In Sophie Hannah's latest installment, legendary detective Hercule Poirot ventures to Norfolk to unravel a perplexing murder mystery. When Arnold Laurier, a dying math teacher, requests Poirot's presence to solve the baffling murder of Stanley Niven, the stage is set for a riveting investigation.

With vivid characters and a labyrinthine plot, Hannah immerses readers in the chilling atmosphere of Frellingsloe House, where family secrets and dark motives lurk beneath the veneer of holiday cheer. As Poirot navigates the web of suspects, including Laurier's own relatives, tensions mount, and the true nature of the crimes is gradually unveiled. With Inspector Edward Catchpool by his side, Poirot faces a race against time to uncover the truth before another tragedy strikes.

With each twist and turn, Hannah expertly weaves a tapestry of intrigue, challenging even the most astute puzzle-solvers to unravel the mysteries hidden within. A masterful blend of suspense and wit, this novel offers a delectable treat for fans of classic detective fiction that is sure to captivate and delight readers until the very last page.

It’s December 19, 1931. Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool are looking forward to a much-needed, restful Christmas holiday, when they are called upon to investigate the murder of a man in a Norfolk hospital ward. Cynthia Catchpool, Edward’s mother, insists that Poirot stay with her in a crumbling mansion by the coast, so that they can all be together for the festive period while he solves the case. I love Sophie Hannahs renditions of Poirot and this story was one of her best. Kept me guessing all the way until the end. More Poirot please.

I thought this was really well written and I look forward to reading more from this author in the future. I think it will find readers at our library, so we will definitely be purchasing for the collection.

Adding Agatha Christie prominently to the front of a book gives readers certain expectations. Sadly those expectations were not met with this book. If it had been written without the ties to Agatha, I might feel differently.

The mystery seemed to drag on in places and m seemed fast paced in other places. It seemed that there were a lot of unneeded red herrings that made the story seem longer than it needed to be. Status Christie could have had her Poirot solve this mystery in half the amount of chapters.

When I was in fifth grade, I wrote a paper on the life of Agatha Christie. Writing that paper sent me down a rabbit hole that consisted of more than 100 books and many different detectives. Of those many detectives, Hercule Poirot was my favorite. The way his mind worked captivated me from the moment I read Murder on the Orient Express. To this day, I am still thoroughly captivated. Reading Sophie Hannah’s version of my favorite detective is a nice little blast into who I used to be and the many ways that loving mysteries became my entire personality.

Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night was a beautiful addition to the work of Hercule Poirot. While there are obviously differences and nuances of the original character that have changed, he is overall still the same brilliant detective. It is an interesting juxtaposition to view the established character of Poirot to the new addition of all the other characters. Despite the fact that the story is set in another time, the new characters feel more modern than Poirot. Whilst Poirot feels like a solid reboot of the original character, the rest of the characters feel out of place. As if they are too new-fashioned for the writing style in which our leading man was born from.

The mystery itself was both interesting and complex. Though there were lulls in the middle of the book, the ending brought everything back together. It would have been nice to have a little more buildup to the conclusion, but it was fascinating to read every moment that made up the mystery.

Overall, this book is a great addition to the Sophie Hannah collection of Hercule Poirot novels and can be enjoyed by anyone.

⅘ stars

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this eARC in exchange for my honest opinions.

A classic who done it book. Perfect for the mystery lover who wants to read a festive mystery near the holidays.

Agatha Christie fans, rejoice: Sophie Hannah brings back famed detective Hercule Poirot in the riveting Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night, the latest entry in her authorized reboot of the iconic series.

Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool (Hannah’s own invention) are taking on a new case, this time brought to them by Cynthia Catchpool, Edward’s mother. Even as she invites them to celebrate Christmas with her, Cynthia enlists their help in solving a murder—and preventing another. Catchpool thinks his mother is only scheming to spend time with him, but Poirot senses something amiss and agrees to take on the case.

They travel to Norfolk, where a well-liked and amiable man was recently murdered in a busy hospital ward. Local officials have yet to figure out how the killer was able to escape unseen, and Cynthia’s friend Arnold is due to be admitted to that very ward. Arnold’s wife believes her husband will become the next victim, so Poirot and Catchpool are asked to unmask the killer before Arnold is admitted—and possibly murdered. When Poirot and Catchpool begin their investigation, they have high hopes for a neat solution and a quick return to London. But as they unravel the mystery, the sleuths realize there’s more than meets the eye with this case, and they may be closer than they realize to the killer.

