Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
mysterious
medium-paced
clever little stories. i might have been able to enjoy them even more if i ha known more about the stories around the original hercules. also there was some subtle though quite disturbing anti-semitism. augustus was a real delight as was hell.
mysterious
fast-paced
Loved this little collection and how it related back to the ancient classics.
fast-paced
The loose thread linking the twelve detective stories in this collection is that Hercule Poirot is planning to retire, but first wants to solve a sequence of grand cases mirroring the legendary feats of his namesake, the Greco-Roman demigod Hercules. Honestly, though, that's largely a distraction, especially as most of the tasks that ensue represent fairly strained parallels at best. (Is convincing a town to stop gossiping about a widower they suspect of murder akin to successfully cutting off all the heads of the mythical Hydra? Sure, kind of, maybe. Is cracking a ring of dognappers like wrestling the Nemean Lion? That's significantly harder to justify.)
Outside of the odd framing device and the fact that we know the investigator is not truly giving up his practice anytime soon, these tales fluctuate between just okay and pretty good. Of course, as ever with author Agatha Christie's short fiction, it tends to be a bit easier to figure out the solutions yourself than in her full-length novels -- look for proof that people really are who they say they are and you're often halfway there already. But it's a solid entry overall, and not one to miss as you work your way through the series.
[Content warning for antisemitism, sexism, racism including slurs, gun violence, suicide, drug abuse, and gaslighting.]
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6288479-joe-kessler
--Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
Outside of the odd framing device and the fact that we know the investigator is not truly giving up his practice anytime soon, these tales fluctuate between just okay and pretty good. Of course, as ever with author Agatha Christie's short fiction, it tends to be a bit easier to figure out the solutions yourself than in her full-length novels -- look for proof that people really are who they say they are and you're often halfway there already. But it's a solid entry overall, and not one to miss as you work your way through the series.
[Content warning for antisemitism, sexism, racism including slurs, gun violence, suicide, drug abuse, and gaslighting.]
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6288479-joe-kessler
--Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
funny
mysterious
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
adventurous
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
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