Hercule Poirot, Book 25, The Labors of Hercules

What do a lost Pekinese, a reputation poisoned by gossip, a man spiraling into madness, and a Russian countess in love have in common? Hercule Poirot. The Labours of Hercules is a short story collection written by Agatha Christie and first published in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in 1947. It features Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and gives an account of twelve cases with which he intends to close his career as a private detective. His regular sidekicks (his secretary, Miss Lemon, and valet, George/Georges) make cameo appearances, as does Chief Inspector Japp. The stories were all first published in periodicals between 1939 and 1947. In the Foreword to the volume, Poirot declares that he will carefully choose the cases to conform to the mythological sequence of the Twelve Labours of Hercules. In some cases (such as The Nemean Lion) the connection is a highly tenuous one, while in others the choice of case is more or less forced upon Poirot by circumstances. By the end, The Capture of Cerberus has events that correspond with the twelfth labour with almost self-satirical convenience. - Wikipedia. In appearance Hercule Poirot hardly resembled an ancient Greek hero. Yet - reasoned the detective - like Hercules he had been responsible for ridding society of some of its most unpleasant monsters. So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot made up his mind to accept just twelve more cases: his self-imposed 'Labours'. Each would go down in the annals of crime as an heroic feat of deduction In appearance Hercule Poirot hardly resembled an ancient Greek hero. Yet--reasoned the detective--like Hercules he had been resposible for ridding society of some of its most unpleasant monsters. So, in the period leading up to his retirement, Poirot made up his mind to accept just twelve more cases: his self imposed 'Labours'. Each would go down in the annals of crime as a heroic feat of deduction Hercule Poirot is rumored to be on the verge of retirement. How can the brilliant sleuth resist the most intricate and clever criminal challenges of his career that involve a lost Pekinese to a Russian countess who blinds the detective's reason with love? Poirot folls the lure of a seemingly unsolvable series of ingenious crimes The idea appeals to Hercule Poirot's vanity. Before he retires to grow superior vegetables, he will undertake just twelve more cases. All of them will resemble the remarkable feats of strength performed by that hero of ancient Greece, the first Hercules, but using brain instead of brawn. Hercule Poirot has already decided to retire, but first he will take on twelve remarkable cases in the contemporary world that correspond to the twelve labours of Hercules Poirot sets himself a challenge before he retires – to solve 12 cases which correspond with the labours of his classical Greek namesake...