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
Hercule Poirot as he had been to her: a great detective, a remarkable man, if, perhaps, just now and then, a little irritating. I think back to Poirot’s last words in the scene before he dies. That second ‘Cher ami’ was for someone other than Hastings. It was for my dear, dear friend Poirot. I was saying goodbye to him as well — and I felt it with all my heart. The writers of the "Binge!" article of "Entertainment Weekly" Issue #1343–44 (26 December 2014 – 3 January 2015) picked Suchet as "Best Poirot" in the "Hercule Poirot & Miss Marple" timeline.