Although I don't think Hercule Poirot's Silent Night is my favourite new Poirot novel, it's a very solid one. It has a great range of characters, and a lot of different mysteries that all come together at the end. It so well captures that Christie feeling of a closed mystery with plenty of twists and turns.

But I think what I continue to love most about Sophie Hannah's Poirot novels is the relationship she is building between Poirot and Inspector Catchpool. It's a shadow of the relationship Poirot has with his ultimate sidekick, Captain Hastings, but one that I love reading about. Having Catchpool around to bring the story to life - to reflect us, as readers, picking up on all the right clues for all the wrong reasons - makes the story infinitely more enjoyable. If Catchpool continues to be in these stories, allowing Poirot to shine, then I'm sure I'll continue to love them.

It's another hit for me!

A very Christie-like mystery , quite amusing and with twists and turns and a satisfying conclusion. Poitou is still on form and there is a nice Christmas element to the story.

Sophie Hannah is good but she's not Agatha. Enjoyable nonetheless. I do feel that Poirot is a bit caricatured as is his "Plod" the sidekick. The plot is not as tight as it could be Undoubtedly well crafted and entertaining it's just missing that final "je ne sais quois"

How lucky are we to have Sophie Hannah?! Just when all the Agatha Christie novels are read and re-read, it is a joy to have new and fresh stories with our beloved Christie characters. The seasonal twist will make this the perfect Christmas gift and read. Bravo Sophie Hannah!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

Cynthia Catchpool, the mother of Inspector Catchpool visits Hercule Poirot to insist upon his help to solve a murder. This involves travelling and staying in a mansion on the coast that is in danger of falling into the sea. Neither Hercule Poirot nor Inspector Catchpool are enthusiastic, but Cynthia insists they visit and stay for Christmas.
They travel to the mansion, and discover that a man has been killed in a room at the local hospital. One of Cynthias friends, Arnold, is ill, and is due to be admitted to the same hospital, but his wife is convinced that Arnold will be murdered in the hospital too. Arnolds wife, and other family members are staying at the mansion, also a couple of friends.
Poirot and Inspector Catchpool are drawn into a tangled web of lies and deceit, family feuds, with family members suspecting each other.
Poirot is determined to solve the murder, and make it back to his own comfortable home in time for Christmas. Then.......Arnold is killed.
I really enjoyed this book, plenty of plot twists and red herrings. I did not see the ending coming.

Sophie Hannah's "Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night" is a charming addition to Agatha Christie's renowned detective series. In this story, Inspector Edward Catchpool takes on the role of the narrator and finds himself caught up in a perplexing Christmas mystery.
The story unfolds in a decaying mansion on the Norfolk coast, where Cynthia, Catchpool's strong-willed mother, insists on his presence due to recent mysteries, including a murder at the local hospital. While Catchpool's character may not fully capture the appeal of Hastings or Japp from the original series, the plot and storytelling more than make up for an entertaining book . The well-drawn characters, some with larger-than-life qualities, add depth to the story. The surprising reveal, expertly delivered by Poirot, leaves both the characters and me intrigued and while I was expecting it, it still caught me by surprise.
Sophie Hannah pays homage to Agatha Christie's legacy with a believable and entertaining addition to the beloved detective series.
“Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night" is a great novel in the series, and I am looking forward to more mysteries in the future.

This is an excellent read for lovers of Hercule Poirot, he is captured brilliantly here as Sophie Hannah has hit her stride with this book. Much better than the previous ones, which were good; she has really got into the mindset of Agatha with a dastardly mystery. I love a country house setting with a cast of characters who could all be guilty. This is so true to the original books, that I’m shocked every time Poirot speaks to Catchpool and not Hastings. Fantastic!

