent murders, poisonings, kidnappings, and thefts – all solved with his characteristic panache. All of the Hercule Poirot short stories and novellas are conveniently here in one volume, and they appear in chronological order.