Hannah’s biggest departure is in creating Inspector Catchpool to narrate the series while Poiroit’s traditional companion, Arthur Hastings, is presumably in Argentina. The addition of a new viewpoint character allows readers to see the Belgian detective from a fresh perspective while also allowing Hannah to establish her own voice, which she does with aplomb even as she effortlessly captures Poirot’s essence. And Catchpool is a likable narrator: intelligent; bitingly funny, especially when ruminating on his complicated relationship with his mother; and devoted to Poirot.

The mystery itself is reminiscent of Christie, too—meticulously plotted and engaging, with multiple likely suspects. Readers looking for another puzzling outing with the famed Hercule Poirot will be richly rewarded with this new installment.

This is a difficult book to review. I LOVED how the author brought Poirot to life. She makes Agathe Christie proud in her crafting of Poirot. In fact, I love how she evokes a setting and writes all of her characters. I did feel that the end was unsatisfying and in ways nonsensical. I also felt like it dragged in places. With a better ending and better pacing this would have been a wonderful mystery. Factoring those things in, however, it was a book I liked but did not love.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for my complimentary copy. All opinions are my own.

Hercule Poirot and his confidant, Inspector Edward Catchpool, are invited to a mansion teetering on the edge of the coast to solve a murder at a nearby hospital. Poirot needs to solve the murder before the dying head of the house is sent to the same hospital. In the house, Poirot finds a family full of resentments and secrets, all classic Christie conflicts. But none of it appears to connect with the dead man in the hospital, who seems like he was loved by all. And who was in a room that no one appeared to enter or exit. Poirot has only a few days to solve this crime before Christmas comes or the killer strikes again.

Hercule Poirot's Silent Night was another fun mystery from Sophie Hannah. While I think the mystery took a little too long to really pick up, I found the setting and characters to be a lot of fun. The conflict between Catchpool and his mother was a great through line separate from the mystery. The ticking clock of Christmas on the Horizon gave the book a great push throughout. Hannah delivers another enjoyable crime for Poirot to solve, with nasty characters and a seemingly impossible murder. Fans of Christie will continue to enjoy Hannah's continuation of the character.

Thank you to William Morrow and NetGalley for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Days before Christmas, Hercule Poirot is convinced by a mysterious woman, to put his “little grey cells” to work in helping solve a murder, possibly two. He agrees to accompany the woman, who turns out not to be mysterious at all, from London to Norfolk with his Scotland Yard assistant and friend, Edward Catchpool. Together, Poirot and Catchpool will gather information and set to work discovering “who done it”.

This book is a continuation of Agatha Christie’s works, but not written by her. It’s filled with discovering the subterfuge and secrets that form the motive for murder. It also displays a perfect example of mother-son discord. It’s a very British cozy mystery.

Sadly, there were a few things I found irritating in this book. I haven’t read the original Christie Poirot mysteries, so I can only base my observations on this book. I found the unrestrained nattering of almost all of the women in this book irritating. Only the women seemed to carry on in this manner, offering pages and pages of irrelevant chatter. I’m sure a clue or two were dropped during these babbling conversations, but they almost always made me want to close the book and call it quits. Also, the stereotypical characterization of Inspector Mackle as egotistical, idiotic, and incompetent was unbelievable. I’m sure there might be detectives like him, who draw a hasty conclusion to save themselves work and continuously attempt to plant ideas in witnesses minds to bring them on board with his assumptions, but I found it far-fetched to see it being real.

That aside, while this book is set in the early 1930s, the story itself could easily take place today. Be prepared for greed, family conflict, mental-health issues, architectural/conservation issues, jealousy, and more. It moves along quickly, and it brings Monsieur Porot beautifully to life. I’m still pondering on Catchpool. He’s equally strong and weak in his efforts to help solve the case. He definitely shows the effects of having an overbearing mother, and yet he does a remarkable job of ferreting out necessary information and clues.

I enjoyed this book and think it’s worth the time to read.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. I thank all involved for their generosity, but it had no effect on this review. All opinions in this review reflect my true and honest reactions to reading this book.

I read this shortly before Christmas and thought it was a fun holiday read. In the latest installment of the Poirot series, Poirot and his sidekick Inspector Catchpool have planned a quiet, low-key Christmas celebration. However, their plans are disrupted when a mystery caller arrives at Poirot's door and implores him to come to Norfolk to investigate a murder and, hopefully, prevent another. Adding to the urgency of the request, the visitor's friend, Arnold, intends to investigate the murder himself after he is admitted to the same hospital ward, very much against his family's wishes. The visitor will not be dissuaded, so Poirot and Catchpool head to the coast with plans to quickly resolve the mystery in time for Christmas. As the two investigate, it becomes clear that the killer may have set their sights on more victims, including Poirot himself. The story is told from Catchpool's point of view and his connection to Poirot's unannounced visitor added another layer to the story for me. I found his asides and irritations amusing, which made the reading experience even more enjoyable.

