The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding: A Hercule Poirot Mystery
Written by Agatha Christie
Narrated by Charles Armstrong
3.5/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
In this short story, Hercule Poirot is asked to attend a Christmas celebration in order to apprehend a jewel thief who has taken advantage of an unwary Eastern prince.
Full of English holiday tradition and plenty of intrigue, this holiday tale first appeared in the December 12, 1923, issue of The Sketch magazine.
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in over 70 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 20 plays, and six novels written under the name of Mary Westmacott.
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Reviews for The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
319 ratings18 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5More than holiday cheer awaits Detective Hercule Poirot at a Christmas celebration when a jewel thief is in the midst. And Poirot may have to watch what he eats—for reasons beyond the gastronomical—in The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by author Agatha Christie.This is the second Poirot short I've read recently, and I got a bit nervous in the middle of reading this one, unable to recall if it was supposed to be a murder mystery. While I do read murder mysteries from time to time, I have certain preferences concerning the tone of such stories, and I can't say that murder and Christmas are two ingredients that I'd be eager to mix.Nevertheless, I'm so glad I read this tale all the way through. The old-fashioned English Christmas elements are downright charming, as are the little nods to romance. Even with the story's shortness, the mystery has got a good number of clever twists, and I'm all for the quirky-and-proper flavor I expected to find in a read like this.I hoped to like this short holiday story, and I wound up loving it.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A collection of short stories - some of which have been published before. The title story is interesting - a precious ruby, intended for the wife of a prince, has disappeared, along with the prince's girlfriend. Poirot is on the case and as part of his investigation spends a traditional Christmas at an English country house - oh yes and of course he finds the ruby. But as I mentioned the other stories appear in other collections, so this really works as collection for those who haven't read too many of Dame Agatha's other collected short stories.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book contains the following six short stories, featuring Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple ('Greenshaw's Folly' only):The Adventure of the Christmas PuddingThe Mystery of the Spanish ChestThe Under DogFour-and-Twenty BlackbirdsThe DreamGreenshaw's FollyNot world literature and of varying quality (I thought the lead story particularly weak as it made such woeful use of Poirot's formidable little grey cells while 'The Under Dog' was cleverly done, even if Poirot does have to resort to getting a witness hypnotised, and it wasn't clear almost until the very end who'd done it), the stories nevertheless provide good old-fashioned entertainment and a little brain exercise as I tried to keep up with the respective sleuths' thought processes – quite impossible as some of the deductions are rather far-fetched (the idiom 'clutching at straws' comes to mind).
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Late in her career, Dame Agatha collected some Poirot short stories which hadn’t been published in book form, expanded them, and they became this release. As is her wont, Christie’s long-form short stories (if that phrase doesn’t sound ridiculous) often work well enough. No, they’re never going to have the complexity of her novels, but there’s a restrained strength to each of the Poirot stories here, all of which were subsequently made into very good episodes of the David Suchet television series. More to the point, most of the stories – notably the title story – are wonderfully atmospheric, and this elevates them a little.
The final story, "Greenshaw’s Folly", is a rather weak Marple attempt. It’s an unusual choice to include in this volume, but it ensures that Poirot and Marple – at least nominally – share a book.
[US readers can find these stories scattered in "The Under Dog", "Three Blind Mice" and "The Regatta Mystery", but these days it's probably just easier to buy the Complete Short Stories of Poirot and/or Marple, generally in quite lovely volumes from HarperCollins.]
