Customer Reviews

Hercule Poirot's Christmas: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection)

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Hercule Poirot's Christmas follows the trials of a wealthy English family in the days immediately before and after Christmas day. The family patriarch is a despicably unlikable old fellow. About the only things he seems to enjoy are tormenting his family and fondling some uncut diamonds he keeps in his room. As you might imagine, he ends up murdered and the stones go missing. The police are called in to investigate and it just so happens that Poirot is visiting at the station when the call comes in. The usual interviews ensue. The old man was such an obnoxious sort that you can easily imagine almost anyone killing him. The little Belgian puts his grey cells to the task and, of course, solves the crime in the end.

The murder plot itself is the strongest aspect of this novel. It's typically Byzantine and will certainly keep you guessing. The story moves along at a decent pace, though the murder could have come a bit more quickly. Unfortunately, the cast and most of the story is uninspired and recycled from numerous other Christie novels. I don't really mind re-using concepts if they're well done, but this book generally has a plodding feel as if it is just going through the motions. Not one of the family was a truly interesting character and even Poirot seemed a bit flat.

Overall, this book was something of a disappointment. It isn't as bad as the worst Poirot novels I've read but it's far from the best. The intricate murder can't make up for the insipid characters. I recommend this book only to established fans of Hercule Poirot. First time readers can do much better with books like Evil Under the Sun: A Hercule Poirot Mystery or Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot).

Originally published in 1938, as A MURDER FOR CHRISTMAS and later as A HOLIDAY MURDER, HERCULE POIROT'S CHRISTMAS is a stock story. An old man invites his family for the holidays and gets a few unexpected visitors. The disappearance of the murder weapon and its hiding place add a little spice, but this is not one of Christie's best.
In some regards, Georgette Heyer's ENVIOUS CASA, which was published in 1941 is similar.
Got a little spare time during the holidays, enjoy because like all Cristies it is a clever puzzle, it is the characters that leave you bored.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.

Agatha Christie often used illustrations and quotes from famous literary works; the Bible; fairy tales and folklore. The preface to "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" is culled from Shakespeare's "Macbeth." "Yet who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him?" The elderly chap in question is Simeon Lee. Lee has called his dysfunctional family together at his estate for a Christmas gathering. Lee has been a dishonest businessman and is worth a fortune, He is found murdered in his upstairs bedroom. The doors are locked but the room is filled with gallons of blood; it appears there was fierce struggle prior to the murder. Whodunit? Only Hercule Poirot can solve this most nettlesome murder puzzle. The old man's valuable collection of uncuts diamonds are stolen! Among the suspects:
Harry Lee-A prodigal son of old Simeon who returns home from South Africa.
George and Magdalene Lee-This son is a member of parliament. His much younger sexy wife Magdalene is greedy for money and prestige.
David and Hilda Lee-George is a painter while his wife Hilda mothers him. They have not seen Simeon in several years prior to the Christmas reunion.
Albert and Lydia Lee: Albert is the son who has remained in business with his father for several years. He is to receive 50% of the estate of old Lee with the rest of his siblings and family members having to divide the other 50% amongst themselves.
Stephen Farr-A South African who is supposedly the son of Simeon Lee's business partner.
Conchita Lopez-the supposed daughter of Lee's late daughter Jennifer who was wed to a Latin man.
Sugden-a local police offical who is assinged the Lee case.
All of the major characters have reasons to murder Simeon Lee. This is a a difficult mystery to solve. The plot is ingenious even though the characters are lifeless. A good Poirot mysterey novel from 1938. A good lightweight way to while away an afternoon. Christmas is much merrier devoid of murder! Happy Reading!

My main reservation was that this was rather a gloomy novel. It opens in a smoky, dismal train station and moves to a cold, gloomy estate home. There is also more blood than is usual in A.C. novels, which she did on purpose following a criticism from her brother-in-law. All in all, a clever plot (as usual), but not much to do with Poirot's Christmas or even Christmas in general. For a contemporary Agatha Christie-style mystery with all the Christmas trimmings, check out Christmas is Murder: A Rex Graves Mystery (Rex Graves Mysteries) by another British author. In spite of multiple murders, it makes for light and festive reading.

My book club loved it. We agreed it was just like hearing David Suchet and watching Masterpiece Mystery. Great fun.

Two strangers meet on a train: a beautiful Spanish woman and an Englishman who has spent most of his life in South Africa, and there's an instant attraction. Coincidentally enough, both are heading for the same destination: Gorston Hall. There, patriarch Simeon Lee has called his three sons and their wives (and two unexpected guests) back to his home for Christmas. A sadistic old man by nature, he is just as disappointed in his sons as they are resentful toward him; his only pleasure in life seems to be handling a stash of uncut diamonds that he keeps in his safe, and playing mind-games with his assorted family and servants.

