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Chosen by: Katie
WHY:
I wanted a fun Christmas themed book and when I was looking for options, I noticed there was an Agatha Christie Hercule Poirot’s Christmas book. I have been hearing a lot lately from Duckie and Kellie about Agatha Christie novels and have been wanting to read one, so this seemed like the perfect time. We debated whether we wanted to do two mystery novels back to back since we just read The Guest List, but decided it would be fun to compare a new mystery novel with a classic.
Summary of the book:
The Lee family is reunited for Christmas for the first time in years. Unfortunately it takes a bloody turn on Christmas Eve. Simeon Lee is found dead and it Is a small suspect pool: the family. Instead of Christmas crackers, burning raisins and holiday cheer running through the house it is blame and discord. Thankfully for the Lee family Hercule Poirot is on the case. His methods and questions seem odd at times, but he is able to solve the mystery in the end!
Katie:
This was my first Agatha Christie novel and I had fun reading it. The character descriptions were rich and interesting. I had some characters I was rooting for to have a happy ending and others I truly disliked. If I had to choose between this book and The Guest List, I would choose this book for that reason. It might sound basic, but I like it when a book has characters that I like reading about and a good ending for them. This book had mystery, drama, and some romance. I did guess the murderer before the end, but closer to the end. I would recommend it and am looking forward to reading more Agatha Christie novels!
Jessie:
Duckie:
Oh, Agatha. I do love thee. I usually like to read her novels in between other books. I call them my “palate cleanser.” I have yet to read any of Miss Marple, but I do love Poirot. (It is terribly funny that my mom says he’s pretentious and a snob…he definitely is but I thought he was much more mild in this particular book. Just you wait, Mom!) I thought this was a fun read, typical Agatha. Even though she tries to make a point of showing that it is bloodier than her normal writing. Literally just bloodier, but the same typical murder plot… I have also found that the more Agatha I read, the more I see British colonialism and subtle (or sometimes not subtle) racism shine through. I know she wrote during a different time, but perhaps I should rethink my “palate cleanser” notion.
Anywho, back to the book at hand, I made a lot of guesses as I went along. All of them were at least half right. I was on the scent of the murderer, but just couldn’t quite put all the pieces together as quickly as Poirot did. He’s just too good, that Poirot!
Kellie:
I love reading Agatha Christie. My favorite stories of Christie’s are the Hercule Poirot tales. This one was great. By the end of the story there were only three main characters I did not like. Normally Christie hooks me in right away. It took me a little longer to feel the pull. Once I was hooked I flew through this book. If you have never read Agatha Christie before I would definitely recommend picking up one or two of her books! “Hercule Poirot’s Christmas” is a perfect December read. Thank you Kate for picking it!
Kath:
My first Hercule Poirot! It was a very interesting “listen”, as we listened while traveling in the car. Halfway through, we stopped and talked about “who done it”!! I did give my one inclination, but thought it highly unlikely!! Turns out I was right!! I love it when that happens!! I must say Hercule is quite pretentious!! And a bit of a snob…but he does get his man/woman!!