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linaandthebooks's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
ivory_cassano's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
lumierewhispers's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
katykelly's review against another edition
3.0
I saw that this was being included in the 2014 World Book Night selection, so I thought I'd try it. I'm not much of a 'whodunnit' fan, spending the whole book on the lookout for clues.
In true Christie style, a detective is called in to assist after a funeral of the head of a wealthy family appears to lead directly to his sister's brutal murder. The sister who was heard to say quite clearly that her brother was murdered. But with such a large family, who could be guilty?
Poirot himself only makes his first appearance halfway through, much of the initial detective work done by a family lawyer and an employee of Poirot. The famous detective only plays a larger role in the third act, when he (surprise surprise) brings all the suspects together for questioning and revelation.
It all seems to follow convention, and is quite enjoyable to guess and find the clues. As a one-off for me I enjoyed the experience but I'm not going to be reading the genre any more regularly. Characters are fairly flimsy, not a huge amount happens. It all follows a predictable pattern of structure that I think I would find personally a little tedious on repetition.
I wasn't too keen on Poirot, myself. Didn't warm to him as a detective and in this example I didn't find him well-written, maybe in other plots he has more back story and well-rounded appearance. I seem to remember liking him more in 'Death on the Nile' and 'Murder on the Orient Express', and preferring Christie's books with no series stalwart detective.
Still, it's a good way to while away a couple of hours, and as usual, the murderer isn't obvious.
In true Christie style, a detective is called in to assist after a funeral of the head of a wealthy family appears to lead directly to his sister's brutal murder. The sister who was heard to say quite clearly that her brother was murdered. But with such a large family, who could be guilty?
Poirot himself only makes his first appearance halfway through, much of the initial detective work done by a family lawyer and an employee of Poirot. The famous detective only plays a larger role in the third act, when he (surprise surprise) brings all the suspects together for questioning and revelation.
It all seems to follow convention, and is quite enjoyable to guess and find the clues. As a one-off for me I enjoyed the experience but I'm not going to be reading the genre any more regularly. Characters are fairly flimsy, not a huge amount happens. It all follows a predictable pattern of structure that I think I would find personally a little tedious on repetition.
I wasn't too keen on Poirot, myself. Didn't warm to him as a detective and in this example I didn't find him well-written, maybe in other plots he has more back story and well-rounded appearance. I seem to remember liking him more in 'Death on the Nile' and 'Murder on the Orient Express', and preferring Christie's books with no series stalwart detective.
Still, it's a good way to while away a couple of hours, and as usual, the murderer isn't obvious.
midici's review against another edition
3.0
An old, wealthy man dies and is family comes together for his funeral. Fairly usual, right up until his sister announces that he was murdered, throwing the entire family into chaos. Nothing might have come of it if Cora, the sister herself, was not murdered just days later.
Hercule Poirot, the famous detective, is called by a family friend to solve the case. The suspects are mostly various family members, and thier assorted wives/husbands. Everyone has a motive when a lot of money is involved. Susan plans to open a cosmetic store, Rosamund wants to produce a play that her husband can star in, George has a gambling problem and debt, and so on and so forth. Poirot listens carefully to their accounts, pretends like he knows much less English than he actually does, and eventually solves the case.
Poirot is a bit of a Sherlock-type character in that he is very arrogant and refuses to let people know what he is thinking or suspects until he can gather an audience and make a big reveal. In this case it turns out that the wealthy old man died of natural causes; Cora's maid dressed up like her to attend the funeral and put doubt on his death so as to create a cover for the murder of Cora. Cora was murdered for a valuable painting she had in her posession that the maid was going to sell.
Hercule Poirot, the famous detective, is called by a family friend to solve the case. The suspects are mostly various family members, and thier assorted wives/husbands. Everyone has a motive when a lot of money is involved. Susan plans to open a cosmetic store, Rosamund wants to produce a play that her husband can star in, George has a gambling problem and debt, and so on and so forth. Poirot listens carefully to their accounts, pretends like he knows much less English than he actually does, and eventually solves the case.
