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A potpourri of international intrigue awaits Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot in this trio of hourlong episodes. An alleged Communist conspiracy casts suspicion on the Russian servant of a murdered woman in "How Does Your Garden Grow?" In "The Adventure of the Western Star" a Belgian film star's priceless diamond disappears after she receives threatening letters from a Chinese man. And when Britain's prime minister vanishes on the eve of important international negotiations, Poirot is called in to solve the case of "The Kidnapped Prime Minister." The deceptions in each crime are elaborately plotted, but for Poirot the solution is usually as simple as a children's nursery rhyme. British actor David Suchet portrays the dapper detective with a quiet dignity and sublime smile that often infuriate his action-hungry clients. But as Agatha Christie readers know quite well, all of the real action takes place in Poirot's "little gray cells." Providing comic counterpoint to Poirot's method is his sidekick, Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), whose well-meaning but befuddled attempts to help solve each case make these episodes entertaining even if you've already figured out whodunit. --Larisa Lomacky Moore
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