Hercule Poirot's Christmas

Rating:
Summary: Agatha Christie's Locked Room Murder Mystery.
Review: Although generally regarded as typifying the cozy murder mystery writer in whose books there is either a murder in a locked room or a murder at a family reunion in a country house, Agatha Christie rarely tried her hand at either of these murder mystery genres. In "Hercule Poirot's Christmas", however, she combines both.

The family is the dysfunctional Lee family, summoned to pass Christmas together in the house of old Simeon Lee, the patriarch. During this stressful reunion, a commotion followed by a blood-curdling scream is heard from the room on the first floor occupied by old Simeon. When the locked door is forced open, the furniture is found upended, the safe rifled, and Simeon is found lying dead with his throat cut. The door key is in place, on the inside of the door.

Having depicted how the family members despise, hate, or resent each other up to this point, Agatha Christie next allows the investigations and theories to develop. Poirot is on hand, but she cleverly allows other police inspectors and investigators to do most of the work and make most of the mistakes.

The solution is one you will never forget, but also one that you will probably never arrive at before Poirot reveals all. Agatha Christie is wonderfully clever at laying out all the clues in an arrangement that directs the reader away from the vital ones.

Apart from a few lines of description, almost everything in the text is dialogue. To anyone in the world who has not yet read this 1940 mystery nothing more need be said. To those who are re-reading it, I suggest they notice how cleverly it is plotted and planned.

Rating:
Summary: Most puzzling and exciting yet!
Review: I'll have to agree with the first reviewer of this novel. The title is a bit misleading. However, I do believe that Agatha meant it to be that way. I have studied literature for a while and know that the everything that is in the novel is meant for something. To all the people wanting to read this novel, here's a tip: Everything that is stated in the book, diaglogue, details, etc. are all key to solving the mystery. To all of us Agatha fans, it proves to be true. The characters are very well developed, much better than any other Agatha novel I've read to date. The plot is priceless, the identities confusing (deliciously so!), and the conclusion is a shocking. Agatha knows how to lead her readers on, and proves so with this tale of murder and mayhem around Christmas time. At the beginning of the conclusion, who think it's Suspect A, but then you lean towards Suspect B, and at the end, Poirot reveals in all grandness the killer, and you're sitting there kicking yourself saying, "Why didn't I think of that!" The pacing of the book is good and I read it in two days. The suspense builds and the storytelling is at it's finest. For those of you waiting for a plot summary, read the synopsis above. I won't reveal anything for it'll ruin the surprise of the novel. Though not one of her famous books, it's one her best, this one definitely deserves your money!

Rating:
Summary: And you thought your family holidays were stressful!
Review: Simeon Lee was not a nice man. He was, however, very rich. His chief form of amusement since his retirement from business was to torment his sons and their wives. All, including the long absent black sheep of the family, are summoned to spent Christmas in the isolated family home. They are joined by a never before met granddaughter and the son of a former business partner. Before the the holidays are over Simeon is found dead in a locked room, diamonds are missing and suspicion is cast over the whole household.

In the hands of an author less skilled than Christie this would be just another locked room murder but Christie brings the story to life. As always her characters seem real, her detective (Poirot) is marvelously quirky and even if the reader should happen to solve the crime first it is still a fun read.

This book has been published under several titles, always a problem with Christie's works, which can lead a reader to inadvertently pick up a 'new' book only to discover an old friend in disguise. To further complicate matters the basic premise of this work is very much the same as 4:50 From Paddington - a Miss Marple story.