Reviews

This conclusion didn't satisfy me much and I don't like how as a reader you couldn't have guessed the solution.
Everything before that was top notch Agatha Christie and I loved it.

rainshtorm's review against another edition

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4.0

Interesting take on many of the themes in the short story Yellow Iris. The mystery is good! While the culprit is pretty clear to guess, their motivations are somewhat less so. First Colonel Race book I’ve read, and he doesn’t seem to have much personality.

sweekune's review against another edition

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mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

⭐ 4/5 ⭐

Audiobook narrated by Hugh Fraser.

A young woman committed suicide... Or did she? Those closest to her all have a motive for murder. Colonel Race is called in to investigate.

- I love the winding nature of this one. Initially and for over half the book, we focus on the lives and issues of each potential suspect individually in quite some detail. The book really takes care to build up an excellent picture of why any of the characters may have wanted to murder Rosemary (the dead woman).

- The characters are varied, interesting and believable. Christie really pulls out the stops to make you both feel for and suspect each of them in turn.

- Colonel Race is not new to me but I've not really read a novel where he is the main detective, as such. He was a bit flat compared to my usual favourite of Poirot but enjoyable nonetheless.

If you like quite character focused mysteries with lots of options for the outcome, I highly recommend Sparkling Cyanide.

martasantos96's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No

3.0

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