Christmas Eve finds Poirot being summoned to Gorston Hall where Simeon Lee, a bitter and somewhat sadistic old man has been brutally murdered. Suspicion fall on Simeon's family members: Alfred Lee, eldest son and a bit of a kiss ass (although he does seem to truly care for his father) and his wife Lydia. George Lee, a pompous and money hungry man and his young wife Magdalene. David Lee, a man filled with rage towards his father at the mistreatment of his dearly departed mother and his wife Hilda. Harry Lee, the "black sheep" of the family. Pilar Estravados, daughter of the later Jennifer Lee and Simeon's only grandchild. She seems a bit of a wild child and despite previous ignorance of her existence old Simeon takes a shining to her. And last but not least Stephen Farr, son on Simeon's old business partner.
So who done it ?
How long did it take to read?
This book was, and I think other Agatha Christie novels in general, a super quick read, so if you are short on time it is something I would definitely recommend.
Was the story line good?
I have heard a lot of really great things about Agatha Christie and I grew up watching and loving Poirot and Miss Marple, so initially I was really excited about sticking my nose into this book. If I am being completely honest I kind of hated the first half of the book, I found it really slow and a little bit dull - Agatha Christie isn't an author I would call poetic or revolutionary.
However once you hit that halfway point the plot develops pretty quickly, it becomes difficult to put the book down and when you finally do all you can think about is picking it up again. Despite her writing style Christie (obviously important in a crime/detective novel) has great attention to detail and the you can see clearly that she has a fantastically intelligent mind.
Overall opinion?
While I don't think is was anything special I did find if to be a really comfortable and fun read. I liked trying to work out in my head who might have done it and the ending was a really unexpected surprise! I am definitely interested in reading more of Christie's works.
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