Arthur Hastings of the short stories featuring Poirot, but appears in only eight of the novels, seven of which were written before 1940: Hastings is also the narrator of all stories in "Poirot Investigates" (1924), a collection of short stories. Hastings is also present in Christie's play "Black Coffee" (1930) and its novelisation alongside Poirot. Arthur Hastings Captain Arthur J. M. Hastings, OBE, is a fictional character created by Agatha Christie as the companion-chronicler and best friend of the Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. He is first introduced in Christie's 1920 novel "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" and appears as a character in
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