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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
Very different from the other Christie's I've read. It is a "who done it" but without a detective. Very psychological - twisted.
It's obvious from the ratings that loads of people really like this one, so clearly my reaction has to be considered subjective. But for me this is one of the poorest of Christie's novels. It's a late one, from 1967, when she was well past her peak, and it shows in several of the late books where her earlier tight plotting, with large casts of characters and lots of red herrings and misdirection, has given way to a kind of rambling repetitiveness.
She's tried for a different style here - a first person narrative, with the murder happening very near the end of the book, and an attempt to use the idea of gypsies and curses to give the thing a kind of creepy vibe. I'd say it doesn't work, were it not for the zillions of reviews from people for whom it quite clearly does work.
But the major problem is that the plot is a mash-up of the plots of two of her most famous books. I'm not going to name them, because they're so well known and have been adapted so often that their titles alone would be spoilers for this one. So maybe it depends on how well you know your Christie. I know her major books very well and recognised the two plots very early on, meaning that I knew exactly what was going to happen and who was going to murder whom. Then I had to wait and wait through a long, long set-up to finally get there.
All I would say is don't choose this one as your first Christie, and if you already have and have been disappointed by it, don't judge her on the basis of this book alone. Read any of the books written before around 1955, which is when her brilliance began to fade. There are still some good ones after that date, but it becomes hit and miss, whereas in her earlier years the books are consistently excellent.
She's tried for a different style here - a first person narrative, with the murder happening very near the end of the book, and an attempt to use the idea of gypsies and curses to give the thing a kind of creepy vibe. I'd say it doesn't work, were it not for the zillions of reviews from people for whom it quite clearly does work.
But the major problem is that the plot is a mash-up of the plots of two of her most famous books. I'm not going to name them, because they're so well known and have been adapted so often that their titles alone would be spoilers for this one. So maybe it depends on how well you know your Christie. I know her major books very well and recognised the two plots very early on, meaning that I knew exactly what was going to happen and who was going to murder whom. Then I had to wait and wait through a long, long set-up to finally get there.
All I would say is don't choose this one as your first Christie, and if you already have and have been disappointed by it, don't judge her on the basis of this book alone. Read any of the books written before around 1955, which is when her brilliance began to fade. There are still some good ones after that date, but it becomes hit and miss, whereas in her earlier years the books are consistently excellent.
Having a hard time getting into this one. Might come back to it later.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Grief, Gaslighting, Classism
Minor: Sexual content
Honestly, I would give it a 3.5 but I’ll round it up to 4. It’s different from what I expected, but I liked it a lot and it was a quick read. Unfortunately, I figured out what happened before it was “revealed”.
mysterious
relaxing
tense
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:
Yes
Weirdly, I liked this one. Much more modern setting but huge twist at the end. Classic Queen of Crime.
Very different from her typical mysteries. Highly recommended!