Hercule Poirot's Christmas

Collins, London, 1938
Dodd Mead, New York, 1938 as "Murder for Christmas"

My dear James
You have always been one of the most faithful and kindly of my readers, and I was therefore seriously perturbed when I received from you a word of criticism.
You complained that my murders were getting too refined - anaemic, in fact. You yearned for a 'good violent murder with lots of blood'. A murder where there was no doubt about its being murder!
So this is your special story - written for you. I hope it may please.

Plot

(from HarperCollins "The Agatha Christie Collection" cover)

It is Christmas Eve. The Lee family reunion is shattered by a deafening crash of furniture, followed by a high-pitched wailing scream. Upstairs, the tyrannical Simeon Lee lies dead in a pool of blood, his throat slashed.

But when Hercule Poirot, who is staying in the village with a friend for Christmas, offers to assist, he finds an atmosphere not of mourning but of mutual suspicion. It seems everyone had their own reason to hate the old man...

Contents

December 22nd
December 23rd
December 24th
December 25th
December 26th
December 27th
December 28th

Characters

Simeon Lee, Alfred Lee, Lydia Lee, George Lee, Magdalene Lee, Harry Lee, Pilar Estravados, Horbury, Tressilian, Sugden, Hercule Poirot

"Macbeth"

"Yet who would have thought the old man to have so much blood in him?"

Movie & TV

[TV] Hercule Poirot's Christmas

"Agahta Christie's POIROT VI", 1995(UK/LWT) 103min.

[direct] Edward Bennett; [script] Clive Exton

[cast] (Series Main-starring) David Suchet(Poirot), Hugh Fraser(Hastings), Philip Jackson(Japp), Pauline Moran(Miss Lemon)

[cast] & Mark Tandy(Sugden), Catherine Rabett(Lydia Lee), Simon Roberts(Alfred Lee), Brian Gwaspari(Harry Lee), Sasha Behar(Pilar Estravados), Eric Carte(George Lee), Andree Bernard(Magdalene Lee), Ayd Khan Din(Horbury), Vernon Dobtcheff(Simeon Lee), Olga Lowe(Stella)