Hercule Poirot met his lifelong friend, Captain Arthur Hastings, and solved the first of his cases to be published, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles". It is clear that Hastings and Poirot are already friends when they meet in Chapter 2 of the novel, as Hastings tells Cynthia that he has not seen him for "some years". Particulars such as the date of 1916 for the case and that Hastings had met Poirot in Belgium, are given in "Curtain: Poirot's Last Case", Chapter 1. After that case, Poirot apparently came to the attention of the British secret service and undertook cases for the
Hercule Poirot in literature story years (25 short stories and only 4 novels). Christie increased her novel production during this time (14 novels, 21 total short stories and one theatre play). Twelve short stories form "The Labours of Hercules". The other short stories listed here take place in this period but were published before and after the publication of "Hercules". The theatre play is named "Black Coffee" and was written by Agatha Christie, who stated a frustration with other stage adaptations of her Poirot mysteries. In 1998, author Charles Osborne adapted the play into a novel. A new detective, Miss Marple, enters the stage