My Favorite Detectives

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse, but after watching several episodes, I had to write just one more post about Agatha Christie and her darling Poirot. I beg your indulgence and thank you for humoring me. {wink}

You may recall that late last month I reviewed an Agatha Christie book that I had recently read. I mentioned that even though I didn't enjoy that particular Christie book, I was - in general - a fan of Agatha and her intrepid Hercule Poirot. Several of you responded with recommendations about other authors and/or fictional detectives that I might enjoy and now my Amazon list is even longer (I thank you, but I can't speak for Peter or my bank balance).

A day later, I discovered that whole episodes of the Hercule Poirot TV series were available to watch on YouTube and I even wrote a short post about how I was hooked on them.

David Suchet as "Hercule Poirot"

I have continued to watch an episode or two as I have the time and am, for the most part, thoroughly enjoying them (although the episode based upon one of my favorite books, Cards on the Table, was a huge disappointment - they totally changed the end of the story! Boo!). One of the things that has struck me as I have moved through the series are the similarities between my favorite 20th century detective - Hercule Poirot - and my favorite 21st century detective - Adrian Monk.

Tony Shalhoub as "Adrian Monk"

If you have ever seen an episode of Monk, then you know that Adrian Monk is severely OCD (overwhelmingly so due to the tragic murder of his wife). He likes things to be neat and in order. He likes squares and doesn't feel the need to crawl around looking at things when he can see the whole picture because of a single clue. Um, hello? If you've read any Poirot stories or seen one of the TV productions, does any of this sound familiar? Over and over while watching various shows, I have laughed out loud at Poirot's idiosyncrasies and how they remind me of watching Mr. Monk. 

So where am I going with this? If you like Monk, then you'll probably like the Poirot series. If you like Poirot but haven't seen Monk at his best, then you will want to check it out. Either show is a totally fun (and for me, relaxing) way to unwind. And that's my two cents worth for the day - have a good one!