- Hardcover: 465 pages
- Publisher: Mysterious Pr (Nov 1982)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0892960574
- ISBN-13: 978-0892960576
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 16.3 x 5.3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,467,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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6 reviews
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Excellent Locked-Room Mystery for the Holidays
23 Sep 2001
Format:Hardcover
What better way to spice up your holidays than with a little murder in the family?! Christie gives us her version of Scrooge in crusty ole curmudgeon Simeon Lee who has amassed a fortune in the diamond mines of South Africa. As Christmas approaches, he invites all his family, many of them long-estranged, to spend the holidays at his palatial estate Gorston Hall. Christie proceeds to do what she does best---she gathers a group of diverse characters related by blood or marriage, reveals their worst traits, and allows one person to be murdered while pointing the finger at each of the survivors. Simeon Lee has concocted a sadistic game to play on his family. The game begins when he allows his family to hear him give instructions to his lawyer to change his will. The game continues when he gives each of them a thorough dressing down for their weaknesses, stupidity, and greed. The game reaches a climax in Simeon's study where one person is found with a slashed throat.
"Murder for Christmas" was also published as "A Holiday for Murder" and "Hercule Poirot's Christmas." It is notable not only as an excellent example of the locked-room mystery, but also as the most bloody of the Christie mysteries. Noted for her cozy murders via poisoned chocolates and a foreign substance in the afternoon tea, in this one Christie gives us all the blood and gore she is capable of. Her brother-in-law had requested that she come up with a "good violent murder with lots of blood" and this is her answer to him hoping it will satsify his lust. Though not anywhere close to today's violence on tv, this is the bloodiest of the genteel novels Dame Agatha wrote.
Unfortunately for the clever murderer, Hercule Poirot happens to be spending Christmas with the Chief Constable of the county and is therefore conveniently on hand to assist in sifting through the many red herrings and false identities that make this novel complex and exciting.
If you're yearning for a good old-fashioned English country-house Christmas with lots of interesting characters on hand, you'll find this one most satisfying.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Christie at her best
26 Mar 2001
Format:Hardcover
I can't believe this book is out of print! It's definitely one of the best mysteries Christie ever wrote. A feuding family gathers for a reunion during the Christmas holidays, summoned by their obnoxious old father, and when Dad turns up dead as the proverbial doornail, it has to be a family member that committed the crime. Well, it was a family member, all right... I'm not giving away the surprise, but suffice to say you can't always trust your nearest relations, and sometimes you don't even know who they are. Christie was a national treasure and this book is one of the prime jewels in the treasure chest. Somebody please reissue this book and fast. There's a whole generation out there waiting to discover a gem.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Christie Turns Murder Into a Delicious Holiday Treat
1 Jan 2001
Format:Hardcover
No mystery written by Agatha Christie could ever be bad; even her worst is good, and _Murder For Christmas_ (or _Holiday For Murder_, the title under which I found it) is far from her worst.
Ms. Christie's dedication states that she purposefully designed this story to be bloody--and so it is, but have no fear; the gore is not great, and it is handled with tact and a delightful use of familiar quotations. Her characters will draw you in with their relative personality and depth... relative, because--as always--the story is really too short and too focused on plot and mystery to make every suspect live and breathe for the reader. That's all right, though. They're still interesting to read about, which is what truly matters. And as with every book she writes, Christie has also put together a delicious puzzle that will keep one turning the pages until the very end. I did manage to figure out the culprit in advance, but rather than being disappointed, I was delighted: it's always a pleasure to beat even the great Hercule Poirot to the punch!
This story will make a fine addition to the Christie fan's bookshelf. I'd recommend it as a quick holiday read for anyone: light, fast-paced, and clever, it's a pleasing tidbit that could serve as a great stocking stuffer, or as a gift either for another or yourself on any day of the year.
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