The Perils of Poirot is an omnibus edition of Agatha Christie works published by Mystery Guild. The omnibus is available in hardcover only and comprises four novels: The A.B.C. Murders, The Murder on the Links, Peril at End House and Cat Among the Pigeons.
Dating this book is challenging as the publication date is not printed anywhere within the pages. There is no entry in the Library of Congress catalog nor an informative Worldcat entry. Many booksellers including listings on Amazon quote a date of 1989 and list an isbn of 9781568650531. This number will find the book on the internet but it should be noted that neither the date nor the isbn are actually printed in the book. A search on newspaper databases shows that the earliest mention of this title is in 1990 in an announcement by a library about its latest accessions. The book jacket is also one designed by noted illustrator Bascove and is consistent with style of her other book covers of the 1980s and 1990s[1]. Hence a date of 1989 is plausible. It is also useful to compare Bascove's covers for other Mystery Guild omnibuses: The Invincible Miss Marple and Murder for Christmas and Three Other Great Mysteries.
Blurb on front and back flaps[]
The A.B.C. Murders: While Poirot contemplates the perfect crime, a mad genius is perfecting murder in alphabetical order! The first victim's initials are A.A. The "A" listing of the A.B.C. railway guide is found at the station--along with the body--as a deliberate clue. The next victim is Betty Barnard, strangled with her belt at Bexhill. Not a pretty picture. The British public is both terrified and titillated by the A.B.C. maniac as newspapers rage "HE MAY BE IN YOUR TOWN." Find out why noted mystery writer Julian Symons calls this "a masterwork of carefully concealed artifice." It's Christie at the height of her power.
The Murder on the Links: "For Goď's sake, come!" writes Paul Renauld to Poirot from his French villa. His life is in danger--he alludes to deadly secrets--and only one man can save him. But before our savvy sleuth arrives, Renauld is found dead-buried in a shallow grave on the golf course, Despite claims of a happy marriage, he was known to fancy the ladics. Was his killer an angry wife? A spurned mistress? Or son Jack, who longed to marry a woman his father inexplicably despised? Join Poirot on a dastardly odyssey of death in an adventure The New York Times dubbed "a remarkably good detective story."
Peril at End House: Even on holiday Hercule Poirot is never far from murder. Vacationing at St. Loo, he befriends lovely Nick Buckley, sole heir to End House. Yet someone has the gall to fire a bullet at her--while she is lunching with the inimitable Belgian! Why should anyone harm Nick? Determined to unmask her would-be assassin, Poirot meets an amazing array of suspects before confronting a diabolical killer. So nefarious are his methods that he nearly outwits the great detective! But criminals, like artists, leave their signatures. And with the help of Scotland Yard, Poirot solves this baffling and ingenious caper.
Cat Among the Pigeons: What does Meadowbank, an exclusive English girls school, have in common with the revolution in Ramat? Two students have ties to this volatile Middle Eastern kingdom and the bond proves deadly. Twenty-seven memorable characters--from snooping spinsters to sensual foreigners--engage in such lethal activities as jewel theft, blackmail, and murder in this top-notch thriller. Whodunit? The answer astounds even the unflappable Poirot!