Hello everyone!
You would think, right?
But hopefully most of you are all done with every shopping expedition and you can enjoy the time at home now that the holidays are officially upon us.
As it so happens, the main focus of our little book review tonight could NOT stay at home despite the fact he wanted to. And isn't that just sat in the long run? Luckily for us though it does turn out quite funny along the way so it isn't as though we don't get any payoff from it.
If you're thinking that the title of this book is a bit weird in terms of what I've just said, you may even be right.
Then again, when it comes to Agatha Christie and her Hercule Poirot, it usually is.
Links to previous Christmas-themed book reviews can be found down at the bottom of the page, as always, and happy reading if you check them out!
Now, on to Poirot's Christmas problem, when all he wants is to stay at home with his nice central heating over Christmas. Unfortunately, however, a government intermediary taps him to help a prince, who's come to London to entertain himself and be merry, and was stupid enough to bring his country's prized royal ruby along.
Naturally, he got infatuated with a girl, sowing his wild oats as they say since he's about to be married to a serious, Oxford-educated cousin, and the girl ended up taking off with the ruby.
This is where Poirot comes in.
Under the guise of wishing to experience a true English Christmas (pudding and all involved) he travels to the Laceys in the country, where supposedly the mystery of the ruby can also be solved.
If you're thinking this sounds weird, you'd be right, but here's the thing: the police can't get involved even though the prince and his lackeys generally KNOW, vaguely, where the ruby is, because it would cause a scandal and the wedding could potentially be off. As Poirot is discretion itself, it stands to reason his interference won't be as news-breaking.
So he goes over and, naturally, lands himself in the middle of what looks to be a pretty fractured family, as they've all come down for Christmas (and all are suspicious of the foreigner in their midst). Mrs. Lacey actually asks Poirot for a little help with their granddaughter, who is infatuated to the max with a wholly unsuitable young man, though Mrs. Lacey is smart enough not to deliberately try to separate them.
To be sure, Desmond is absolutely annoying and you want to boot him the second he appears on the page, so no worries there. Especially since he kind of just leaves his sister in her rooms to recover instead of spending time with her.
Poirot is then treated to exactly the kind of Christmas the English have celebrated since forever, and the youngsters of the group, Colin, Michael and Bridget, decide to put up a 'murder performance' for him on Boxing Day so that he would feel more welcome, considering he's a detective and all.
Before this can happen, of course, we learn Colonel Lacey can't stand Desmond, and that there's been a mishap with the Christmas pudding.
Not just a mishap, but the ruby is found in there!
Poirot waves it off as just a piece of glass to avoid drawing attention to it, but he learns from the cook that the pudding served on that day was supposed to be put on the table on New Year's, with the Christmas one having been clumsily dropped and the mold broken.
This indicates someone was trying to hide it there in the one not likely to be served until they could disappear quietly, probably in response to Poirot showing up.
Coupled with a note on his pillow warning him not to partake of said Christmas pudding, and the mystery is a go. With suspicions up and going already, Poirot avoids coffee that day and is awake, pretending to be asleep, when someone comes to search his room, though they don't find what they're looking for (the little egg-head-shaped hamster tricks them).
On Boxing Day, the kids put on their show with Bridget being the murder victim, but when Poirot arrives it turns out she's ACTUALLY dead. So not only is the ruby now on scene, there will also HAVE to be police because of this!
Poirot asks Desmond to ring the police, showing him the piece of 'glass' from the pudding in Bridgets' hand, so Desmond takes off with it to do just that, claiming the phone lines had been cut. Meanwhile, our detective takes everyone into the house to explain.
See, Bridget isn't REALLY dead.
The ruby now in his possession, he prepares to finish his visit and return to London when Bridget surprises him under the mistletoe to give him a little kiss.
So all in all, even famous detectives can have little Christmas moments like that!
If you're into something a little less festive but not all the way to proper murder like the previous Poirot Christmas book I reviewed, this might be the one for you as it's quite a short, sweet little story of how the missing ruby bounces about. It's full of old English traditions as well, and Poirot, as always, is spectacular.
Really, for a quick afternoon read, this is on point!
xx
*images not mine
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