Poirot is a bit of a Sherlock-type character in that he is very arrogant and refuses to let people know what he is thinking or suspects until he can gather an audience and make a big reveal. In this case it turns out that the wealthy old man died of natural causes; Cora's maid dressed up like her to attend the funeral and put doubt on his death so as to create a cover for the murder of Cora. Cora was murdered for a valuable painting she had in her posession that the maid was going to sell.
niamhrowanch's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
poirot let me down
lisas_library_factory's review against another edition
4.0
As with every Agatha Christie book, I very much enjoyed reading this one. I knew the movie adaptation from the 1960s, though that version made a lot of changes to the plot - e.g. turning it into a Miss Marple case. However, the ending was pretty much the same, which took a bit excitement away on my part. Nevertheless, it is an unexpected outcome and with the family setting, it gives you a lot to think about, who the murderer might be. I also think, that the murder mysteries set in family environments and old mansions are Christie's best novels.
trimbleteacher's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I couldn’t figure this mystery out before the plot was revealed at the end. There were a lot of different characters to keep track of.
claire32's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
book_concierge's review against another edition
3.0
Audiobook read by Hugh Fraser
Originally published as Funerals Are Fatal
From the book jacket: When Cora Lansquenet is savagely murdered with a hatchet, the extraordinary remark she made the previous day at her brother Richard’s funeral suddenly takes on a chilling significance. At the reading of Richard’s will, Cora was clearly heard to say, “It’s been hushed up very nicely, hasn’t it… But he was murdered, wasn’t he?” In desperation the family solicitor turns to Hercule Poirot to unravel the mystery.
My reactions
Oh, I love Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells. Always entertaining and always keeping me guessing. Here we have quite a number of characters, all of whom seem to have some motive for killing Cora Lansquenet and/or Richard Abernathie. I’m glad I had a text copy along, because it has a family tree printed in it, which is a great help in keeping these various Abernathie relations straight. What a family! Hardly a likeable person in the bunch. I’d have been happy to have any one of them be the murderer. But that’s the joy of a Christie mystery.
The killer and Dame Christie cleverly give us many red herrings, false clues, misleading statements, and seemingly meaningless occurrences to confuse, baffle and thwart any attempts at solving the mystery. But, of course, Hercule Poirot will unveil the person responsible. I was almost as surprised as the culprit when the reveal came.
Hugh Fraser does a commendable job of voicing the audio. There are so many characters that it is hard to keep them straight at time, especially when there is a meeting of two or more women, but Fraser manages quite well. And I do love his interpretation of Hercule Poirot!
Originally published as Funerals Are Fatal
From the book jacket: When Cora Lansquenet is savagely murdered with a hatchet, the extraordinary remark she made the previous day at her brother Richard’s funeral suddenly takes on a chilling significance. At the reading of Richard’s will, Cora was clearly heard to say, “It’s been hushed up very nicely, hasn’t it… But he was murdered, wasn’t he?” In desperation the family solicitor turns to Hercule Poirot to unravel the mystery.
My reactions
Oh, I love Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells. Always entertaining and always keeping me guessing. Here we have quite a number of characters, all of whom seem to have some motive for killing Cora Lansquenet and/or Richard Abernathie. I’m glad I had a text copy along, because it has a family tree printed in it, which is a great help in keeping these various Abernathie relations straight. What a family! Hardly a likeable person in the bunch. I’d have been happy to have any one of them be the murderer. But that’s the joy of a Christie mystery.
The killer and Dame Christie cleverly give us many red herrings, false clues, misleading statements, and seemingly meaningless occurrences to confuse, baffle and thwart any attempts at solving the mystery. But, of course, Hercule Poirot will unveil the person responsible. I was almost as surprised as the culprit when the reveal came.
Hugh Fraser does a commendable job of voicing the audio. There are so many characters that it is hard to keep them straight at time, especially when there is a meeting of two or more women, but Fraser manages quite well. And I do love his interpretation of Hercule Poirot!