The mystery started close to Christmas, strong-armed by Edward Catchpool's conniving mother, who expects things to go her way. From the start to finish, Poirot remained mysterious and playful, while observing those around him in search of a murderer as usual. Sophie Hannah might be entertaining, but Agatha Christie remains the true artist who made Hercule Poirot the investigator that he is.
While the premise is not bad, it was difficult to follow the train of thought. By the end, I had given up all the pretense that the book's story and mystery were logical. The characters were by far stoic and vague. It is like watching a group of goldfish and trying to figure out who ate the worm.

This is my first time hearing of Sophie Hannah, let alone those series.

I am quite a fan of AC so was really excited to receive this.

I actually really enjoyed it and want to continue with this series.

I have been ready books by Agatha Christie since high school, I have read them over and over and never stopped enjoying them. Having said that, I have read Sophie Hannah earlier books and found them okay enjoyable. Unfortunately this latest book as pretty bad, Poirot has lost his charm and his sidekick is without reason. The rule of the Golden Age mysteries where ignored and the ending was from left field, but not in a good way. Sorry I really wanted to like this book but it was all wrong. Thanks you NetGalley and the publishers for the DRC

EXCERPT: 'Please, madame, explain what you mean. Also: you will desist from telling me what I will and will not do, or I shall disembark at the next station and make my way home.'
'Goodness me, you men.' Mother shook her head. 'You carry on as if I am trying to keep you in the dark, Monsieur Poirot, when my only wish is to tell you all about it. The original treat, as you call it - the one Arnold is looking forward to with the eager anticipation of a schoolboy for a snowball fight - is the solving of Stanley Niven's murder. Solving it himself, I mean. That is what he proposes to do, as soon as he is admitted to St Walstan's in the new year.' The train juddered, apparently as shocked as I was by this latest twist in the story. I had assumed that Arnold Laurier was in a weak and feeble condition, as the imminently dying tend to be.
'The poor, foolish man wants to be the one to catch the killer,' said Mother. 'He will soon be "at the scene" as he keeps saying with great relish, and perfectly situated to do some sleuthing. You are his inspiration, Monsieur Poirot. He claims to be well versed in your methods and keeps telling everyone that he knows he can do it - he, Arnold Laurier, will succeed where Inspector Mackle and his men have failed. If the police haven't caught the culprit after three months of trying, then they probably never will - that is Arnold's contention. He has been your most devoted fan for nearly ten years, ever since he heard from me all about your and Edward's first case and how expertly you solved it. He is rather sweetly obsessed with you, I'm afraid. If there has ever been the tiniest mention of you in a newspaper, I promise you, Arnold has cut it out and glued it into his scrapbook. And since he is due to move to St Walstan's immediately after the Christmas holidays . . . well, his argument is that lying around in a hospital bed waiting to die is nowhere near as much fun as getting one's teeth into a nice, juicy murder case-'

ABOUT 'HERCULE POIROT'S SILENT NIGHT': It’s 19 December 1931. Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool are called to investigate the murder of a man in the apparent safe haven of a Norfolk hospital ward. Catchpool’s mother, the irrepressible Cynthia, insists that Poirot stays in a crumbling mansion by the coast, so that they can all be together for the festive period while Poirot solves the case. Cynthia’s friend Arnold is soon to be admitted to that same hospital and his wife is convinced he will be the killer’s next victim, though she refuses to explain why.

Poirot has less than a week to solve the crime and prevent more murders, if he is to escape from this nightmare scenario and get home in time for Christmas. Meanwhile, someone else – someone utterly ruthless – also has ideas about what ought to happen to Hercule Poirot . . .

MY THOUGHTS: I have only previously read one of Sophie Hannah's Hercule Poirot series, The Killings at Kingfisher Hill, and I liked Silent Night even more. Hannah has captured the essence of Hercule Poirot perfectly and I felt as though what I was reading had been penned by Agatha Christie herself.

The characters are captivating and eccentric, though many are barely likeable; the mystery intriguing. It had my little grey cells exercising fruitlessly! At first Poirot is confident that he will have the murder solved in only a day or two, but he fails to foresee that his own life may be put in danger as he makes his inquiries. His progress is also impeded by the obstinacy and ineptitude of the local police inspector, Mackle.