Poirot ranking: 26th of 38. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book is a collection of several Hercule Poirot short stories. There was also a Miss Marple short story, called Greenshaw's Folly, included in the edition I have. The stories were interesting, but I feel that they lacked the character development that I enjoy in Christie's full length novels.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I wonder how "Greenshaw's Folly" became so famous and celebrated. I think it is one of her worst.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding by Agatha Christie - Good
This was a book of short stories, five Poirot, one Marple:
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding
The Mystery of the Spanish Chest
The Under Dog
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
The Dream
Greenshaw's Folly
As with all Agatha Christie's they are beautifully crafted, but in one or two of them there tended to be a bit of a 'rabbit out of the hat' aspect to they way the mysteries are solved as you can't really see the development of the solution the way you can in her full novels. Still, a nice set of stories to read over Christmas solely picked for the seasonal theme of the first one. - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A collection of six of Agatha Christie's short stories.While this is marketed as a Christmas collection, readers should be aware that only the title story has anything to do with Christmas. Rather, this is a collection of some of Agatha Christie's personal favourites, intended as a sort of a present for her fans. In her introduction, she likens it to a chef's selection, complete with stories of varying lengths and weights. I'd tend to agree; this is a nice, varied collection that includes some longer, meatier tales as well as shorter, sweeter stories. They all appear in other collections as well.The stories are all good ones, though I must confess that I'm getting a little tired of "Greenshaw's Folly." (It appears in at least three collections). The title story, in particular, displays a nice blend of mystery and family life. Dame Agatha takes evident pleasure in describing a big family Christmas, the dinner of which becomes an integral part of a criminal endeavor. The others are equally complex, inventive and enjoyable.Recommended to Christie fans, especially those who haven't read many of her short stories.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Summary:Five entertaining cases of Hercule Poirot (3 long, 2 short), featuring a Christmas Pudding, a Spanish Chest and blueberries amongst others.And as a little extra Miss Marple solves the mystery of Greenshaw’s Folly.Opinion:Much better than "Poirot Investigates"Poirot is a lot more likable, funny and the eccentric Belgian I imagined him to be. Also, the cases are a lot more refined and interesting, maybe also because Christie takes time to let them evolve. Only the last one “The Dream” was pretty predictable, but nevertheless nice.“Greenshaw’s Folly” was my first meeting with Miss Marple and I like her right away. She likes knitting, so only that makes her awesome (I have some kind of liking for handicrafts of any kind). Also the case was very enthralling and I like it to get to know the characters before they are murdered. The atmosphere is totally different from the Poirot stories so I can’t wait to buy more books featuring Miss Marple.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Annual fave Agatha Christmas read. Love the English atmosphere and detailed settings of AC mysteries and this one always adds to my Christmas tradition reading enjoyment!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A couple of longish short crime stories, followed by some shorter ones. Mostly featuring Hercule Poirot. I thought the longish stories were pretty good, but the short ones were disappointing - relying on guesswork rather than characterisation and logic. Agatha Christie does better with full-length novels, in my opinion.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This short Hercule Poirot story takes rather a long time to warm up, though the resolution is quite funny. As a short (36 pages), it doesn't have time to develop the usual plethora of suspects and there are no red herrings to be caught. I was slightly confused at first by references to tape recorders and television in a short story published in 1923, but this is apparently an expanded version published some decades later.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5"But Lady Chatterton was one of the brightest jewels in what Poirot called le haut monde. Everything she did or said was news. She had brains, beauty, originality and enough vitality to activate a rocket to the moon."This is the first Agatha Christie I've read since I was about 14; a collection of 5 Poirot short stories and one Miss Marple investigation as well. Poirot investigates a sinister note about a plum pudding, the discovery of a jealous husband in a chest, an overheard quarrel leading to murder, the mysterious changes in a dead man's eating habits, and a victim who dreamt of his own suicide. Miss Marple tags along for an investigation at Greenshaw's Folly.As much as I loved the character of Poirot, the way he is a bit snobbish, a bit difficult, but generally is warm-hearted and lovable, I found his ability to solve a crime with clues which weren't passed onto the reader a bit frustrating.And Miss Marple? I've never read any of hers (although I'm currently listening to an audiobook in which she stars) but she hardly seemed to take part in her own mystery! She let everyone work themselves all up and then suddenly everyone turned to her and she showed them the solution. A beautiful solution it was too, and I think that's why Christie is as famous as she is - the puzzles she sets are often simple and neat if you know the right way in.I'm struggling to review this one. This was a pleasant enough read, each story engrossing and tightly told. Excellent airport reading.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/56 short stories (5 with Poirot, 1 with Marple) and most of which are well known. Didnt know Greenshaw's Folly or The Under Dog so they were new to me. First published in 1963, Poirot is getting old and tired, but it's still a while before the end of "Curtain".
The stories are short, and I think that some were perhaps a little too short - the denouement came too quickly and I wasnt necessarily convinced - Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good selection of classic short crime mystery stories, mainly Poirot, but with one short Marple at the end.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Very lovely listening it had several different twists but was fun and engaging. Enjoyed it very much
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Five Poirots and a Marple make up this collection of short stories/novellas. Classic Christie - although published in the 1960s these stories have an earlier period flavour. Enjoyable.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hercule Poirot is called in for a delicate case involving royalty and a missing jewel; he contrives to get himself invited to the Christmas festivities of the suspect in order to crack the case.This is my first time reading anything involving Christie's famed detective Hercule Poirot, although I did watch the movie Murder on the Orient Express so I am somewhat familiar with the character. As with the other works by Christe I've read, she does express quite a bit of elitism and nationalism. The mystery here -- or rather its solution -- is incredibly contrived.That all being said, I did enjoy this read as a light cozy mystery. The Christmas setting was especially nice for a quick read during the holidays.