I grew up on Agatha Christie, though I’m pretty sure this is the first book of hers I’ve ever actually read! Both my parents were such mystery buffs that they ate up every one of Christie’s books (as well as those of other authors like Ellis Peters and Ngaio Marsh), and my mother especially has always been a huge fan of Masterpiece Theatre on PBS, which often hosted classic mystery stories. In fact, I bet you could get my mom to compare history’s greatest Miss Marple actresses during a Thanksgiving dinner and have no time left for pumpkin pie (of course, there’s no contest for the greatest Hercule Poirot).

I chose this book specifically because it’s now Christmas season, and I’d like to read a number of Christmas books this month. Last December, I worked through five Christmas-themed books, and I enjoyed the challenge so much that I’ve planned to do the same again. Of course, when I asked some friends, “What’s your favorite Christmas book?” they could only think of children’s books, which makes the challenge more difficult. I’m trying to collect other options, without of course having to dip into the Romance genre (which is mostly what comes up on my searches).

As for the book itself, I was struck by how much dialogue the story contains. In fact, Christie employs such minimal descriptive prose that it’s hard to see her world clearly. The Lee family in this story are as messed up as a family can be, which makes for a good mystery, yet their personalities are almost all over-the-top. This is definitely simplistic literature, and it explains why my parents could zip through two mysteries per week, always before bed.

Regarding the plot, I figured out who the killer was about half-way through, though her red herrings certainly made me doubt myself. What clued me in wasn’t a piece of evidence that Poirot later pointed out, but an oddity in Christie’s own writing. If I were one to publish spoilers, I’d explain myself further.

I enjoyed this bit of escapism and look forward to reading The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding in a few weeks. I can see what my parents enjoy so much about a good mystery, and I might eventually make this genre part of the own reading habits.

©2017 E.T.

Read More Christmas-related Books:

Fiction

• A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (1843)
• The Story of the Other Wise Man by Henry Van Dyke (1895)
• The Life and Adventures of Santa Claus by Frank L. Baum (1902)
• Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie (1938)
• Silent Night by Mary Higgins Clark (1995)
• Skipping Christmas by John Grisham (2001)
• O Little Town by Don Reid (2008)
• Saving Christmas (movie) by Darren Doane (2014)

Nonfiction

• The Greatest Christmas Ever by Honor Books (1995)
• The Case for Christmas by Lee Strobel (1998)
• God in the Manger by John MacArthur (2001)
• Stories Behind the Best-loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins (2001)
• More Stories Behind the Best-Loved Songs of Christmas by Ace Collins (2006)
• Why a Manger? by Bodie and Brock Thoene (2006)
• The Purpose of Christmas by Rick Warren (2008)
• God is in the Manger by Dietrich Bonhoeffer (2010)
• Hidden Christmas by Tim Keller (2016)
• Christmas Playlist by Alistair Begg (2016)
• “The Worst Song of Christmas” by Elliot Templeton (2023)

Read More from Agatha Christie:

• The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (1926)
• Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (1937)
• Hercule Poirot’s Christmas by Agatha Christie (1938)
• A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie (1953)