Hercule Poirot’s Christmas
Hercule Poirot’s Christmas (Hercule Poirot #20)
By: Agatha Christie
“‘I can’t help feeling that the manner of my father-in-law’s death was somehow significant. It—it was so very unEnglish.’”
Apparently this is the first time I’ve reviewed an Agatha Christie book and it’s been long overdue. I’ve watched more Agatha Christie books to film than I’ve read her books, sadly. I get distracted by all the new and shiny and the in-the-vein of Conan Doyle and Christie that I forget to go back and just read the originals.
I waited to read this book until it was actually Christmas so I could be vibin’ at the right time. Well, it’s a murder, so not exactly a jolly time. And in her dedication Christie said this was for James who “yearned for a ‘good violent murder with lots of blood.’” So… you know… real Christmas-y!
There was indeed lots of blood— a decidedly slashed throat— in this locked room mystery where everyone has a motive to have killed the dastardly old rich guy.
Other than it happening at Christmas time (which was the reason for the old man to gather his family) there really were no Christmas vibes. So if you’re looking for a cozy atmospheric Christmas book for the holidays, I don’t think this will do it for you.
But you will get a good mystery!
I always think I’m going to figure these things out, but it’s just too murky. Too many viable possibilities. While I do enjoy when they put these books to film, I don’t think they’d be able to pull this one off or the ‘answer’ would be given away too easily. It made it difficult to solve while reading, though, and that’s good with me.
The basic plot of this one:
Simeon Lee (the old guy I’ve been talking about) has called his four sons and their wives home for Christmas. The request was out of character so suspicions are already raised. Then two new people show up— the daughter of Lee’s deceased daughter who married a Spaniard (Pilar), and the son of Lee’s deceased business partner in South Africa (Stephen).
His son Alfred (and wife Lydia with “swift intelligence and greyhound grace”) live with him. Alfred is the loyal (to a fault) son wanting his father’s approval.
His son George is a stingy Parliament man with a gold-digging wife (Magdalene with her “meretricious airs and graces”) pressuring him to get more ‘allowance’ money from his father.
His son David (and wife Hilda with “solid comfortable strength”) renounced the name because of the way Simeon treated David’s mother and went on in “his music and his dreamy ways” to pursue art “or some tomfoolery of that kind.”
His son Harry was the prodigal son returning home from his worldwide adventures pursuing any passion in the wind. He appears to be looking to settle back in, but the other brothers are not quick to make room.
Of course there’s talk of Simeon’s will being changed.
“‘It amused him to— to appeal to the worst instincts in human nature. There was— how can I put it? — a kind of diabolical impishness about him.”
And then the next thing you know there’s a loud kerfuffle in his locked chambers, a haunting scream, and a very bloody crime scene. And also his stash of uncut diamonds has been stolen.
Who comes to aid the sergeant in the investigation than the famous Hercules Poirot! And at Christmastime, no less!
Well it’s a very good thing he’s there because he does his clue finding and conversational investigation thing and delivers the results with everyone gathered and all is well. Well, mostly.
It was a little hard to keep the proper wives to husbands straight but overall it was a good mystery.
I think the first quote I included sums up the feel of this book quite well. It’s all very English until it’s unEnglish. And then it’s back to English.
If you’ve read Agatha Christie before you know exactly what to expect and you settle in. If you’ve only read modern thrillers and mysteries, this will probably feel slow, dialogue-heavy, and stationary. I think the entire book takes place in the house, most details are given my character telling them, and there’s not a lot of action.
But once you understand what you are picking up, I think you can enjoy it for what it is.
I did learn a pretty crazy fact about Agatha Christie that I did not know: she is the third most widely published author of all time with 2-4 billion copies of her books sold, which puts her only behind the Bible and Shakespeare. That’s pretty wild. That means if you haven’t read one of her books yet, you should probably join the masses of people who are all about it.
Recommendation
I would recommend it for those who are interested in a true ‘Golden Age’ mystery. I can’t really think of a reason not to read this book unless you are a person who is easily bored.
If you enjoy this style and are interested in the modern-writing replication of it then I would check out Benjamin Stevenson’s books, Tom Mead’s books, or Charles Finch’s books.
You, like me, may also be ready to check out Marie Benedict’s The Queens of Crime which is a historical fiction book ABOUT Agatha Christie, Dorothy Sayers, and some other women who solve an actual murder. Apparently it’s inspired by a true story in Sayers’ life.
[Content Advisory: no swearing or sexual content; yes, there’s a bloody crime scene but this book is far from being ‘gory’ in my opinion]
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