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3.3 AVERAGE
3.3 AVERAGE
After a few disappointing Agatha Christie's, I decided to return to some of the earlier Poirot's I had missed in hopes of a bit more enjoyment. This definitely felt more true to form! It was not her best, but I loved all the twists and turns and disguises. I also laughed out loud multiple times at the expense of poor Hastings; Christie really does write some humorous bits around his intellect. Inevitably, there are a few racist caricatures, especially of Chinese people, but they didn't feel especially malicious -- just, unfortunately, what people thought and how people wrote at the time. But something to be prepared for going into the novel. I was, actually, pleasantly surprised by the fact that she had a Chinese character as the smartest tactical brain in the world (next to Poirot, of course) and a woman as the preeminent scientist. Americans, alas, are only good for the money, which, fair. The almighty dollar. Sigh.
MILD SPOILER:
The denoument of the novel includes a reference to atomic energy, which in 1927, of course, had not been seen in the large scale, and oof. It all felt a bit too real. Like Pixar's The Incredibles or Dr. Evil from Austin Powers mixed with actual headlines in a weird kind of supervillain but also look-what's-happening-in-Ukraine and years-of-conspiracy-theory-nuts kind of way. A little less fun, given everything.
MILD SPOILER:
The denoument of the novel includes a reference to atomic energy, which in 1927, of course, had not been seen in the large scale, and oof. It all felt a bit too real. Like Pixar's The Incredibles or Dr. Evil from Austin Powers mixed with actual headlines in a weird kind of supervillain but also look-what's-happening-in-Ukraine and years-of-conspiracy-theory-nuts kind of way. A little less fun, given everything.
Well, I was pretty excited to meet the great detective's twin, I'm going to say this wasn't one of Christie's best works. It felt like some of her thriller spoofs...except she was trying to be serious. It just fel kind of flat.
I definitely didn't enjoy this book as much as I have the previous books in the series.
I much prefer Christie's books that follow the format of trying to solve one individual crime with a slew of suspects and watching everything unravel, so have to say this format of following Hercule Poirot trying to foil some gigantic evil 'corporation' just wasn't as enjoyable to me.
I still enjoyed Christie's writing and I liked that Hastings was back in this installment.
I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
I much prefer Christie's books that follow the format of trying to solve one individual crime with a slew of suspects and watching everything unravel, so have to say this format of following Hercule Poirot trying to foil some gigantic evil 'corporation' just wasn't as enjoyable to me.
I still enjoyed Christie's writing and I liked that Hastings was back in this installment.
I look forward to reading the next book in the series.
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was a weird one
Christie is nothing but versatile, instead of churning out endless Poirot mysteries based on the same template, she purposefully plays with the format, sometimes it’s brilliant, as in Roger Acroyd and sometimes it’s more of a mess as in this one.
Based on a series of short stories, loosely tied together by a secret criminal society aimed for world dominance, we follow a far more action oriented Poirot, working with disguises and secret gadgets, all with a friendly nod to Sherlock Holmes.
It’s a lot of fun but not really Poirot as we know him.
Christie is nothing but versatile, instead of churning out endless Poirot mysteries based on the same template, she purposefully plays with the format, sometimes it’s brilliant, as in Roger Acroyd and sometimes it’s more of a mess as in this one.
Based on a series of short stories, loosely tied together by a secret criminal society aimed for world dominance, we follow a far more action oriented Poirot, working with disguises and secret gadgets, all with a friendly nod to Sherlock Holmes.
It’s a lot of fun but not really Poirot as we know him.
As always a great novel by the queen of crime. Although the plot would have perhaps been better suited to Tommy and Tuppence rather than Poirot, it was still a well thought out mystery. Also Hastings is my favourite and it was great to see him again after his absence in the Murder of a Rodger Ackroyd.
Well this was certainly action-packed, had a lot of twists and turns, and the Hugh Fraser audiobook as always was entertaining, BUT. The plot was pretty silly. I am never crazy about her spy/adventure type stories.
2.5 stars. Like my last Christie book, this one was a surprise, but this time I'm unpleasantly surprised by how much I was kinda disappointed by it. I don't think it's bad; to date, I haven't read a book by her that's straight up not good. But if it's not too bold, I really have to say, I think she excels at locked room mysteries, stories with large casts in a small location, a quiet interrogation of facts with red herrings and misdirection here and there for the sake of this reader. This?? This whole international conspiracy of super villains thing?? ...Meh. It didn't interest me, and nor do I think it was super well-realised. As always, there are some clever deductions and cool facts, but the way it was written made it feel like a collection of short stories. I normally wouldn't mind that, but I thought I was in for one, cohesive mystery. Hastings was as amusing and annoying as ever, and for me, he'll always be more of the latter. It's also gotten to a point where the 'subtly poke fun at Sherlock Holmes' thing is just kind of irritating. Oh, and good lord, I almost forgot: a lot of racist language and a couple of anti-Chinese slurs. Disappointing. :/
Listened to the audiobook as read by Hugh Fraser, who is very talented as always and made this a quick read. I adore his voice for Poirot. And like, I still do love Poirot! The character and the series! I was never bored or not entertained by this book, so I can't give it a lower rating than this. But also, it just wasn't for me.
Listened to the audiobook as read by Hugh Fraser, who is very talented as always and made this a quick read. I adore his voice for Poirot. And like, I still do love Poirot! The character and the series! I was never bored or not entertained by this book, so I can't give it a lower rating than this. But also, it just wasn't for me.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No