Hercule Poirot available to solve mysteries at an English country house. At the time of Christie's writing, it was considered patriotic to express sympathy towards the Belgians, since the invasion of their country had constituted Britain's "casus belli" for entering World War I, and British wartime propaganda emphasised the "Rape of Belgium". Poirot first appeared in "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (published in 1920) and exited in "Curtain" (published in 1975). Following the latter, Poirot was the only fictional character to receive an obituary on the front page of "The New York Times". By 1930, Agatha Christie found Poirot "insufferable", and, by
Inspector Japp Inspector Japp Detective Chief Inspector James Japp (later Assistant Commissioner Japp) is a fictional character who appears in several of Agatha Christie's novels featuring Hercule Poirot. Japp has been depicted in seven novels written by Christie, all featuring Hercule Poirot: In most of these appearances, Japp is a minor character with minimal interactions with Poirot or involvement in the plot. However, Japp emerges as a major character and partner to Poirot in "Lord Edgware Dies". He returns in this capacity in "Death in the Clouds" and "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe", before being written out of the series. In number