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kproc381's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Hercule Poirot you are sassy and I love it. I got hooked right from the beginning and it was a great ride. I have to say, I did guess who the kill was but it only made me have that great “I knew it” moment.
salam_'s review against another edition
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Going back to Agatha Christie’s world after so long felt like going back home 🥺 I was immediately swooped into the world of interesting characters, Poirot’s charisma, and unexpected reveals.
strawberryt3a's review against another edition
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? No
4.25
jazmin's review against another edition
4.0
“It is completely unimportant. That is why it is so interesting.”
This is the only Agatha Christie book that is actually on the list of books to read once in your life, and it definitely deserves that spot. (Although many others undoubtedly deserve a place on that list as well.) Anyways, this murder mystery is unlike any other. I can’t go into too much detail because it’s a huge spoiler but whatever expectations you think you have for this genre are blown away by this book.
Unlike most other novels by her, this book is not narrated by the detective, but a doctor named Dr. James Sheppard. There’s a few reasons why he’s the narrator: two of them being his close ties to the person who was murdered, and because he is a doctor. Poirot often consults him for his opinions because of his medical role, and so we still see a lot of Hercule Poirot despite him not narrating.
Dr. Sheppard’s sister Caroline also has an interesting role, because she is not involved in the murder directly, but knows a lot because of her role as the town gossip. I particularly enjoyed her character.
“Women observe subconsciously a thousand little details, without knowing that they are doing so. Their subconscious mind adds these little things together—and they call the result intuition.”
One thing I love about this book (and many other Agatha Christie novels) is how the whole story unfolds and changes within the last few pages. You’re just reading unsuspectingly when all of a sudden you’re screaming at the pages of your book wondering how did I never see this before? The last 10 pages of this book are absolutely insane and well, you have to read it to understand.
Overall: This book.. just wow. A great third book for the Agatha Christie challenge.
*4.5
hotsake's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
3.5
This was another average, fairly bland Agatha Christie mystery, until the twist that is.
writings_of_a_reader's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars.
This was excellent. I enjoyed the humor in the book and the different personalities of the townsfolk. Yet again, Agatha Christie crafted a clever mystery that kept me guessing for a good while. I figured out who the killer was before the end of the book, but had I read it back when it was published, I may not have. To me, what was very impactful about the way this was crafted, was that I liked the murderer all the way up until almost the end, and didn't at all suspect them for most of the book. It made me a little sad that it ended up being this person.
This turned out to be one of my favorites so far. I'm putting some thoughts behind a spoiler because I don't want to spoil anything for those who have not read this, but I really want to make some comments here about the way this book was written versus modern ones that use the same tactic.
Overall this was another great read. I was super excited to watch the TV episode based on this one, but ended up disappointed in it. For some reason the very thing that made the book so impactful, was completely eliminated from the show.
“I have no pity for myself either... But I wish Hercule Poirot had never retired from work and come here to grow vegetable marrows.”
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader.
This was excellent. I enjoyed the humor in the book and the different personalities of the townsfolk. Yet again, Agatha Christie crafted a clever mystery that kept me guessing for a good while. I figured out who the killer was before the end of the book, but had I read it back when it was published, I may not have. To me, what was very impactful about the way this was crafted, was that I liked the murderer all the way up until almost the end, and didn't at all suspect them for most of the book. It made me a little sad that it ended up being this person.
This turned out to be one of my favorites so far. I'm putting some thoughts behind a spoiler because I don't want to spoil anything for those who have not read this, but I really want to make some comments here about the way this book was written versus modern ones that use the same tactic.
Spoiler
There was apparently an uproar over this book because Christie broke the unspoken rules of mystery writing by making the narrator the killer. This has been copied many, many times now, and unreliable narrators are a real big trend in the mystery/thriller genre now. What I think most writers get wrong is that they aren't able to (or just don't) make the narrator likable the way Christie did here. It's a major reason why I enjoyed this book much more than the modern ones I've read.Overall this was another great read. I was super excited to watch the TV episode based on this one, but ended up disappointed in it. For some reason the very thing that made the book so impactful, was completely eliminated from the show.
Spoiler
The narrator was changed, so that it wasn't the killer telling the story, but Poirot himself, and he finds the killers journal where he writes about what he's doing, and Poirot is reading it to us as we go along. It just didn't have the same impact. I don't know why they chose to go that route. They could have done it the way it was done in the book. It might have been tricky in a few spots but it could have been done. Also, the actor that played the killer was not at all the way I pictured him.“I have no pity for myself either... But I wish Hercule Poirot had never retired from work and come here to grow vegetable marrows.”
Review also posted at Writings of a Reader.
duriangray's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
mxysxm's review against another edition
5.0
OH MY GOD!! Oh this was so good. The perfect book to get me out of my reading slum. Honestly, never has Agatha failed to utterly amaze me. A true legend. I don’t know why, but I have noticed that I tend to read her mysteries very slowly. I read each word very carefully and sometimes even take notes in hopes of figuring out the murderer before Poirot does! But, alas, I’ve never been able to. I have been able to guess the killer on this one before Hercule announced it but not after a lot of hints. And it was someone who I never suspected. And I suspect everyone. And I mean everyone . Oh well, maybe next time.
alilysong's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75
page turning who-dun-it with a well done twist ending. hercule poirot is hilarious.