I can tell you based on personal experience that the Christie Foundation does not just give out the rights to adapt or write anything based on Dame Agatha Christie’s prior work or characters. That is why it was such a landmark achievement when they allowed Sophie Hannah to revive Christie’s most prolific sleuth, the brilliant Hercule Poirot.

HERCULE POIROT’S SILENT NIGHT is Hannah’s fifth Poirot mystery, and I can proudly state that the Christie Foundation could not have found a more worthy successor to the Christie name and her reputation as the Mistress of Murder.

"HERCULE POIROT’S SILENT NIGHT is unwavering in its brilliance from start to finish, and Sophie Hannah proves once again why she is the only author capable of filling Agatha Christie’s enormous shoes."

In this slyly plotted novel, Hercule Poirot and his dear friend, Inspector Edward Catchpool, are looking forward to a classic Christmas spent in London. However, that quiet yuletide dream is all but shattered when Edward’s mother, Cynthia, calls on them to come out to her crumbling mansion by the coast just days before Christmas to figure out who killed her friend in his hospital bed.

There is a hilarious comedy of errors and clashing of styles on the train ride from London to Cynthia’s abode, and the differences between her and Poirot are made quite evident. She is an insistent and overbearing type and will not allow Poirot or her son to head back to London without solving the murder that apparently has baffled the local constabulary.

There is an immediate list of possible suspects, including family members, servants and friends. Poirot and Edward begin their own investigation by reaching out to the detective working on the case to compare notes, which, of course, is no help at all to the fussy Poirot. What makes the situation even more dire is that Cynthia has another close friend who is scheduled to be admitted to that very same hospital, and she is convinced that he will become the killer’s next victim.

Poirot and Edward split up to tackle the investigation from different sides and meet regularly to check in with each other, thought Poirot typically discounts much of what Edward has surmised to keep him on track. The suspects are all questioned by Poirot, either individually or in small groups, and enough clues and red herrings are presented to keep readers guessing the entire time.

In typical Poirot fashion, the denouement is rolled out in a scene whereby all the suspects are gathered in one place as he goes about revealing his deductions before naming the guilty party.

HERCULE POIROT’S SILENT NIGHT is unwavering in its brilliance from start to finish, and Sophie Hannah proves once again why she is the only author capable of filling Agatha Christie’s enormous shoes. Trust in the fact that Hercule Poirot and Edward Catchpool will make it back to London in time for Father Christmas to arrive!