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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Hickory Dickory Dock,
The plot ran up the clock,
The clock struck one,
The plot ran down,
Hickory Dickory Dock.
This Agatha Christie's addition to the Poirot series begins with plenty of intrigue. The egg-head detective is requested to help with an apparent theft at a hostel but the list of stolen items doesn't make any sense.
Therefore, Poirot gets invested in the case and so do the readers. But then the first murder stricks and the attractive plot tumbles down to obvious conspiracy.
Not only does this steal the audience from the Agathaian intellectual tussle but also makes the plot unimpressive. Definitely not one of the best of Dame Christie.
The plot ran up the clock,
The clock struck one,
The plot ran down,
Hickory Dickory Dock.
This Agatha Christie's addition to the Poirot series begins with plenty of intrigue. The egg-head detective is requested to help with an apparent theft at a hostel but the list of stolen items doesn't make any sense.
Therefore, Poirot gets invested in the case and so do the readers. But then the first murder stricks and the attractive plot tumbles down to obvious conspiracy.
Not only does this steal the audience from the Agathaian intellectual tussle but also makes the plot unimpressive. Definitely not one of the best of Dame Christie.
It's a Cristie book so it won't be bad, but somehow I felt it missed the "X" factor of the other books. It is quite possible as I have read her other masterpieces before this one. The story begins with Poirot's secretary introducing him to her sister, who runs a student's hostel. There are some petty theft going on in the hostel and she wanted Poirot to give a visit. But soon after Poirot's visit an unexpected death occurs and the events of malice followed.
It's a good read but somewhere I felt little dull and boring. It wasn't really keeping me on the edge (which I mostly expect while reading a mystery thriller, especially Agatha Christie).
I felt Poirot had barely anything to in this case and inspector Sharpe was the main investigator, but drawing the last string and jumping on with prefect conclusion of the case Poirot proved his name (but have to give Sharpe all the credit for his footwork).
It's a three star
It's a good read but somewhere I felt little dull and boring. It wasn't really keeping me on the edge (which I mostly expect while reading a mystery thriller, especially Agatha Christie).
I felt Poirot had barely anything to in this case and inspector Sharpe was the main investigator, but drawing the last string and jumping on with prefect conclusion of the case Poirot proved his name (but have to give Sharpe all the credit for his footwork).
It's a three star
Maybe a 3.5 instead of a four but this was a solid Christie book and it had everything. The perfect ensemble of characters with a classic setting and of course a brilliant premise. One thing Christie is good at that particularly shone in this book is her pacing. She can move a book along so well and make sure it never drags without it being rushed. The only reason I didn't love this book was because I could guess the ending. I don't know if it was because I've read too many of her books at this point or if it was just obvious, but I always like a Christie book better if it fools me and this one didn't. Also, Christie's racist prejudices were quite prevalent in this book and honestly it did make me uncomfortable while reading it sometimes. I know people say that it was common at the time and we should separate that from her actual writing but honestly it does impact my reading experience in a negative way. Another thing is I do wish Poirot was in this book more as it focused a lot on the police, especially in the second half but I love Poirot as a character so I missed him :(. All in all though, a good book but it didn't leave me mind blown.
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Honestly, reading about the plot was better than the actual book. I liked the idea of a thief in a hostel setting, I like murder mysteries, but for some reason they didn't mix very well, in my opinion. It could be because I am not a fan of Poirot and am biased but this time I think it was the lack of creativity.
Very muddling and confusing especially how the detective, Poirot does come about his findings.