Book Review: Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie

It is Christmas season and the Lee family gears up to celebrate with a big reunion to accommodate the whims of the patriarch, Simeon Lee. What gifts can a dysfunctional family and some guests, none of whom have a deep fondness to the evil old man give him? Apparently somebody thought a cut throat is a good idea to get the spirit going. I chose this book as part of the 1938 club read hosted by Simon and Karen because Hercule Poirot’s Christmas was described by Agatha Christie herself as a ‘good murder mystery with lots of blood’. And Hercule Poirot seldom disappoints! For more reviews of books published in 1938, head over to Stuck in a Book.

Review

The wealthy Simeon Lee has demanded that all four of his sons be present with their wives for Christmas that year. The four brothers are very different in disposition. Alfred is a doting son, David still mourns over his mother, Harry is the prodigal son returning home after being believed to be dead, and George is the incredibly thrifty son. Their wives are suspicious, happy and doubtful of there being changes in the old man’s will but eager to play along the Christmas spirit. Simon Lee ridicules and bad mouths his children when they meet him and that night he is found dead in a pool of blood. The suspects are many- Lee being a man who has a lot of enemies and was not much loved in the family circle. Enter the best detective in town, the Belgian, Hercule Poirot, to solve this Christmas mystery.

There were a lot of twists and turns which made this one an enjoyable read. I was not bored for a minute, especially towards the end of the book. However the writing is uneven and packed with twists towards the end.

Having admired many of Agatha Christie’s works before, I would not recommend Hercule Poirot’s Christmas if you are not a fan of the duchess of crime. The characters lacked in-depth descriptions. Often the same sentences were repeated by different characters, and ended up feeling repetitive instead of creating emphasis. An example is the branding of Harry as the prodigal son several times, often worded the same way by different characters.

Also there is an absolute lack of any Christmas sentiments in the form of decorations or gifts or even a good dinner mentioned. Christmas seems to be only an excuse for a family get together. If a family has a reunion after so long, a warm decorated welcome is certainly expected which was missing in the book. It is almost as if a normal murder mystery was named a ‘Christmas mystery’ and the holiday season was deliberately put in.

I could guess the killer half way through the book. This book is a nice read, but not Agatha at her finest.

Title : Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
Author : Agatha Christie
Publisher : Harper
Published : 2001 (originally in 1938)
Language : English
Pages : 355
Rating : 3/5

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