Naturally, it isn't long before Simeon is found brutally murdered and the police are called in to investigate the matter - bringing with them Hercule Poirot. Created out of her brother-in-law's desire for a bloody, messy murder, this is a standard Christie: a house full of suspects, imposters, a locked room mystery, a changing will, and a malevolent murder victim that everyone had motive and opportunity to kill.

Taking place over a week (including Christmas Day, as the title would indicate), Poirot looks into the murder and uncovers several family secrets. As always, all the clues are there for the astute reader, though Christie manages to perform a last-minute twist that throws the entire situation on its head. And yet, this is not her best work, and for long-time fans, it may feel somewhat formulaic.

The characters aren't as well drawn this time around. There are the servants, the brothers and their wives, none of whom are particularly interesting (and with a couple of exceptions, rather interchangeable), and not even the two would-be lovers are particularly involving. Poirot himself is a little...bland. There is none of his intellectual arrogance that makes him so memorable in other books, as here he simply takes in the information and then passes on his findings to the police: there is no teasing, no word-play, no riddles, that can make the character so fun and yet so infuriating.

Of course, no Christie book could ever be considered a waste of time: this is a great little puzzle-book that's perfect for curling up with next to the fire in the winter (Christmas?) holidays. It's just not one of the juiciest samples that Christie has to offer.

When most families get together for Christmas, they can end up wanting to kill each other. Most don't actually do it.

But when a family patriarch is a malevolent old lecher like Simeon Lee with vast quantities of money, it's no surprise when he ends up dead. Agatha Christie's "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" is a decidedly unsentimental little Yuletide murder mystery, full of snow-covered manorhouses, gruesome noises and plenty of people who have come for the holidays -- and aren't what they claim to be.

As the book opens, a young Spanish girl named Pilar and Stephan Farr from Africa encounter each other on a train, heading for the exact same house -- that of Simeon Lee. Oh yeah, and they both obviously have something to hide.

Turns out that old diamond mogul Simeon is gathering his adult children at his house, where the downtrodden Alfred and increasingly fed up Lydia live. Among the kids: stuffy MP George and his slinky wife Magdalene, globe-trotting "black sheep" Harry, and sensitive mama's boy David and his steadfast wife Hilda. Pilar and Stephen are welcomed with open arms, but Simeon starts playing mind games with his resentful offspring by revealing the intention of changing his will. That night, the house is roused by a gruesome howl -- and he's found with his throat cut in a locked room.

Due to the puzzling nature of the crime and the bizarre evidence, local superintendent Sugden calls in the famed detective Hercule Poirot -- especially since Lee has not only been killed, but his uncut diamonds have been stolen. With his little grey cells, Poirot begins unravelling all the family secrets and lies -- including some surprising facts about Pilar and Stephen. But since the murderer is close at hand, Poirot must solve the seemingly impossible crime before another Yuletide murder happens.

Apparently Agatha Christie wrote "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" for a funny reason -- her brother-in-law complained that her murders were all so clean and bloodless. Ladylike murders tended to be more Christie's forte. So this one is not only bloody, but downright gory -- Simeon gets his throat cut and the whole room is sprayed with blood. You can tell Christie had some fun writing about that, especially with the obligatory quote from the Scottish play: "who would have thought the old man had so much blood in him?"

So even though "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" has everything a Christmas story should have, it's actually really lacking in festivity -- from the very first scene, we're treated to a Yuletide England that is dark, smoky, grimy and full of barely-hidden resentments and old wounds. Christie sprinkles the plot with plenty of suspense, bizarre clues that aren't easily figured out (especially a rubber scrap that Pilar picks off the floor), and a plethora of suspects who would have liked to see Simeon cold'n'dead, but who couldn't possibly have gotten inside to do it.

And while the investigation is pretty straightforward, it's strewn with some surprising revelations about a couple of the family members. Christie's writing and dialogue tend to be a bit choppy, with many short exclaimations. But her vivid descriptions (London girls are described as "smooth egg-shaped faced, scarlet-lipped") and tightly coiled plot keep the story chugging along, although the murderer is only moderately hard to figure out.

Hercule Poirot comes in when the book is already well underway, and in a way he almost takes a backseat to the other characters. The spawn of Simeon cross a wide range -- the scrappy bad-boy, the whiny mama's boy, the stuffy airbag and the downtrodden guy -- as do their wives, who range from a plain "nice woman" to a flaky sexpot with a rather shady sexual past. Pilar and Stephen are perhaps the most colorful and least resentful people in the cast -- and Simeon is a nasty, malevolent old tyrant.

"Hercule Poirot's Christmas" is thankfully devoid of sentimental reason-for-the-season dribbling -- it's all about wretchedly dysfunctional families, gruesome murder and the occasional popped balloon.

I've read 'em all--over 80. This is one of the best and most fun. Very tricky in a totally fair way....