Black Coffee

Poirot’s fussiness to neatness and order could not have been better utilized than this narrative as an immensely important clue is due to that which is pointed out by Hastings surprisingly. Adapted from Christie’s play, the story is set in a single room where a curious murder occurs and the murderer seems seemingly obvious. But with the signature Christie twist the perspective is suddenly changed by the detective. A case of poisoning and theft, the mystery must be solved before the evidence is destroyed and the stolen goods recovered before it falls in wrong hands. A sublime suspense reigns throughout where each suspects the other and it remains to be seen how the secrets are unraveled and misunderstandings cleared.

The Complete Battles of Hastings Vol 2

Containing four of the gripping mysteries penned by Christie, this volume delves deep inside human psychology. When the wife wants her husband dead and Lord Edgware Dies, it remains upto Hercule Poirot to unravel the truth to save the innocent. Following the chilling revelation that shocks many comes the challenge of The ABC Murders where the villain seems to pick victims following alphabetical sequence. It again remains upto Poirot to find a logic behind the randomness to pinpoint the evil. Next is the case of the victim who appoints Poirot through a letter that arrives after her death. Clues are left for the wise along with a Dumb Witness. This is perhaps the most horrifying of the lot where the coldness of the murderer is terrifyingly sketched. The  finale is the Curtain: Poirot's Last Case which seemed more thrilling as I read it after a long time. Undoubtedly this is my favourite Poirot story with the sleuth confronts the ultimate villain as he sits dying from the ailments of the body. The psychology of murder, the identity of probable murderer, how a murder is designed and how it becomes an obsession has never been better analyzed. Thus as curtain comes down to the life of the master detective Arthur Hastings seems to learn more and more whose own character in the backdrop evolves that though markedly contrasts that of his partner but is so much familiar with the readers that they comfortably inside the events resonating with the mood of each tale.