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3.64 AVERAGE
3.64 AVERAGE
What better way to feed your festive appetite than with the Adventure of The Christmas pudding. It’s classic Christie, with a dusting of Christmas spirit. Murder and mistletoe, crime and Christmas tries, and mystery and mince pies. The perfect combinations. But mostly, I just want Poirot over for Christmas dinner.
This was a lovely short story collection, perfect for the 'Betwixtmas' period between Christmas and New Year. In the forward, Christie calls this a 'Chef's selection,' and I agree -- a tasty meal! Perhaps not quite so Christmas-y as promised by the title, but very nice, all the same. The collection includes six short stories: four Poirot, one Marple.
'The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding' had all the Christmas-y flair that I hoped for when I started reading this collection. A true 'English' country Christmas, with snow and puddings and a mystery to boot. It also features Poirot at his most light-hearted and humorous. I genuinely laughed out loud at a few lines, and I appreciated his need for central heat. I, too, hate being cold! After this tale, however, the Christmas faded out of the stories...
Nevertheless, the second story, 'The Mystery of the Spanish Chest' was one of my favorites in this collection. Another Poirot, very clever. Could easily have been a full novel, I thought, but worked well as a short story. 'The Underdog' was fine, but perhaps not my favorite. I did like how a green chiffon dress played a role. 'Four and Twenty Blackbirds,' which Christie calls the 'sorbet' of the book, felt like just that -- a palate cleanser. Short, to the point, full of descriptions of food. And the final Poirot of the collection, 'The Dream,' was interesting -- if perhaps a bit guessable, compared to most of Christie's mysteries. Then, a final little treat of 'Greenshaw's Folly' featuring Miss Marple! I did enjoy it, though it felt a bit rushed and a bit too pat. Marple certainly did a lot of inferring for this one! But still, a fun little story perfect for closing out my 2021 of Agatha Christie.
Overall, very good short story collection, perhaps some of Christie's funniest work (I found myself laughing out loud at multiple times!) but don't go into it expecting a volume of Christmas mysteries, as you'll only get one!
'The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding' had all the Christmas-y flair that I hoped for when I started reading this collection. A true 'English' country Christmas, with snow and puddings and a mystery to boot. It also features Poirot at his most light-hearted and humorous. I genuinely laughed out loud at a few lines, and I appreciated his need for central heat. I, too, hate being cold! After this tale, however, the Christmas faded out of the stories...
Nevertheless, the second story, 'The Mystery of the Spanish Chest' was one of my favorites in this collection. Another Poirot, very clever. Could easily have been a full novel, I thought, but worked well as a short story. 'The Underdog' was fine, but perhaps not my favorite. I did like how a green chiffon dress played a role. 'Four and Twenty Blackbirds,' which Christie calls the 'sorbet' of the book, felt like just that -- a palate cleanser. Short, to the point, full of descriptions of food. And the final Poirot of the collection, 'The Dream,' was interesting -- if perhaps a bit guessable, compared to most of Christie's mysteries. Then, a final little treat of 'Greenshaw's Folly' featuring Miss Marple! I did enjoy it, though it felt a bit rushed and a bit too pat. Marple certainly did a lot of inferring for this one! But still, a fun little story perfect for closing out my 2021 of Agatha Christie.
Overall, very good short story collection, perhaps some of Christie's funniest work (I found myself laughing out loud at multiple times!) but don't go into it expecting a volume of Christmas mysteries, as you'll only get one!
I decided to play it safe this year around and picked up my comfort author as my first book of the year! ✨ I was supposed to read it on Christmas but my stubborn slump didn't make it happen lol.
The Adventure of Christmas Pudding and other stories consisting of six short stories keeps you thoroughly entertained with all the elements of a cozy mystery.
The first story of the lot romanticizes all the customs of a traditional English Christmas with Poirot in the centre of it all, in search of a priceless ruby that went missing. Although slightly predictable, I would say this is the coziest Poirot mystery I've ever read!
The Mystery of the Spanish Chest , a locked room mystery was my second favourite from the bunch. A dead body is discovered in a party, the body of the person who had decided to skip the party at the last minute. Hmmm!
'The Underdog' and 'Four and Twenty Blackbirds' were my least favorite of the collection. And the reason being, they were too short but Poirot gets you all excited as he unravels the plot nonetheless!
The Dream was absolutely brilliant. And I am pretty upset that this is not a full fledged book lol
The Adventure of Christmas Pudding and other stories consisting of six short stories keeps you thoroughly entertained with all the elements of a cozy mystery.
The first story of the lot romanticizes all the customs of a traditional English Christmas with Poirot in the centre of it all, in search of a priceless ruby that went missing. Although slightly predictable, I would say this is the coziest Poirot mystery I've ever read!
The Mystery of the Spanish Chest , a locked room mystery was my second favourite from the bunch. A dead body is discovered in a party, the body of the person who had decided to skip the party at the last minute. Hmmm!
'The Underdog' and 'Four and Twenty Blackbirds' were my least favorite of the collection. And the reason being, they were too short but Poirot gets you all excited as he unravels the plot nonetheless!
The Dream was absolutely brilliant. And I am pretty upset that this is not a full fledged book lol
This was a fun Christmas mystery with a little bit more playfulness on the part of Poirot. I really enjoyed the surprise ending. :)
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding - 3.25 stars
The Mystery of the Spanish Cabinet - 3.5 stars
The Under Dog - 3.25 stars
Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds - 3 stars
The Dream - 3.5 stars
Greenshaw's Folly - 3 stars
Average - 3.25 stars
The Mystery of the Spanish Cabinet - 3.5 stars
The Under Dog - 3.25 stars
Four-and-Twenty Blackbirds - 3 stars
The Dream - 3.5 stars
Greenshaw's Folly - 3 stars
Average - 3.25 stars
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
adventurous
fast-paced
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
• The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
• The Mystery of the Spanish Chest ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
• Four-And-Twenty Blackbirds ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• The Under Dog ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• The Dream ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• The Mystery of the Spanish Chest ⭐️⭐️⭐️✨
• Four-And-Twenty Blackbirds ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• The Under Dog ⭐️⭐️⭐️
• The Dream ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ono što ovu knjigu odvaja od drugih Agatinih jeste što je ovo zapravo zbirka priča o Poarovim avanturama i kao takva sadrži 12 priča. Svaka ima svoj uvod, zaplet i rasplet, likovi su (izuzev Poaroa i eventualno nekih njihovih saradnika) uvek drugi , pa to prebacivanje sa priče na priču na momente može biti naporno ako se priče čitaju jedna za drugom. Odnosno, treba malo više koncentracije da se pohvataju svi konci.
