Can you believe it? Nine years ago, on this very day, I began my life as a blogger! I was young and wild, a snappy dresser, sure, but uncertain of how to put my feelings into words. 

And now, with time and patience, I have grown into myself as a writer and a man. 

In the blogging world, you’re only as relevant as your latest post about 1930’s crime writers. But in-between the articles, I’m always trying to freshen up the place. That’s why, way back in March, I created an index for all the posts I have dedicated to the life and work of Agatha Christie, the writer who brought me here in the first place. As I put my list together, I was shocked to discover that over the past nine years, I had skipped over a number of Hercule Poirot mysteries. Quite a large number, in fact! Christie wrote thirty-three novels about the mustachioed Belgian, and so far I have only reviewed eighteen of them!! Of the rest, I have certainly mentioned some, either in passing or in rather more than passing. But these are books by the Queen of Crime, damn it! Each deserves its own moment under the evil sun. (See what I did there?)

At first, I thought about starting from scratch and giving Poirot the same “discuss and rank” treatment I accorded Miss Marple last year – and I was heartened by the encouraging words from some of you when I suggested that idea. But, frankly, the task seemed daunting: Miss Marple’s novels can be accommodated in a year, one per month, but it would take nearly three years to go through all of the Poirots. Plus, I’m pretty satisfied with what I’ve written about the books I’ve written about! And to be honest, with all the other stuff I want to read, the idea of picking up The Murder on the Links or The Clocks again does not, at the present time, appeal to me. 

Fifteen titles, however, seems infinitely more manageable. I’m not going to tell you what these titles are – it always helps on a mystery blog to maintain a certain air of . . . well, you know. And if you really want to know which books I’ll be covering, you can do a few minutes of your own detecting around the place. But they’re an interesting bunch, running the gamut from the very best of Poirot to, arguably, the very worst.  And so, beginning today, I’m going to select one Poirot a month and give each a thorough going-over. That means I will be writing and scoring them in these five categories:

1. The Hook (10 points) – I maintain that Christie wrote some of the best beginnings in mystery fiction. How well does each title pull you in?
2. The Closed Circle – Who? What? When? Where? Why? (10 points) – How intriguing is the list of suspects, the major settings, the basic plotline? 
3. The Solution and How He Gets There (10 points) – Sometimes it just boils down to the puzzle, its solution, and the clues that Poirot uses to solve the crime. (Here is where Poirot and Marple differ most of all!)
4. The Poirot Factor (10 points) – Few authors outside of Doyle were able with such deftness to debut a sleuth as fully formed and fascinating as Hercule Poirot! How much does he shine in each specific title?
5. The Wow Factor (10 points) – in terms of GAD history, in terms of blowing our minds, in terms of anything that sets this one apart from the rest of the pack.

Naturally, it makes sense to cover these books chronologically. However . . . I mentioned the very best and the very worst, didn’t I? And as you might expect, things don’t get better at the end. Thus, I propose a different approach: I have created slips of paper containing each title and have stuffed them into a tiny chocolate box worthy of Mrs. De Rushbridger herself! Each month, I will pull out a new slip and devote my time to reading and reviewing the title contained therein. That should hopefully mix things up a bit more. I will announce the next title at the end of each post, just in case you want to read along with me. Within this little cadre of titles, which will make the top or the dregs of the list? Stay tuned and find out!

The first title has already been chosen:

It’s 1936’s Cards on the Table. In all honesty, I rigged the game for this one: you see, this was the book that I spoke about at the 2024 Agatha Christie Festival in Torquay. It was my honor to close out the festival on Sunday, September 15 – the birthday of the Great Lady herself! Since I want to end this project around Christmas 2025, you can expect my first post on Cards next month – on October 21 precisement! And each successive post will appear on the 21st.

Comme c’est merveilleux! Poirot is back on the blog, baby!