Written by Agatha Christie
SUMMARY:
First published in 1939, the book has also been known as Murder for Christmas and Holiday for Murder. This 272-page William Morrow/HarperCollins paperback reprint was released in 2011. Instead of chapters, the murder-mystery is divided into seven days: December 22-28.
In the English countryside, Christmas time at Gorston Hall welcomes home the estranged Lee family. Elderly (and long-widowed) patriarch Simeon Lee and his eldest son and daughter-in-law, Alfred and Lydia, greet fellows sons and daughters-in-law, David & Hilda, and George and Magdalene.
The family’s trouble-making son, Harry, also returns after a twenty-year absence. Joining them are Simeon’s only grandchild, Pilar Estravados, and a family friend’s son from South Africa. Among the house staff on site are elderly butler Tressilian and Simeon’s personal valet, Horbury.
Soon, after the crotchety Simeon taunts imminent changes to his will, a brutal Christmas Eve robbery-homicide occurs inside a locked room at Gorston Hall. Could the killer’s motive have been swiping Simeon’s stash of uncut South African diamonds? Local cops Colonel Johnson and Superintendent Sugden collaborate with the indomitable Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot to resolve this shockingly ‘perfect’ crime. They best work fast before a desperate culprit strikes again.
REVIEW:
After an entertaining first read, one may understandably conclude ‘well, Christie’s done it again! I never saw that coming.’ In fairness, though, several clues are less than subtle. Subsequent reads remove luster off Christie’s holiday homicide, as at least one pertinent hint is definitely overplayed. She also packs too many Lee family members into this plot, as it’s cumbersome to keep track of all who’s who, between the brothers and various wives.
Placing the South African friend (Stephen Farr), too, at the crime scene doesn’t add much beyond reinforcing a contrived déjà vu-related sub-plot. Most significantly, what’s disappointing is that, upon further examination, the culprit’s motive is left as substantively weak. Hence, the real ‘why’ behind this ingenious scheme is merely left to a reader’s conjecture.
Comparatively, David Suchet’s 1994 Poirot TV movie version is well-cast and simplifies the plotting, as necessary. Among the improvements is a more believable method of placing the fussy Poirot inside Gorston Hall. Beyond substituting Chief Inspector Japp in for the forgettable Col. Johnson, the TV version also smartly consolidates the supporting cast to a more manageable number. The decrepit Simeon is even more so an unlikable scoundrel, which fits the storyline better. Most importantly, there’s finally an explanation behind the culprit’s motive.
Yet, unlike this novel, the TV movie’s unforced error is tacking on a prologue that practically telegraphs the killer’s identity from the get-go. If the prologue’s finish had conveyed as a dream-like flashback later on, it would have made far more dramatic sense for the climax. It also would made a satisfying supplement, as Christie only alludes to Simeon’s murky youth (and likely misdeeds) in the novel. Still, the book and movie will mesh well enough together for fans.
Despite some intriguing twists, Hercule Poirot’s Christmas doesn’t merit as a Top 10 Christie classic. Yet, it’s still (at least, most of the time) an above-average Poirot mystery novel.
ADDITIONAL FEATURES:
The first page is a quick Christie career retrospective. There’s also five pages of Christie-related ads.
BRIAN’S ODD MOON RATING: 7 Stars
Note: Poirot’s other Christmas caper: the novella “The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding” (aka “The Theft of the Royal Ruby”) is recommended. Dating back to the mid-1920’s this novella’s earliest and most obscure incarnation, the blandly-titled “Christmas Adventure,” however, is an unsatisfying draft.
