Audiobook Review: Hercule Poirot and The Capture of Cerberus & The Incident of the Dog's Ball

Hercule Poirot and The Capture of Cerberus & The Incident of the Dog's Ball by Agatha Christie read by David Suchet, 2011. 2 Discs (1 hr. 22 min.). Published by AudioGo. Source: Audiobook Jukebox/Publisher for review.

Long lost Christie stories found! This audiobook presents two recently rediscovered Hercule Poirot short stories by Agatha Christie. The stories were found inside 73 notebooks discovered at Greenway, Christie's family home in Devon, when the archive at the National Trust property was being established.
"The Mystery of the Dog's Ball" was eventually reworked into the novel Dumb Witness, but unlike other Christie short stories-turned-novels it remained unpublished. The other story, "The Capture of Cerberus" was written to complete The Labours of Hercules, a collection which followed the 12 cases Poirot chose to end his career. Christie eventually rewrote the story with the same title for that collection. David Suchet brings breathes new life into them here in this exclusive audiobook production!

After listening to The Capture of Cerberus I really want to check out The Labours of Hercule Poirot, which has this and other short stories featuring

 

Story:

One of the things that makes Ms. Christies' mystey a top notch read (or listen), is her ability to weave murder, duplicity, and wit into each of her books. The other point would have to be the way her detectives go about solving the cases presented to them, some they stumble upon while others are thrust onto them, and that once you see how they came to the conclusion of what went down your left with an 'I see it now' kind of though.
Out of the two, I thought the mystery in The Capture of Cerberus was better since it had more twists or turns. I definitely did not see the ending coming to this one, which is what made it so good.
It was interesting to see how Poirot managed to get himself involved in Scotland Yards investigation into the dubious workings of a club suspected of being a cover for a drug ring (that was definitely different).

The Incident of the Dog's Ball was good, but had a very easy storyline. That even I, while under the weather could unravel.
What I liked best about this one was that at times you thought you had it all figured out, how Emily Arundell died (murder or natural causes) and then a new angle would be brought forth changing your perspective on the case.
The one odd thing about this one, is that it almost would have made more sense for it to have been a Miss Marple mystery. It just seemed a little more like something she would have come across.
Monsieur Poirot, what can one say about him that hasn't already been said. As a detective I think he is pretty top notch when it comes to solving the latest mystery. The one downside to his personality, although it makes me laugh, is that Poirot is not in the least bit modest about his talents. I always chuckle over how highly he thinks of himself.
     Like Sherlock would be nothing without Watson, so Hercule Poirot would be lost with out the ever present help of Hastings. Who I think adds a bit of sanity to the books whenever he is present.

What I really enjoyed about both of the stories would have to be how brilliantly Agatha Christie weaves the mystery aspect of each of them, and that they both had many layers especially since the whole audiobook is just barely over an hour. I also enjoyed how everything came together at the end of both stories and the aha moment.
    Hmm, I may be a bit biased, but I cannot think of anything I didn't enjoy while listening to The Capture of Cerberus & The Incident of the Dog's Ball, but than again it is by one of my favorite authors who has yet to disappoint me.  

Narration:

David Suchet does an absolute brilliant job portraying Hercule Porot, who just so happens to be one of my all-time favorite characters.

When I had first saw the audiobook for The Capture of Cerberus & The Incident of the Dog's Ball I was  not sure if I wanted to listen to it. I mean I love Agatha Christie's books, but was afriad that the narrator would be a bad fit. Alas, my fears were in vain because the moment I saw that David Suchet was the reader I knew it would rock since he portrayed Poirot in the BBC shows based on the books.  

What really made David Suchet's reading of The Capture of Cerberus & The Incident of the Dog's Ball so good, is how he perfectly captured the essence of Poirot and what makes him such a brilliant detective. Definitely one of the best audiobook narrations that I have listened to this year because Mr. Suchet just pulls you in with his portrayal of Monsieur Poirot.

Final Verdict: Hercule Poirot and The Capture of Cerberus & The Incident of the Dog's Ball, it's Agatha Christie need I say more.  

Hercule Poirot and The Capture of Cerberus & and The Incident of the Dog's Ball earns 4
out of 5 pineapples.