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| Hercule Poirot's Christmas: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection) | 
| Author: Agatha Christie
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $12.00
Buy New: $5.90
You Save: $6.10 (51%)
New (22) from $5.90
Avg. Customer Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 181099
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 272
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.8 x 1
ISBN: 1579127355
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9781579127350
ASIN: 1579127355
Publication Date: September 17, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new/never read.
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Product Description
Simeon Lee has demanded that all four of his sons—one faithful, one prodigal, one impecunious, one sensitive—and their wives visit the family home for Christmas. But the cantankerous patriarch has anything but a heartwarming family holiday in mind. He bedevils each of his sons with barbed insults, while at the same time lavishing attention on his very attractive, long-lost granddaughter. Finally he announces that he is cutting off his sons' allowances and changing his will to boot.
So when the old man is found lying a pool of blood on Christmas Eve, there is no lack of suspects. Did Lee's taunts push one of the boys or their wives to a desperate act of murder? Or was the killer really after the fortune in uncut diamonds Lee kept locked away in his safe? And how did the murderer escape from the locked room?
Intrepid Belgian detective Hercule Poirot suspends his holiday sorting through the myriad suspects and motives to find the truth behind the old man's death.
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| Customer Reviews:
 A real Agatha Sleeper February 2, 2008
I've read 'em all--over 80. This is one of the best and most fun. Very tricky in a totally fair way....
 A Murder for Christmas November 22, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Originally published in 1938, as A MURDER FOR CHRISTMAS and later as A HOLIDAY MURDER, HERCULE POIROT'S CHRISTMAS is a stock story. An old man invites his family for the holidays and gets a few unexpected visitors. The disappearance of the murder weapon and its hiding place add a little spice, but this is not one of Christie's best.
In some regards, Georgette Heyer's ENVIOUS CASA, which was published in 1941 is similar.
Got a little spare time during the holidays, enjoy because like all Cristies it is a clever puzzle, it is the characters that leave you bored.
Nash Black, author of TRAVELERS and SINS OF THE FATHERS.
Interesting murder, dreary characters October 16, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Hercule Poirot's Christmas follows the trials of a wealthy English family in the days immediately before and after Christmas day. The family patriarch is a despicably unlikable old fellow. About the only things he seems to enjoy are tormenting his family and fondling some uncut diamonds he keeps in his room. As you might imagine, he ends up murdered and the stones go missing. The police are called in to investigate and it just so happens that Poirot is visiting at the station when the call comes in. The usual interviews ensue. The old man was such an obnoxious sort that you can easily imagine almost anyone killing him. The little Belgian puts his grey cells to the task and, of course, solves the crime in the end.
The murder plot itself is the strongest aspect of this novel. It's typically Byzantine and will certainly keep you guessing. The story moves along at a decent pace, though the murder could have come a bit more quickly. Unfortunately, the cast and most of the story is uninspired and recycled from numerous other Christie novels. I don't really mind re-using concepts if they're well done, but this book generally has a plodding feel as if it is just going through the motions. Not one of the family was a truly interesting character and even Poirot seemed a bit flat.
Overall, this book was something of a disappointment. It isn't as bad as the worst Poirot novels I've read but it's far from the best. The intricate murder can't make up for the insipid characters. I recommend this book only to established fans of Hercule Poirot. First time readers can do much better with books like Evil Under the Sun: A Hercule Poirot Mystery or Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Hercule Poirot).
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