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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
Agatha Christie is my mom's favourite author, so I decided to read more of her books. Weeeeeeell, it was a good read. I love "whoddunit" tropes.
Spoiler
The young couple did it.
Amazing book by Agatha Christie, AGAIN! I was absolutely NOT expecting that end, and the last 20 pages or so were absolutely hypnotizing… The way Christie lays down all the hints during the book, and resolves the case in a fantastic way through Poirot, is just incredible!
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
This had all the hallmarks of a classic Poirot novel — all the clues were provided for the reader, but only Poirot's mind could sort fact from fabrication to arrive at the solution. Nonetheless, it struck me as a bit far-fetched. For example, it required the criminals to know exactly the kind of hat that Arlena was going to bring with her to the beach, and Arlena had to avoid hearing Patrick wailing over her supposedly dead body while she was hiding in a cave nearby . I did figure out that Linda only thought she'd brought about Arlena's death — something previously used in Sad Cypress — and that Kenneth and Rosamund were inventing alibis for each other , but the actual solution was so convoluted I would never have come up with it. This one is middle-of-the-pack for me.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-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:
Complicated
Another solid Poirot mystery. Sometimes I get frustrated that there’s no way I could figure out these mysteries.
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I feel kind of shitty leaving a 3* review for this book, because I LOVE Agatha Christie, and this isn't by any means a poor read, but I'm trying to be more critical of books in my reviews, so realistically I'd give it a 3.5 but alas, you can't do that on here.
Evil Under the Sun is actually only the second Hercule Poirot novel I've read of all the Agatha Christie novels I have read, and the reason it gets a lower rating is just that it was too simple. That is to say, the mystery was never much of a mystery so much as it read like a police procedural where we only know as much as Poirot tells us. There were very few moments where we wondered, 'ooh, what if X did it?' because as soon as I started to suspect someone Poirot moved on with the story and dismissed them. I love mystery, but I love mysteries that give us more of a 'whodunit' feel than this one. This was more like observing rather than exploring, if that makes any sense.
That said, I really liked this one. I was a little annoyed throughout the book because of the way everybody seemed to blame the victim, but remembering the time at which this was written, it isn't exactly shocking. It's just my modern sensibilities were a little irked. However, I was happy with the surprise twist at the end not in the mystery but in Poirot defending the victim as being a VICTIM when everybody else said she met the end that her lifestyle naturally would end in. His little, "I never really agreed with you all that she brought this on herself" was very relieving. Makes it easier to swallow the casual victim-blaming that would be normal for the period.
All in all, it was a fairly quick read (I took a week and a half to read it but that's because I am a terrible reader these days) and an enjoyable one. I can see this being the type of book perfect for the summer when readers who aren't as lazy as I am can sit out on the porch or lay by the pool with a book and read for a few hours at a time.
I absolutely recommend this one, even though the rating seems like I don't like it as much as I do.
Evil Under the Sun is actually only the second Hercule Poirot novel I've read of all the Agatha Christie novels I have read, and the reason it gets a lower rating is just that it was too simple. That is to say, the mystery was never much of a mystery so much as it read like a police procedural where we only know as much as Poirot tells us. There were very few moments where we wondered, 'ooh, what if X did it?' because as soon as I started to suspect someone Poirot moved on with the story and dismissed them. I love mystery, but I love mysteries that give us more of a 'whodunit' feel than this one. This was more like observing rather than exploring, if that makes any sense.
That said, I really liked this one. I was a little annoyed throughout the book because of the way everybody seemed to blame the victim, but remembering the time at which this was written, it isn't exactly shocking. It's just my modern sensibilities were a little irked. However, I was happy with the surprise twist at the end not in the mystery but in Poirot defending the victim as being a VICTIM when everybody else said she met the end that her lifestyle naturally would end in. His little, "I never really agreed with you all that she brought this on herself" was very relieving. Makes it easier to swallow the casual victim-blaming that would be normal for the period.
All in all, it was a fairly quick read (I took a week and a half to read it but that's because I am a terrible reader these days) and an enjoyable one. I can see this being the type of book perfect for the summer when readers who aren't as lazy as I am can sit out on the porch or lay by the pool with a book and read for a few hours at a time.
I absolutely recommend this one, even though the rating seems like I don't like it as much as I do.
adventurous
challenging
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
medium-paced
Kept me guessing, although some of the gender stereotypes were a tad strong in this one.