Reviews - The Big Four: Agatha Christie 100th Anniversary Collection

2.24k reviews for:

The Big Four: Agatha Christie 100th Anniversary Collection

I realize that nothing will hold a candle to The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, but this was good. I’m stunned that this was written in the 1920s; it reads like a spy thriller of today.

Poirot is laugh out loud funny, always the sassiest person in any room. I love him.

shai_44x's review against another edition

4.25

mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

mock_turtle's review against another edition

3.0

Still enjoyed it, but this was the strangest Poirot I've read. I honestly checked multiple times whether this was a genuine Agatha Christie novel and not some strange knockoff, and was expecting Hastings to wake up from his dream/fever/coma at the end. Very bizarre

jmart33's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

gigglewigglepanda's review against another edition

I just don't like it when Christie tries to write an international feeling thriller. We were moving all over the place and with so many time jumps, I could barely follow the time line. We went from mystery to mystery and never lingered and when you find out this was a collection of stories mushed together, all this makes sense, but it doesn't make for an entertaining read.
Also, it felt like she was trying to one up Doyle here, like 'my Holmes is gonna take on not one Moriarty, but four, how about that' and it's just nonsensical and ridiculous. Even the United States freakin' Secret freakin' Service comes to Poirot like 'what's this Big Four idea, pal', even though one of the four is an American... And what is their motive, no one knows...

lopatto's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Pros: Hercule’s twin brother, a mad scientist, solving all your problems

with a big explosion

, Captain Hasting’s love life, an evil conspiracy for world domination, 4️⃣.

Cons: the overwhelming orientalism!!!, the audiobook narrator going all-in with his Chinese accent, an action-oriented plot when I wanted more mystery.

I find that I like the Poirot mysteries that are more contained! When you have a global-scale conspiracy of super geniuses that spans several months, it’s harder to demonstrate how clever our detective is. The details get lost in the plot instead of coalescing into a solution to the puzzle.