There is no doubt that writer Sophie Hannah has captured Agatha christies style and thought process. The first in this series was good, but not great, as the writer was finding her way into the Hercule Poirot detection methods, while trying to copy the Christie prose. The crime and detection is mastered, but there was something missing or is this just a trick of the brain because you know this is not Agatha Christie writing the story? By the time we've reached Hercule Poirot's Silent Night, if you gave this book and an Agatha Christie earlier version of this detective's style, you would be hard pushed to find any difference.
I remember Hastings telling us the Hercule Poirot stories, but not Catchpool. Nevertheless, this works very well, especially in this setting. I didn't get the feeling that I was being fed a consistent selection of red herrings as I would with an Agatha Christie, but again, that might just be my mind making unnecessary comparisons between Hannah and Christie. This is a very difficult mystery to guess and I hope that Sophie Hannah continues writing these Hercule Poirot stories, keeping the character alive. The family, doctor and the individuals living in the home about to slip into the sea were a good collection and it was easy to find them all guilty of something at different stages, but the story is written so well it is almost impossible to guess who the guilty party is and why, before you reach the final pages. Five books into this series, and there is plenty of room for several more.
Whether intended or not I found my biggest concern was whether Catchpool and Poirot were able to leave the house before Christmas arrived after solving this mystery as it was clear that neither wanted to suffer the mansion's catering facilities for a minute longer than necessary.

For decades, a Christie for Christmas was a given and something readers looked forward to. How delightful that this year we are once again given a seasonal Poirot mystery. Strictly speaking, this title isn’t a Christie, of course. But it is safe to say that without Christie, this book wouldn’t be available to us, so I’ll happily take it.

This is the fifth Hercule Poirot book by Sophie Hannah and it is as good and captivating as the prequels. What I like best about these new Poirot stories is that while Hercule Poirot is his irritatingly charming self, just as Christie created him, and the mysteries are as mystifying as Agatha’s were, Sophie Hannah didn’t attempt to copy or reproduce what has gone before. The most obvious sign of this is Poirot’s new sidekick, Edward Catchpool. I don’t know if he was created to be a combination of Inspector Japp and Captain Hastings, but that is certainly how he comes across to me, and it adds to the sense of continuation I get when I read these stories.

As for this story, the set-up was rather inspired and even after finishing the book I’m still not sure whether Catchpool’s mother asked Poirot to investigate a crime she was only marginally involved with because she wanted it solved for her friend’s sake or because she wanted to spend Christmas with her son. Unsurprisingly, we are faced with what appears to be an impossible murder which, to add to the confusion, is followed by a rather illogical reaction to it.

Reluctantly Poirot and Catchpool travel to the doomed mansion, determined to solve the crime as quickly as possible so that they may return to London in time for their planned Christmas celebrations. Once they arrive at their destination, our two investigators encounter a rather unusual household set-up, as well as an apparently motiveless murder.

I’m not convinced that Sophie Hannah plays as fairly with her readers as Agatha Christie herself did. Whereas with Christie, I often find myself slapping my forehead once the solution is explained, wondering how I could possibly have missed the clues given how (retrospectively) obvious they were, that didn’t really happen while reading Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night. While the guilty party could definitely be determined based on the information shared with the reader, the motive was (mostly) opaque (to me?).

I had one other minor quibble with something that was mentioned in this story. Google, unfortunately, wasn’t able to tell me how aware people in 1931 were of genetics in connection to longevity, but I would have thought ideas like that didn’t become common knowledge until a few decades later. I stand to be corrected.

Quibbles aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this tale. I loved the interactions between Poirot and Catchpool. The behaviour and conversations of the other characters were delightfully weird and over the top, with Catchpool’s mother being in a league of her own when it comes to the lengths she’s willing to go to to get her way. Captivating from start to finish, this story kept me on my toes and provided me with two days of pure reading enjoyment.

When exactly can I have the next New Hercule Poirot mystery?

I have been reading Agatha Christie books for 50 years so the fact that Sophie Hannah is now writing Poirot books is great news for me. I had previously read Closed Casket and enjoyed that and look forward to reading more Agatha Christie stories from Sophie Hannah. Interestingly I have just returned from Norfolk the setting for Silent Night. I am sure other Agatha Christie fans will enjoy this book as much as I did. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to ARC this book.

