From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Hercule Poirot, #37)

Agatha Christie

Start date: December 1, 2020

Finish date: December 31, 2020

Discussion: Archive: Poirot Buddy Reads

Why we're reading this: A second Poirot read for December with a Christmas theme.
[close] A second Poirot read for December with a Christmas theme.

Find A Copy At

Libraries

Group Discussions About This Book

Showing 2 of 71 topics — 1,981 comments total

Archive: Poirot Buddy Reads

* Reading Order for the Unofficial Poirot Buddy Reads
By Jessica-sim · 54 posts · 155 views

last updated Dec 27, 2020 08:20AM

Poirot Buddy Read 40: SPOILER THREAD Curtain
By Jessica-sim · 20 posts · 35 views

last updated Feb 05, 2021 06:12PM

showing 4 of 4 topics view all »

What Members Thought

Nov 28, 2020 Susan in NC rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: want-to-reread, christie

12/1/20: apparently I only read the first short story, which was available as a single ebook on Scribd, but there are more stories in this collection, published under a different cover

The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Hercule Poirot, #35) by Agatha Christie

. I’ll read those stories and review separately.

“The adventure of the Christmas pudding” - 2.5 stars for ok+; short stories are often hard to rate, the truncated length making them sometimes feel rushed. This was pretty good, though, with plenty of Christmas traditions included!

I was a bit confused, as the ope ...more

10 likes · Like · see review

Dec 03, 2020 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

As with all short story collections, some are weaker than others, but overall a fun collection- seemed odd to have the Miss Marple story here, it’s not Christmas themed or otherwise related.

I read and reviewed “The Adventure of the Christmas pudding” as a short story, didn’t realize it was a collection. Here is my review of that story- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5....

I’ll read the rest of the collection and review each story.

Mystery of the Spanish Chest - 3.5 stars - interesting, I’ve s As with all short story collections, some are weaker than others, but overall a fun collection- seemed odd to have the Miss Marple story here, it’s not Christmas themed or otherwise related.

I read and reviewed “The Adventure of the Christmas pudding” as a short story, didn’t realize it was a collection. Here is my review of that story- https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5....

I’ll read the rest of the collection and review each story.

Mystery of the Spanish Chest - 3.5 stars - interesting, I’ve seen the David Suchet version on tv, but couldn’t remember whodunnit. Seemed like a sure thing that the arrested man killed the husband of the femme fatale because he wanted her for himself. Poirot is captivated by the drama of the news stories, but then the widow asks him to investigate. Poirot meets all the characters involved, and of course there is a twist only he can see!

The Underdog - 3.5 stars - never read or seen this one, to my knowledge- interesting to see Poirot using his manservant George as an assistant on a case. Lady Astwell has called him in to investigate her husband’s murder; she’s convinced the police have arrested the wrong man. As usual, Poirot questions through conversation, forms his own theories, and catches the killer - unmasking the true motives and alliances hiding amongst the household! Entertaining story.

Four and Twenty Blackbirds - 4 stars - this really appealed to me, as a good example of tight plotting, without any padding, young lovers, etc. Poirot is dining with a friend as the story opens; the friend tells of a regular customer who only ever ate there Tuesdays and Thursdays, like clockwork, but suddenly came in on a Monday. Then wasn’t seen for awhile, then is found dead. Poirot gets suspicious of this odd behavior and starts digging, finds the clues to change an accidental death to murder, and get the killer. Satisfying, solid, spare plot.

The Dream -3 stars - had seen this on tv with Suchet, which was fun and more fleshed out as I recall, more padding with the usual “young lovers” subplot. The original story is much more streamlined, with an interesting premise of a very rich man having a recurring dream foretelling his death by suicide, but of course Poirot suspects and proves murder when the man is eventually found dead. Seemed very intricate and rife with possibilities for failure of the murder plot.

Greenshaw’s Folly - 3 stars - the only Miss Marple story, this was not a favorite, but I remember seeing it on TV at some point. Like The Dream, seemed rather over-elaborate and convoluted for a short story - as always, Miss Marple sees through the fog and has all the answers, but it seemed a bit too far-fetched and coincidental. ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Mar 13, 2019 P. rated it liked it · review of another edition

Momentarily a freebie. A decent, but not riveting tale.

1 like · Like · see review

Jul 23, 2009 Bhavya Mathur rated it it was ok

Shelves: mystery-thriller

its a collection of small poirot cases

Like · see review

Jan 03, 2019 Carol Evans rated it really liked it

Shelves: christmas, mystery

It's another Christmas only this time, Poirot already knows what the crime was, a stolen gem. It's his job to track it down. But he also learns how enjoyable an English Christmas can be. There's no actual murder in this one, which is unusual for Poirot's cases. ...more

Like · see review