SuperHeroBooks - Hercule Poirot's Christmas
|
List Price: $6.99
Our Price: $3.01
Your Save: $ 3.98 ( 57% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Berkley
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780425177419
ISBN: 0425177416
Label: Berkley
Manufacturer: Berkley
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 272
Publication Date: 2000-11-01
Publisher: Berkley
Release Date: 2000-11-07
Studio: Berkley
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Unwrapped Malice
Comment: "Hercule Poirot's Christmas", originally published as "Murder for Christmas" contains Agatha Christie's bloodiest crime scene ever, a special treat for her brother-in-law. But it also contains perhaps one of her most ingenious and twisted solutions of any Hercule Poirot novel. This yuletide murder story is a perfect present for any Christie fan.
The Lee family, estranged and bitter, have been called together for Christmas by their father, Simeon Lee. While an invalid, Simeon still has plenty of fight left in him and desires his four sons and only granddaughter to be around him, if only to stir up trouble among his ungrateful offspring. On Christmas Eve, Simeon Lee is found brutally murdered, and the circumstances are such that all fingers point to someone within the family. But which member of the family could it be, when almost every member disliked or even loathed the prideful patriarch? Hercule Poirot is quite befuddled himself, until he can look outside the circle of suspects and into the mind of the victim himself.
"Hercule Poirot's Christmas" is a fast-paced and delightful mystery, offering plenty of psychological drama among the various embittered family members. As with any Christie mystery, there is always a twist within a twist, but the solution to this murder is beyond fathoming for any reader. It takes the mind of Hercule Poirot, and Agatha Christie, to solve and create such a convoluted, fulfilling ending.
Customer Rating:
Summary: One of Christie's best and bloodiest murders
Comment: Of the several Christie mysteries that I have read, I must admit to being quite pleased with this particular novel. Christie dedicated this particularly this "good violent murder with lots of blood" to her brother-in-law, James. Of the ten main suspects, I had develeped definite ideas of the identity of the murderer. In his inimitable manner, the great Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, considers the spatial and temporal facts in relation to the very important psychological characteristics of the individual suspects. Poirot, of course, is more clever in seeing the importance of clues which are initially seen as unimportant. Christie allows her hero to pull the reader along to a surprising and stunning ending. My only criticism is towards Bantam Books in regard to the very small type and shoddy printing in this particular edition (35th printing with cover artwork of fireplace and broken chair and broken glass by John Alcorn). Nonetheless, I heartily recommend this mystery for any mystery fan at Christmastide or any other time of the year.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Misleading Title
Comment: My main reservation was that this was rather a gloomy novel. It opens in a smoky, dismal train station and moves to a cold, gloomy estate home. There is also more blood than is usual in A.C. novels, which she did on purpose following a criticism from her brother-in-law. All in all, a clever plot (as usual), but not much to do with Poirot's Christmas or even Christmas in general. For a contemporary Agatha Christie-style mystery with all the Christmas trimmings, check out Christmas is Murder: A Rex Graves Mystery (Rex Graves Mysteries) by another British author. In spite of multiple murders, it makes for light and festive reading.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Entertaining Book
Comment: Our book club wanted a selection for the Christmas meeting and thus chose this Agatha Christie book. Although the subject matter was not in keeping with the season, it was an entertaining book, is light reading and goes fast.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Loved this book. Words are TOOOOOO small!
Comment: This is a great book. I love Agatha Christie. I'm not complaining about the book or the writing. The text is way too small. I'm hoping that in later editions of the book they actually use text that's readable. I would love to read more of the Christie catalog of novels but I can't read text this small. I'm a young guy in his late 20's and I have trouble reading these. Please make the text big enough to read in later editions. I've been seeing a taller paperback coming out in new books the last couple of years. There are about 4 or 5 Agatha Christies in this newer format. I'm was hoping that they'd print more in that format. I don't buy books I can't read because the type is so small. I didn't buy this book because the type was too small. I went to the library and got it for free. I'm sure you publishers are loosing a lot of sales from making the type so small. I know that me and my friends don't buy books with the type so small. We'll find other ways, like getting an older printing at the library or buying it used online for a couple bucks. THE TEXT IS TOO SMALL ON PAPERBACKS THESE DAYS. STOP BEING GREEDY AND PRINT A LEGIBLE TEXT. PEOPLE DON'T BUY BOOKS WHEN YOU GET CHEAPO TO SAVE 20 pages... they buy books they can actually read.
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
Christie, Poirot--and murder--are never out of season. A family get-together for the holidays begins with a game, and ends in cold-blooded murder. Who better to solve it than Poirot, who "has solved some puzzling mysteries in his time but never has his mighty brain functioned more brilliantly than in Hercule Poirot's Christmas" (New York Times).
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