Sophie Hannah, Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night The New Hercule Poirot Mystery, Harper Collins UK, Harper Fiction 26 October 2023.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

This is the second of Sophie Hannah’s Hercule Poirot mysteries that I have read, and I came to it hoping that I would not be disappointed. I have read Sophie Hannah’s other novels with enthusiasm, and some dread, at times. Despite their often bizarre and unpleasant themes they are immensely readable, almost addictive, and some of my favourite in their genre. I cannot say the same of the Monogram Murders, the first of Hannah’s Hercule Poirot mysteries I tried. Hercule Poirot’s Silent Night is a distinct improvement.

In this novel Hannah replicates Agatha Christie’s lack of interest in making Hastings a permanent character in her Hercule Poirot novels. Poirot’s companion, Edward Catchpool is a former police inspector, the son of one of the other characters, and, while advancing the narrative with the potential and then actual crime at its focus, also develops as a distinct character. Although he follows Hastings in being unaware of the clues that Poirot so brilliantly perceives, maintaining the familiar relationship between the two, he has his own character which adds to the novel. Unlike Hastings who had to be married off in Christie’s second Poirot novel, Murder on the Links, to avoid including him in every work featuring Poirot, Catchpool’s character has some interesting elements. His relationship with his mother, a clearly negative character, and his police background gives him professional possibilities. He is not reminiscent of any of Christie’s police characters (Japp, Slack, for example) and makes a positive contribution to the solution, although as Poirot suggests, not a brilliant as his own. This is a clever use of some of Christie’s tactics while providing a plausible alternative to the known Christie characters.

Hannah also injects some of the familiar Christie humour into the novel, a welcome gesture towards Christie’s ability to mix murder and comic moments. In Silent Night Hannah has also managed to adopt more of Christie’s touch in moulding Poirot’s physical features, thought processes and behaviour into the Poirot familiar from her novels.

Sophie Hannah has come a long way from her first attempt to emulate Christie’s work and I admire that. However, I am not wedded to this collection of novels, although I am certainly ready to reread some of her independent work in the near future.

I was delighted to receive a copy of Hercule Poirot's Silent Night, by Sophie Hannah - the fifth in the modern series following Agatha Christie's famous Belgian detective. As with Sophie's other books, the feel of this novel is deliciously Golden Age, authentically capturing Poirot's mannerisms, dialogue and inimitable investigative style.

Compared to some of the other books, I felt this story was quite dialogue heavy, featuring less of an immersive setting than others. As such, it felt like it had quite a fast pace. This is appropriate for a story set over a few days, but meant I read through it quite quickly and didn't really savour it in the way I would like to for a story featuring this character.

The ensemble cast worked exceptionally well - as a reader I struggled to like any of them, but this isn't necessary. Just know that there is a good balance of characters where some are more obvious suspects than others. The clues 'play fair' with the reader, such that I worked out the 'who' quite easily, but the 'why' took a little more thought.

The only thing I did not like was that, in several places, Poirot addresses some of the characters as Mr. rather than M. (Monsieur) - since he very rarely did this in the originals, it rather pulled me out of the story.

Still, a very enjoyable tale that is well written and worthy of a solid four stars.

Poirot and his sidekick Catchpool are planning a quiet Christmas at Whitehaven Mansions. The most serious concern they have is will it be turkey or duck? However, an unexpected visitor has other plans for them, and it looks like Christmas may not be as peaceful as they were expecting as Frellingsloe House beckons.

This is the fifth offering of Hannah on her vision of the continuation of the Poirot stories. I am a big fan of Christie and I think this is where the problem lies. As a detective series, if it wasn’t for the Poirot connection, it would be really enjoyable. Sadly most readers will compare with the originals instead of reading them as another version.

