Reviews

The Golden Ball and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

emilysbookblog's review against another edition

3.0

When you read a murder mystery sometimes there's too many boring details that take away from the action but, the short fifteen short stories within The Golden Ball all wrap up quickly yet with excellent detail. Each short story in this collection ranges from ten to twenty pages yet they have distinctive characters and storylines.

My favourites in the collection are The Listerdale Mystery, The Golden Ball, The Hound of Death and Magnolia Blossom. I think that full books are better for Christie's way of telling mysterious stories but these were overall not bad tales - 3.5 stars.

ssejig's review against another edition

3.0

Every once in awhile Agatha Christie, Queen of the Mystery, would write stories that just had a happy ending. Often they had a twist, but are not mysteries. And they are all delightful. she also wrote some books that were more supernatural in bent. These are not as good but somewhat interesting.
The first story has a widowed mother who wants the best for her children and a cheap house to let might just find it -- and some happiness for herself as well. A couple of stories feature young men throwing away a sure thing only to find something better. One has a young man reading fanciful stories that make him a strong man in his own life.

extemporalli's review against another edition

4.0

Hah, I'd forgotten how melodramatic the Queen of Crime can get - especially when she turns to human drama as divorced from the requirements of the crime mystery genre, or more supernaturally-inflected stories. In her mystery novels and shorts there's always a faint veneer of amusement, but in some of these stories she takes the story Too Seriously, to its detriment. Still though, a quick easy read (Agatha Christie will always be the ultimate stress relieving read!), and some of these twists were pretty satisfying.

abookandaspotoftea's review against another edition

lighthearted sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.25

k8thegr8reader's review against another edition

2.0

Most of these stories were just too predictable and precious for me. I did laugh out loud several times during “Swan Song.”

aspygirlsmom_1995's review

adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

thinkingingray's review against another edition

lighthearted 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? It's complicated

2.0

shannak's review against another edition

3.0

Again, a hodgepodge of stories. Some were brilliant and some were ok. A select few were not great and I struggled to get through, and they were only a few pages long!
It was a good break from her typical Poirot and Marple mysteries. But I am glad to be done with these stories.

chickflix's review against another edition

1.0

I just didn't like this collection and couldn't get I to it. Christie's books are always hit or miss for me. There were several times where I finished a story and didn't know what the mystery even was, let alone who did it. The narrators were ok. I don't think it was their fault that I didn't like the book.

mdalonzo's review

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.0