The ABC Murders
by Sarah Phelps; dir. Alex Gabassi (BBC, 2018)
A decidedly uncosy three-part miniseries that re-characterises Poirot from sprightly, upbeat master of all situations to inscrutable, world-weary has-been. John Malkovich is very good in the role but Agatha Christie purists may not appreciate the tonal shift (let alone the altered backstory).
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
by Agatha Christie (William Collins, 1926); audiobook read by Hugh Fraser (Lamplight, 2014)
A much-lauded work that, nearly a century after first publication, remains deserving of its reputation. Poirot nudges the reader at every crucial point but never gives the game away. Christie sticks the landing (and really does make the most of Hastings’ departure)!
Poirot Investigates
by Agatha Christie (The Bodley Head, 1924); audiobook read by David Suchet (HarperAudio, 2012)
Poirot is well suited to the short story form—a less faceted character than Holmes but more endearing and also more inclined to solve cases from the evidence at hand. Hastings, however, narrates like Bertie Wooster and makes a poor Watson substitute.