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thaurisil's review against another edition
4.0
While I read through Agatha Christie's novels with the Appointments with Agatha group, I'm putting a templated synopsis of each novel in my review. It has spoilers!
Book: 24 of Christie's novels, 19 of Hercule Poirot novels
Setting: Gorston Hall, a house in England
Detective and Companions: Hercule Poirot, Colonel Johnson, Superintendent Sugden
Crime: At a family reunion on Christmas Eve, a crash of furniture and a wailing scream is heard, and Simeon Lee, the proud, wicked patriarch in his old age, is found dead in his room in a pool of blood.
Suspects:
- Alfred Lee, Simeon's obedient son
- Lydia, Alfred's clever wife
- David Lee, Simeon's delicate son who hates his father for the affairs which caused his mother to suffer to her death
- Hilda, George's comforting, reassuring wife
- George Lee, Simeon's son and MP who is stingy with money
- Magdalene, George's young beautiful wife and a spendthrift
- Harry Lee, Simeon's irresponsible son who has just returned from South Africa
- Pilar Estravados, Simeon's Spanish orphaned granddaughter who is invited to England for the first time by Simeon
- Stephen Farr, the son of Simeon's old partner Ebenezer Farr in South Africa who has come to visit Simeon for the first time
Twists and Turns:
- The biggest twist of all was by far that Superintendent Sugden, the police superintendent in charge of investigating the case, was actually the murderer!
- Some of the characters were not who they said they were. Pilar was actually an acquaintance of the real Pilar who had died earlier, and who came to England to see if she could get money from Simeon. Stephen was not Ebenezer Farr's son but one of Simeon's illegitimate son. The biggest surprise of all was that Superintendent Sugden was another of Simeon's illegitimate sons.
- Throughout the story, Poirot stressed the importance of family heredity, but it was not clear what this meant until Superintendent Sugden's physical similarity to Harry Lee, Stephen and Simeon was revealed, and his ability to wait decades before exacting revenge was similar to Simeon's.
- There was a crash furniture, a scream, and when the family ran upstairs, they found Simeon Lee dead in a locked room. That seemed to pinpoint his death as the result of a violent altercation. But actually, he had been dead for ours, and Superintendent Sugden had set up a clever arrangement where a pull of a rope from the outside of the house would let down a crash of furniture at the right time, while unreleasing a peg from a balloon that would release a hellish wail.
Don't be fooled by the title. This is an extremely un-Christmassy book! The nature of the murder, the hatred and suspicion amongst the members of the dysfunctional family, and the paucity of Christmas cheer make this a book devoid of any Christmas feeling or goodwill. But as a murder mystery, it is excellent. Christie has played similar tricks on us before, but who would ever have thought that the stoic police superintendent investigating the case was actually the murderer, even after Christie gave us clues that he resembled Harry and Stephen physically?
Book: 24 of Christie's novels, 19 of Hercule Poirot novels
Setting: Gorston Hall, a house in England
Detective and Companions: Hercule Poirot, Colonel Johnson, Superintendent Sugden
Crime: At a family reunion on Christmas Eve, a crash of furniture and a wailing scream is heard, and Simeon Lee, the proud, wicked patriarch in his old age, is found dead in his room in a pool of blood.
Suspects:
- Alfred Lee, Simeon's obedient son
- Lydia, Alfred's clever wife
- David Lee, Simeon's delicate son who hates his father for the affairs which caused his mother to suffer to her death
- Hilda, George's comforting, reassuring wife
- George Lee, Simeon's son and MP who is stingy with money
- Magdalene, George's young beautiful wife and a spendthrift
- Harry Lee, Simeon's irresponsible son who has just returned from South Africa
- Pilar Estravados, Simeon's Spanish orphaned granddaughter who is invited to England for the first time by Simeon
- Stephen Farr, the son of Simeon's old partner Ebenezer Farr in South Africa who has come to visit Simeon for the first time
Twists and Turns:
- The biggest twist of all was by far that Superintendent Sugden, the police superintendent in charge of investigating the case, was actually the murderer!
- Some of the characters were not who they said they were. Pilar was actually an acquaintance of the real Pilar who had died earlier, and who came to England to see if she could get money from Simeon. Stephen was not Ebenezer Farr's son but one of Simeon's illegitimate son. The biggest surprise of all was that Superintendent Sugden was another of Simeon's illegitimate sons.
- Throughout the story, Poirot stressed the importance of family heredity, but it was not clear what this meant until Superintendent Sugden's physical similarity to Harry Lee, Stephen and Simeon was revealed, and his ability to wait decades before exacting revenge was similar to Simeon's.
- There was a crash furniture, a scream, and when the family ran upstairs, they found Simeon Lee dead in a locked room. That seemed to pinpoint his death as the result of a violent altercation. But actually, he had been dead for ours, and Superintendent Sugden had set up a clever arrangement where a pull of a rope from the outside of the house would let down a crash of furniture at the right time, while unreleasing a peg from a balloon that would release a hellish wail.
Don't be fooled by the title. This is an extremely un-Christmassy book! The nature of the murder, the hatred and suspicion amongst the members of the dysfunctional family, and the paucity of Christmas cheer make this a book devoid of any Christmas feeling or goodwill. But as a murder mystery, it is excellent. Christie has played similar tricks on us before, but who would ever have thought that the stoic police superintendent investigating the case was actually the murderer, even after Christie gave us clues that he resembled Harry and Stephen physically?
definitelynotacarrot's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
natalia86's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
4.0
Cómo de costumbre la pluma ágil de Agatha Christie, nos da una novela que se lee rápido, llena de intriga y con un final perfecto.
inquisitive_chap's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.5
Another excellent Poirot mystery. All the clues were there but I missed the subtlety of them and went down a carefully laid blind alley.
As ever, the character descriptions are excellent and vivid
As ever, the character descriptions are excellent and vivid
irenemg's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
sandranir's review against another edition
4.0
I haven't read any Agatha Christie novel in a long time and this is a nice reminder of her distinctive writing. I've picked this book as part of my holidays reading list and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
mborer23's review against another edition
4.0
Hercule Poirot's Christmas is interrupted by news of a gruesome killing. Retired multimillionaire Simeon Lee, infamous for his foul temper and his ability to hold a grudge, has been murdered in a locked room in his stately home, where his estranged sons and their wives are gathered for the holiday. Colonel Johnson, who figured in Murder in Three Acts, brings Poirot in on the baffling case.
Along the way, some surprising facts about the murdered man and his family come to light. Poirot faces a challenge compounded by the fact that nearly all of the family members and servants had a motive to kill.
Poirot's personality is a bit tempered in this case, but the complicated situation makes up for it in what turns out to be an ingenious, and unexpected, solution.
Along the way, some surprising facts about the murdered man and his family come to light. Poirot faces a challenge compounded by the fact that nearly all of the family members and servants had a motive to kill.
Poirot's personality is a bit tempered in this case, but the complicated situation makes up for it in what turns out to be an ingenious, and unexpected, solution.
autumnsongg's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0