Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

14 reviews

passionatereader78's review against another edition

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? No

4.0

Mrs. Marple's friend finds a body in their library. No One seems to know how it got there. Mrs. Marple is on the case. I loved every minute of this mystery!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Child death

mary_juleyre's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death

monstrouscosmos's review against another edition

mysterious 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? No

3.25

Characters: 5/10
Relationships: 6/10
Atmosphere/Setting: 6/10
Writing Style: 7/10
Plot/Intrigue: 8/10
Internal Logic: 8/10
Entertainment: 7/10
Overall: 47/70, 3.25*

this was one of the more emotionally difficult Agatha Christie mysteries to get thru for me so far, but I'm glad I stuck with it! I enjoy Christie's writing overall, but it's hard to enjoy all of her work knowing both her social positions and how those positions often get reflected in her writing. more than in her other work I felt as though the victim was spoken down upon, even/especially by seemingly more sympathetic characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Murder, Child death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Gaslighting, Death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, and Terminal illness

Minor: Ableism, Infidelity, and Alcoholism

bymeme's review against another edition

mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Murder, Death, and Classism

itsjoenna's review against another edition

lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, and Ableism

Moderate: Alcoholism and Child death

Minor: Medical content, Racism, Violence, and Drug abuse

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Misogyny, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Death, and Alcohol

bookwyrmknits's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

One thing I enjoy about Agatha Christie's mysteries is that often there are tiny breadcrumbs left for the reader to find which would point in the direction of the murderer. Often, as in the case of this book, I make note of certain things (like physical description) and think to myself that it will probably be important later, and then promptly forget about it only to be reminded of it at the very end when that tiny detail is used as part of the clue that shows who the real murderer is.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

sciammi's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Love the subversion of the trope of the body in the library. It kept the whole mystery quite filled with twists - even though, the pace was slower. I am surprised at how mean the descriptions were for some of the women, talking about a "vapid face." But yes, what a bang to find a body in a library in the morning. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death and Murder

trekkifulshay's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Xenophobia and Sexism

kakapokhaos's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

I’m largely unfamiliar with Miss Marple stories so The Body in the Library was an interesting introduction. Honestly, I didn’t really love how we mostly followed the police and retired Scotland Yard detective rather than Miss Marple, whilst she made most of her deductions either out-of-scene or in her own head. That being said, her reveal did make sense with the clues provided.

I did guess the gist of the twist very quickly, although I didn’t quite have every particular, but I do commend Christie on throwing in enough red herrings throughout to make me waver on my initial predict slightly. I do think that this story has too many characters for them all to be fleshed out appropriately for such a short time in knowing them.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death