I did enjoy the book, but was disappointed in Catchpool. For a Scotland Yard Inspector he left a lot to be desired, obviously his little greys cells were a bit dusty. As the story took a while to get going, it made the book seem very long. Not quite a Christie denouement, but I liked it.

All in all a good read, but perhaps better if you have never read a Christie Poirot novel.

A good 3* read.

Thank you NetGalley.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

a new poirot book by this author and i have to say it has been done very well... its a slow build up before we find out who the murderer is but its well worth a read for any fans of agatha christie hercule poirot

a murder has been committed in a hospital and hercule poirot and catchpool have been summoned to help investigate the murder, they have a week to find the culprit

plenty of red herrings galore but but its all down the the little grey cells to unmask the murderer and they are closer than you think

In Sophie Hannah's continuation of the Poirot mysteries, we have Inspector Edward Catchpool as a "narrator". In fact, in this book, he plays more than just sidekick as it is indeed his own mother who is instrumental in the involvement of him and the mighty Belgian Detective. She, Cynthia, is staying with friends in a crumbling old mansion on the Norfolk coast for Christmas and pretty much insists on her son's attendance as there has been shenanigans. Apparently, there was a murder committed a short while back. A man in the local hospital. The same hospital as the one that Cynthia's friend, and host, Arthur himself will be admitted in the New Year. His wife being of the mind that, with the murderer still at large, Arthur will undoubtedly be his next victim!
Determined to work out the who and why, and catch the blighter and return home before Christmas, Poirot and Catchpool start their investigation in earnest...
I have to admit that, although I did enjoy reconnected with the great man himself, I still have reservations about Catchpool. To me, he is kind of an amalgamation of Hastings and Japp from the original stories and still, after reading a few of these "continuations", doesn't wholly work. Maybe it is the many, many years of watching the wonderful TV adaptations and loving the relationships between the trio. But, the author has obviously wanted to put her own stamp on the series and, it is what it is. All that said, the story - both in plotting and execution - more than makes up for any personal niggles I still have. Catchpool himself is a good solid character in his own right and I really should stop comparing, hard though it may be. I think, by the end of the book I had actually warmed to him a bit more, but that may have just been sympathy regarding his mother!
Other characters are just as well drawn and all act their parts very well indeed. Some, I have to say, being a tad larger than life but keeping, just, the right side of caricature. And the ending, when it came, the denouement, when Poirot spells it all out and reveals the truth to an astonished cast, including me as a reader! Well, I didn't see that coming. But then again, I've never been that good at guessing the original endings either so, well done for that!
All in all, a credible and worthy continuation. Long may it continue. I know some thing it is sacrilege, and that's OK, Me, I'm happy to keep reading as long as it all still entertains. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

I adore Poirot and must admit the author has taken some getting used to. The heart of Christie though is still beating through this book - all the things we loved - will he solve it in time - a country house finale - loved it!

The fifth Sophie Hannah Poirot murder mystery. It is another brilliant book, featuring Poirot and his sidekick Inspector Catchpole. Set in the run up to Christmas, the team try to solve a murder before Christmas so that they can return from Norfolk to London in time for Christmas Day. It is Poirot so we have little doubt he will solve the mystery, but will he do so in time for Christmas and we will spot the clues and be able to solve the mystery alongside him?
I really enjoyed this book, perfect for a great autumn/ winter read.
Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for a Kindle copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A big, crumbling house on the Norfolk coast is the setting for the latest Poirot mystery. All the usual suspects appear, including an incompetent police officer, quarrelling family members, grumpy staff & our hero, M Poirot & his hesitant sidekick, Inspector Catchpool. Written in the Christie style, it feels familiar, although I could have done without quite so many characters, I struggled to keep track of exactly who was who at the beginning of the story & it did seem that a number of them were superfluous at the end, which I suppose is the Christie way. However, I enjoyed the story and the writing. It’s a good Christmas read. With thanks to NetGalley for an early copy.