Catchpool, as always, is well behind Poirot in forming theories and is often quite perplexed by Poirot's ability to see what he has missed. Poirot also often gives Catchpool tasks to perform but refuses to explain the reasoning behind them, another thing that irritates him no end. But they are friends above all and tend to iron out their differences of opinion by agreeing to disagree although, as Poirot is fond of saying, he (Poirot) is less wrong than Catchpool!

All the stars for this rather wonderful and challenging murder-mystery set at Christmas.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

#HerculePoirotsSilentNight #NetGalley

I: @sophiehannahwriter @harprcollinsaustralia

T: @sophiehannahCB1 @HarperCollinsAU

#christmasfiction #crime #detectivefiction #historicalfiction #murdermystery

THE AUTHOR: Sophie Hannah is forty-one and lives with her husband and children in Cambridge, where she is a Fellow Commoner at Lucy Cavendish College. She is currently working on a new challenge for the little grey cells of Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s famous detective.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins Australia via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Hercule Poirot's Silent Night by Sophie Hannah for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

This was the first book in Sophie Hannah's Hercule Poirot series that I have read, and many years since I have read any books by Agatha Christie. I enjoyed the trope of the large country mansion, with the added dimension that it could fall into the sea, and the characters were all clearly described if mostly unlikeable. I didn't guess who committed the murder which greatly added to my enjoyment of the book. I would read more in this series and recommend it to friends.

I think Sophie Hannah has done a good job in re-creating Hercule Poirot, but perhaps Inspector Edward Catchpool is not a good replacement for his old offsider Arthur Hastings.

Catchpool's mother requests Poirot's help in solving one murder and preventing another. The possible second victim is due to be admitted to hospital early in the New Year and to spend his remaining days there. If Poirot can work out who committed the original murder then perhaps her friend Arnold will be safe. There seems to be no reason why the second murder should take place, there is no evident link between the first victim and Arnold, and yet Arnold's wife is convinced the hospital is an unsafe place.

Poirot is confident that the solving of the first murder will take him only a couple of days and that he and Catchpool will be free to return to London in plenty of time for Christmas. However he has not taken Catchpool's mother's determination into account, and the lengths that she will go to. Add to that a mix of very strange and at times unpleasant characters, an inept local police investigator, and something in the past reaching out into the present .....

This is the 5th book by Sophie Hannah in this series, and I recommend that if you are still to give it a try, that you make Hercule Poirot's acquaintance. I doubt that you will be disappointed.

I really enjoyed reading this book, based on one of Agatha Christie’s stories. It’s an entertaining read. As it’s an unproofed copy there are some errors. My favourite funny one was I would like you to convince my son that I am the greatest thing since bread was wrapped!

I liked the way Hannah handled the story and in particular Poirot’s character and personality. He came across as convincing; eccentric of course, but definitely convincing . It was a fast paced read that kept me engaged throughout.

There was a lot of suspense and mystery in the book. I didn’t feel that it was easy to spot the villain of the piece, which appealed to me.

I didn’t know about this series until I received the Netgalley email.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I was not aware of this series before so I am entering it at book 5. I guess it does not matter since I am sure each book contains its own separate crime. It seems Sophie Hannah has been granted permission to write a new series of Agatha Christie's famous books and I think she does it rather well.

Firstly, although I enjoy Christie's books I am not a rabid fan, so I do not feel offended that she is writing new stories about Poirot. Judging by the reviews many people do feel that way. I do wonder why she wanted to do it, but that is another topic altogether.

As far as this book is concerned I felt that Hercule's character and manner came across well. The setting and the characters could easily have been written by Christie herself. The mystery was very involved and became quite intriguing towards the end with the culprit coming as a definite surprise - at least it was to me! Hercule's final summing up was a bit long winded but then they usually are, especially if you are like me and cannot wait to find out 'who dunnit'.

Four stars from me for an enjoyable and entertaining read.

Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.
This is the third in this series I have read. A
Though it began slowly, with rather a lot of detail, it soon gathered pace and had me hooked. There is a confidence and excitement to the writing that was promised, but less evident in the two others I have read ( 2nd and 3rd in the series). Some of the characters are eccentric, exaggerated for dramatic effect, but no more so thank for example, Christie’s Ariadne Oliver. Poirot is here well developed, engaging and convincing.

I really enjoyed this seemingly unlikely story. What’s more, I believed in it. The behaviours were, in fact, credible, as anyone delving far into family history will know. Hannah has taken Christie well on board and run her own course. This reader, at least, is satisfied and happy to be in her world.