#Cozy Mystery Book Review #Hercule Poirot's Christmas by #Agatha Christie

Summary: Hercule Poirot's Christmas (Hercule Poirot Mystery #20) by Agatha Christie

In Hercule Poirot's Christmas, the holidays are anything but merry when a family reunion is marred by murder — and the notoriously fastidious investigator is quickly on the case. The wealthy Simeon Lee has demanded that all four of his sons — one faithful, one prodigal, one impecunious, one sensitive — and their wives return home for Christmas. But a heartwarming family holiday is not exactly what he has in mind. He bedevils each of his sons with barbed insults and finally announces that he is cutting off their allowances and changing his will. Poirot is called in the aftermath of Simeon Lee's announcement.

Book Review: Hercule Poirot's Christmas 

The focus is on Christmas celebrations in the rich Lee family where complicated relationships go back years and where certain surprises are thrown into the mix. Hercule Poirot is asked to assist the police when head of the family, Simeon Lee, is murdered on Christmas Eve.

Agatha Christie's writing

This story was originally published in 1938. The writing itself and the way the characters express themselves are quite formal and add to the old fashioned feel of the story. I foud the writing fabulous. As I enjoy historical fiction so much, I very much enjoyed how this old fashionedness sets Agatha Christie’s writing apart from the more contemporary fiction. She has made thorough and believable character creations and descriptions. I feel invested in the life of this rather large and wealthy family in the nineteen thirties Midlands.

The murder victim

I felt Simeon Lee was believable yet Agatha Christie made him out to be a very unsympathetic, manipulative character. In spite of his ailing health, he had the energy to enjoy controlling his adult children by threatening to take their funding away. Because of the way he acted towards his children, the number of people suspected of having murdered him seemed to increase by every page I read. That kept the story alive until Poirot made his appearance.

The plot

The plot of this story builds quite slowly considering it’s just 200 pages long. Must say I worried along the way that some parts would feel rushed, but Christie managed to tie it up nice and evenly. Poirot turned up quite late. Felt I kept waiting for him throughout the first 30, or so, pages, because I enjoy reading about him so much. I have seen quite a few of the tv episodes, including this one, and I found that the book gave much more depth to the story. Exactly what I expected, as it has always been the case when I have read a story and seen a film version after.

The Christmas Theme

Even though the story is called Poirot’s Christmas, there is not a lot of of Christmassy vibe to it. The murder takes place on Christmas Eve. Other than that it’s business as usual for Poirot and the police. Being a crime story, it makes sense that solving the case takes center stage. The murder on Christmas Eve puts celebrations on hold before they have even start.

Review summary

Hercule Poirot’s Christmas is a great story and would be recommended for Agatha Christie fans and for readers of crime fiction.

My rating: 4 stars /5

(All opinions in this review are my own)

About The Author

Agatha Christie was born in 1890 and created the detective Hercule Poirot in her debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). She achieved wide popularity with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) and produced a total of eighty novels and short-story collections over six decades. (Copied from Amazon)