I am a big fan of Agatha Christie's books and have been reading them since my early teens. This is the fifth book about Hercule Poirot that I have read by the author Sophie Hannah. Compared to the first books, it feels like something is missing. The charm of Poirot is somehow not there. Poirot's friend Edward Catchpool is portrayed as unusually stupid and it bothers me. I think that a police officer at Scotland Yard should be both smarter and more on the cutting edge of investigations. Here he seems mostly there to highlight the difference between Poirot's excellence and ordinary people. The investigation until Poirot gathers the whole gang to reveal the murderer is frankly a bit tough to read. However, the resolution is completely in true Christie spirit.

I thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for providing me with an ARC copy of this novel, which I freely chose to review.
This is the third of Hercule Poirot’s novels by Sophie Hannah (The New Hercule Poirot Mystery) I have read (although it is the fifth in the series), and they have kept me coming back for more. It has been a while since I have read one of Christie’s novels (although I read some of her short fiction not that long ago), and I am aware that big fans might feel differently about this series of novels, but I have enjoyed them as solid mysteries in the classic style that pay an homage to one of Christie’s most famous and celebrated characters (and one either you love or you love to hate).
This novel is set around Christmas, and as is the case with this series, is narrated in the first person by Inspector Edward Catchpool from Scotland Yard, Poirot’s sidekick, friend, and companion in many adventures. He writes the accounts of the mysteries after the fact, and in this case, he decides to describe what happened following a conversation with Poirot, to try to make his point and prove he is right and Poirot is wrong (and although it doesn’t matter, I think Catchpool is right, by the way). When we get to the end (and don’t worry, I won’t share any spoilers), Poirot acknowledges, somewhat reluctantly, that they are both right. But, of course, he has to have the last word.
I have grown fond of Catchpool, and although he appears too pliable to Poirot’s wishes and not always quick-thinking or determined enough, having an insight into his thought processes and his opinions make him more relatable and easier to empathise with. And, in this particular novel, meeting Cynthia, his mother, and getting a glimpse of what their relationship is (and has been) like, made me like him more. His mother is overbearing, doesn’t take ‘no’ for an answer, and ignores anything and anybody who tries to contradict her or resist her dictates and wishes. In many ways, she has many of Poirot’s defects (or “peculiar personality traits”, depending on how you view our Belgian friend), so the fact that she annoys Catchpool so much is quite funny. I must confess I loved Cynthia, but wouldn’t want her for my mother, that is for sure.
I think Hannah does a good job of recreating Poirot, and I found him credible in his behaviour, his speech, and his methods. The rest of the characters are not as well drawn, but they make an interesting collection of suspects, and the circumstances of the case are quite intriguing and peculiar. As is the rigueur in most classic mysteries, this story is pretty gentle when it comes to violence (the crimes are violent, but they take place off the page and are not extreme) and language, and no specific warnings come to mind.
I enjoyed the humour of the novel, as well as the mystery and the investigation process, and the interaction between the characters. The writing flows easily and its style is pretty functional and does not get in the way of telling the story. I know some readers have taken issue with the ending and feel that the author breaks the rules of the golden age detective mysteries, as readers are not given all the information necessary to solve the crime. I don’t necessarily agree with that. It would be fairer to say that readers are not given all the information necessary to come up with a full explanation of the reasons behind the crime, but I think there are enough clues to strongly suspect the guilty party. One thing is certain though, readers need to keep their wits about them and pay attention to every word and every gesture people say and do, and to any clues mentioned (and even those that might not appear to be a clue). The ending is pretty classic as well, with the bonus of the discussion (with psychological and philosophical undertones) between Poirot and Catchppol, and I thought it suited the story well.
Anybody looking for a light mystery, and curious to see what Poirot is up to in this series, should give one of these books a try, although purists might prefer to reread the originals. I haven’t read all of the books in Hannah’s The New Hercule Poirot Mystery series, and that isn’t a problem, as they can be read independently.