Reviews with content warning for Alcoholism - Death on the Nile

This is my second attempt to read an Agatha Christie book. The first one was a 1-star / DNF affair. This one will get two stars because I actually finished the book because: (1) I want to be ready for book club discussion and (2) I want to compare it to the adaptation coming out February, 2022. I'm going to assume that A.C., being a woman of her time and place, is just as racist, sexist, xenophobic and jingoistic in all of her books. In addition, this book, which is supposedly one of her top 10, is not all that. I understand that there are books that are plot driven, but the characters in this book are so full of stereotypes and clichés you might hurt yourself with all the eye-rolling. The murder doesn't even happen until half-way through the book and then we spend the next 150 pages going back and forth with Poirot about about all his different theories. I guess these theories are supposed to be "plot twists" but after a while I just wanted to scream at Poirot to just get over himself, put us all out of our misery, and tell us whodunnit. When that finally happens, I was so over this book that the unveiling of the mystery was actually anti-climatic.

Content Warnings

kamylu's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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redthistle's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This is the second of Agatha Christie's books I have read and I am two for two on figuring out the end! I guessed the one from the first section before they even arrived in Egypt. For me, however, guessing the ending never takes away from the magic of Christie's writing. I love finding her bread crumbs and see the ways I have gotten it right. This was a super fun whodunnit which I greatly enjoyed.

One thing that detracts from the novel and Christie's writing is the racist opinions of many of her characters. This is a book written in the 30s when such views were more outwardly prevalent and it always hurts my heart to see them in a novel. So a word of warning in that regard.

Content Warnings

taleofabibliophile's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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decklededgess's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

trigger warnings: murder, gunshot wound, suicide mention and suicide attempt, fatphobia, racism against Egyptian and Chinese people, racism in general, murder, alcoholism, sexism and misogyny

I spent such a long time sitting there finding clues mapping out suspects and I knew the golden rule of all mysteries and YETTTTT. Next time though next time I will prevail.

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revhoward's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

elenamarmiroli's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? N/A
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

Personalmente, questo libro, al momento, tra tutti i libri che ho letto dell'autrice, credo sia quello che mi abbia colpito di meno.

La storia e la risoluzione sono buone, ma avevo già compreso chi sarebbero stati i colpevoli ancora prima del primo omicidio, cosa che potrebbe essere dovuta a dei vaghi ricordi di una passata lettura di quest'opera o visione di un film che ne era stato tratto. Ciò nonostante, l'autrice non è riuscita a distogliere particolarmente i miei sospetti, come di solito è capace, e ciò mi ha un po' deluso.

Quello che non avevo pensato era il come avere compiuto il loro piano nei dettagli, e >spoiler>le risoluzioni dei crimini secondari , con l'autrice aveva tentato di intorpidire le acque.

Una cosa che non mi è piaciuto, che avevo già visto fare all'autrice nel libro Miss Marple nei Caraibi, sono dei commenti che rasentano il razzismo, ma penso che purtroppo ciò sia comprensibile, considerando l'epoca in cui è vissuta.

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