Hercule Poirot does not underestimate his abilities. No, no he is the best. And while he does not resemble that powerful demi-god, Hercules, he thinks that his brain, it is no less inferior than Hercules body. In fact, he is capable of achieving his own labour of Hercules!The Stories.The Nemean Lion. Hercule Poirot is outraged, insulted. Miss Lemon has suggested that he investigate the kidnapping of a Pekinese dog. How utterly beneath him! And yet, when he reads the owners letter, it is interesting. Very interestingThe Lernean Hydra. Dr. Charles Oldfield has come with an appeal to Monsieur Poirot. A few years ago, his wife died, and now people are saying he poisoned her! Yes, unless Monsieur Poirot can silence that nine-headed Hydra, gossip, Dr. Oldfields practice will be utterly ruined!The Arcadian Deer. Hercule Poirots car has broken down. It is annoying, yes, but it can be fixed so the mechanic reports. He also reports that a woman, a friend of his has disappearedThe Erymanthian Boar. Poirot has been summoned to Rochers Neiges, a mountaintop resort, to capture a dangerous killer. But then the funicular malfunctions, leaving Monsieur and a collection of shady characters stranded on the mountain, separated from civilization.The Augean Stables. A thunderbolt is about to clap over British government a shameful tale of imbezzlement and betrayal, unfortunately all true, is in the hands of a scandal-driven periodical. Can Poirot prevent the release of this catastrophic news from occurring?The Stymphalean Birds. Harold Waring met the sweet, gentle Elsie Clayton at a Herzoslovakian hotel. He assumed that she was a widow and began to fall in love with her. It was only then that he learned that she was still tied to an abusive husband whose jealousy knew no boundsThe Cretan Bull. Diana Maberly has come to Monsieur Poirot with an unusual request. Her fiancé has broken off their engagement. His reason for doing so is because he believes that he is suffering from hereditary madness and he will not run the risk of contaminating future offspring with this disease. Can Monsieur Poirot convince Hugh that he is not a madman?The Horses of Diomedes. Poirot and his friend, Dr. Michael Stoddard, have reason to believe that dope cocaine is being passed around to young innocents. But who is in charge of this racket? And can Poirot catch the guilty without implicating the innocent?The Girdle of Hyppolita. A valuable Rubens has been stolen. It is not the kind of case that Poirot usually accepts, but in light of his Herculean quests, he decides to investigate. What he finds is a mess of scams and a missing English school girl.The Flock of Geryon. Miss Carnaby is worried. Certain friends of hers have been joining a religious group called The Flock of the Shepherd run by a Dr. Andersen. Other elderly women have joined, willed their money to the flock, and then died perfectly natural deaths. But Miss Carnaby is not convinced that these deaths were coincidental. She believes it must be murder!The Apples of the Hesperides. Emery Power is willing to pay for what he wants. But paying doesnt always get him what he wants. Such is the case with the Borgia gold chased goblet which he purchased, but which was subsequently stolen. Poirot must find where it is hidden!The Capture of Cereberus. It cannot be but it is! The beautiful Countess Vera Rossakoff here in London! True, she is an older Countess, but her age has not faded her beauty not entirely. However, the joy of their reunion is somewhat diminished when Poirot begins to hear rumors of drug peddling taking place at the Countesss new establishmentDiscussion.Having not read the adventures of Hercules, I could not appreciate the corresponding features between Poirots cases and the exploits of Hercules. However, I could still appreciate them as detective stories. I cannot claim to have actually solved any of them, but I flatter myself that my thought processes were elevated. : )Conclusion. Classic Poirot material.

Sometimes I read Agatha Christie books as fillers between other books. They always come through to amuse. This book was different as it was 12 short stories instead of one narrative. This made it nice as light reading during the holidays. I haven't read an Agatha Christie I didn't like!

Hercule Poirot is thinking of retiring and has decided to take on only 12 more cases - 12 cases that resemble the 12 labors of Hercules [since he himself is semi-named after the god] and so the book begins. It is a delightful romp through 12 stories, some that tax even the unflappable Poirot. There are several that were my favorite as who was the perpetrator was NOT EVEN CLOSE to being who I thought it was and it was delightful to be proven wrong. A very delightful listen - Hugh Fraser is one of my favorite narrators and he does Monsieur Hercule Poirot complete justice.

I really really loved this! Taking the form of 12 short stories, Agatha Christie's beloved Belgian endeavours to find 12 cases - special cases that strike resemblances to Poirot's own namesake, Hercules. These stories also mark appearances of not only the always faithful Georges (Poirot's valet), but Miss Lemon and Chief Inspector Japp, and Countess Vera Rosakoff appeared in a few of these stories. (I really don't like her- though I guess that's just the jealous fangirl in me talking).But anyway, back to the book. I enjoyed all of these cases - I think my favourite was the first one, "The Neaman Lion." But they were all great, and I personally think that this was one of the more personal Poirot set of stories.

THE LABOURS OF HERCULES is a mixture of mystery, adventure, and an unexpected literary conceit. Agatha Christie transforms the ancient Greek mythology of the twelve labours of Hercules into a modern mythology and of the twelve labours of Hercules (Poirot). And the result is quite charming.The book consists of a short preface and twelve stories. It was an absolutely delightful collection of short stories. I thought connecting them to the Twelve Labours of Hercules was ingenious. Much of its charm comes from the clever manner in which Christie juxtaposes the physical strength of the ancient Hercules with the mental power of the modern Hercules (Poirot) and the witty way in which she transforms the ancient stories into a 20th Century setting.The Lernean Hydra becomes malicious gossip; The Augean Stables concerns a dirty political scandal; and so on. The stories were exceptionally well thought out and written with tremendous humour. Naturally some stories are better than others, some worked very well for me, others a bit less. The Nemean Lion which finds a wily lapdog at the center of a dognapping gang; and The Girdle of Hyppolita, which concerns a missing art treasure. And from a "mystery" point of view, these are very likely the best of the twelve stories, for on this occasion Christie is much less concerned with creating a head-spinning plot than she is in having fun. But each of the stories has its own charms, with the concluding The Capture of Cerebus among my favorites.I'd recommend this book to those who haven't read many mysteries and are curious to see what they're about