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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
This is the first Agatha Christie novel I have ever read and I was pleasantly surprised. I expected a cheesy mystery but it was intricate and full of twists and turns. It was old school in a good way - with a slow build to the climax and then a cascade of events that filled in all the holes. I would definitely read more mysteries from the Christie repertoire!
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was definitely not one of my favourites of Christie's works.
The entire novel was almost painfully slow - there wasn't even a murder till 70% of the way through the book! I get that she was trying to do something different from her usual stuff, but it didn't quite work for me. Probably cause I'm a big fan of her usual stuff. I do feel that maybe if I was more interested in the characters, I wouldn't have minded the delay in getting to the mystery so much. But I wasn't that invested in any of them, and to top it off, there were too many supporting characters (many of whom were introduced more than halfway into the book) which made things feel sort of muddled.
The plot twist was good, and even though I began to suspect some of it half-way through, it still was surprising in its way. However, I don't think the plotting was as tight as her usual stuff. Most of her other novels that I've read have hints littered throughout the narrative that come together beautifully at the end. This one didn't really have that, not in the same way. The plot twist seemed more random in comparison. And the very beginning/end had a very odd stream-of-consciousness style of writing that I wasn't sure worked for it.
Some of the reviews on here say this was her last novel before she succumbed to dementia - that's not true. She'd written several other books after this one. She even said this was one of her favourite novels. Can't say I feel the same way though.
The entire novel was almost painfully slow - there wasn't even a murder till 70% of the way through the book! I get that she was trying to do something different from her usual stuff, but it didn't quite work for me. Probably cause I'm a big fan of her usual stuff. I do feel that maybe if I was more interested in the characters, I wouldn't have minded the delay in getting to the mystery so much. But I wasn't that invested in any of them, and to top it off, there were too many supporting characters (many of whom were introduced more than halfway into the book) which made things feel sort of muddled.
The plot twist was good, and even though I began to suspect some of it half-way through, it still was surprising in its way. However, I don't think the plotting was as tight as her usual stuff. Most of her other novels that I've read have hints littered throughout the narrative that come together beautifully at the end. This one didn't really have that, not in the same way. The plot twist seemed more random in comparison. And the very beginning/end had a very odd stream-of-consciousness style of writing that I wasn't sure worked for it.
Some of the reviews on here say this was her last novel before she succumbed to dementia - that's not true. She'd written several other books after this one. She even said this was one of her favourite novels. Can't say I feel the same way though.
A young poor man meets a wealthy young woman. They fall in love, marry after a whirlwind romance, and set up house in England, away from her meddling relatives. Tragedy strikes, and then the big twist is revealed. It took me a while to get into this book, as the big mystery seemed to be there was no mystery. But when the clues really started adding up and the secret unveiled, I was surprised and understood why Christie chose to go for a big lead-up. When I first saw the movie Sixth Sense, I immediately wanted to watch it again to see all the clues I had missed. This book had the same effect on me!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
This one caught me completely off guard. Very good.
4.5 Stars. After reading Christie's mysteries chronologically, it's wonderful to discover that she's still got something "deep," lovely, and shocking to deliver.