Many thanks to William Morrow's Scene of the Crime Early Read program for providing a NetGalley copy of the latest Poirot novel.

I am a huge fan of Sophie Hannah. I had never read a Hercule Poirot book until she began writing this series. The old TV shows have put me to sleep every time I tried to watch one, so I was hesitant to pick this series up at first. I have enjoyed these books so much, it let me to reading Christie's original works, which I have also loved.
I find myself recommending these Poirot books to many readers at the library. Often, customers will be well familiar with Christie's work, but have not heard of these. I think Hannah does a wonderful job of staying true to these characters while breathing fresh life into the stories.
I appreciate that the series (like the originals) can pretty much be read in any order!
This one was a perfect read this December when I was looking for holiday books that were not romances (sometimes a difficult task).

A Christmas spent in a cozy flat with a brilliant, intelligent friend for good food and stimulating conversation was the height of his Christmas holiday until an irrepressible woman burst in and demanded they come and solve a mystery that was baffling local police.

For a few years now, I’ve been aware of the New Hercule Poirot Mysteries and I’ve wanted to try them since I love Agatha Christie’s eccentric Belgium detective. When I spotted the latest installment among this year’s Christmas offerings, I decided it was time to visit the series. Thankfully, Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night is standalone though it’s the fifth book in the series.

I enjoyed being introduced to Hercule Poirot’s new companion, Scotland Yard Inspector Catchpool who also happens to chronicle the cases they have worked on together. The holiday case comes to them via Catchpool’s annoying force of nature of a mother. He has told her ‘no’ about coming to visit her friends for the holidays so she ends around him and presents the local murder case to Poirot and demands he help solve it because it affects her dear friend and her eccentric household.

I was wary of this new iteration of Poirot, but it wasn’t long before I was comfortable with Sophie Hannah’s careful creation of the character and Catchpool. Then, when Cynthia Catchpool crashed into the story, I was amused and irritated by her in equal measure, but she definitely livened things up.

For the next several chapters, there was the intro to the cast of characters, the murder case, and the setting of the town and the estate by the sea. The characters were all fascinating people and the interactions had me eying them all suspiciously as Poirot and Catchpool interviewed and observed with plans to get the case solved and leave for London by Christmas. Silly men, I can see Cynthia tsking them with her playful finger.

The mystery had me curious, but I confess that I was more into getting to know the new Poirot and seeing him compare favorably with Christie’s original. Also, the amusing way Catchpool is not as quick on the uptake as Poirot and gets put to work while still in the dark by Poirot. Their friendship is fun.

In summary, this was a delightful holiday cozy historical mystery. I’ll be going back to see Poirot and Catchpool’s first meeting and case and getting the whole series though I was glad this worked great as a standalone and recommend you stuff your stocking with this Christmas goodie.

I received this book as an advanced reader copy from NetGalley

This is another mystery following Hercule Poirot and his faithful sidekick, Edward Catchpool. This one grabbed me better than some of the others in this series. A murder has occurred and Edwards mother Cynthia comes to beg them to help solve the case. While it is near the holidays Edward and Poirot have plans to go away for Christmas. They eventually get talked into going to solve the mystery, and plan on doing it before the holiday so they can get away as planned. Once they get there they notice the family is a bit odd and a lot of complications. They realize they need to solve the murder quickly as the family is afraid someone else is going to be killed next.

Quite a few twists and plot changes. Enjoyable read

Thought the mystery was a bit silly and easy to solve. Not really worth of the Agatha Christie name imo.

A two-fer - Mystery & Holiday combined to entertain me this week. I was unaware of the New Hercule Poirot series, and this was my first read. It was necessary to keep slapping down the barking dogs of comparison in my mind, but I finally beat them back with treats and locked doors.

The tale was well-told and kept me interested. Catchpool seems ever behind, but it is so rare (if ever) that anyone has moved beyond H Poirot, right? This was heavy on the mystery, and I would have liked more holiday, but that's just nitpicking. Upward and onward, I'll start at the beginning and seet where it leads.

*A sincere thank you to Sophie Hannah, William Morrow and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review - and a deep curtsey to Herself, Ms. A Christie from whose mind Hercule Poirot sprang Athena-like to disentangle this world's mysteries with his magnificent Grey Cells!*

A classic Agatha Christie who done it! A fun holiday themed mystery with our favorite detective ! I love a hercule peiorit mystery.

Thank you to net galley for this reading chance. Everyone has recommended i read this author and i had to see what all the hoopla was about and i was not disappointed. I love it and will read again. And recommend

Sophie Hannah's HERCULE POIROT'S SILENT NIGHT is an enjoyable addition to the world of Hercule Poirot; readers will find a satisfying holiday mystery with a beloved character.