HERCULE POIROT’S CHRISTMAS, AGATHA CHRISTIE, PUBLISHED: DECEMBER 19, 1938
MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY!

“Agatha Christie’s love of literature began at the age of five when she taught herself to read. Growing up she enjoyed reading Conan Doyle’s early Sherlock Holmes stories with her sister Madge, who later challenged her to write her own detective story.”- As quoted on her website.

"WHY NOT MAKE MY DETECTIVE A BELGIAN? THERE WERE ALL TYPES OF REFUGEES. HOW ABOUT A REFUGEE POLICE OFFICER? A RETIRED POLICE OFFICER. "
-AGATHA CHRISTIE, AN AUTOBIOGRAPHY 
Thus, was born, Hercule Poirot out of the imaginations of Agatha Christie.
A seven-part book, it begins on 22nd December and finishes on 28th December.
A family reunion, wherein a filthy rich father, Simeon Lee requests all his children to come home for Christmas. A locked room murder mystery, it felt like playing the board game Cluedo (devised by Anthony E. Pratt in 1943 motivated by Agatha Christie’s novels): ‘Colonel Mustard killed with a dagger in the Billiard room.’

I felt bad for Hercule Poirot, instead of enjoying his Christmas, he was forced to investigate a murder. I’m sure there are many nurses, doctors, policemen etc. who are working today without getting a holiday for Christmas.
The novel is simple yet gripping, fast-paced and I was clueless till the end. There is something brilliant about the build-up that kept me enthralled throughout. Every character is described so vividly that one can imagine all of them. The investigation is so detailed that there is no room for confusion or questions. Every time Poirot suspects somebody, he gives out clear reasons as to why he isn’t the murderer, making it a multilayered misleading whodunnit. Unravelling the history, and the character of every individual slowly, while building excitement, is what Agatha does in all her mysteries.
“THE CHARACTER OF THE VICTIM HAS ALWAYS SOMETHING TO DO WITH HIS OR HER MURDER.” HERCULE POIROT