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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I guessed early but loved the story and it's complications.
This 1945 novel, also published under the name Remembered Death, is the fourth and final appearance of Colonel Race, after a previous book where he stands alone like this and two that he shares with his friend Hercule Poirot. As a character he's never made much of an impression on me, and so his stories tend to succeed or fail more by the current plot around him. In this case, I'd say the effect is mixed -- a slow start of everyone's reflections about a woman who died of poisoning last year in an apparent suicide at the dinner table, which picks up in excitement when her widower who suspects foul play is killed himself in the same fashion, but then trickles back away due to some silliness at the end.
(Spoilers: it turns out all the guests at the second party got up to dance, and took the wrong chair upon return due to someone's bag being inadvertently moved down a spot. So the victim wasn't the intended target that time, which ultimately leads to the identification of the culprit. But the deductive insight that's supposed to dazzle us there just doesn't ring true for me at all. I feel like most people in that circumstance would notice their seating position had changed, especially if it preceded a shocking death!)
As with the rest of his series, this book is fine overall. Author Agatha Christie has certainly written worse mysteries for us, and I do appreciate whenever she tries to tweak her usual formulas into slightly different configurations, even if not every experiment results in a winner. But I can understand why we don't ever hear from this particular protagonist again.
[Content warning for racism and sexism.]
This volume: ★★★☆☆
Overall series: ★★★☆☆
Volumes ranked: Death on the Nile > The Man in the Brown Suit > Sparkling Cyanide > Cards on the Table
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(Spoilers: it turns out all the guests at the second party got up to dance, and took the wrong chair upon return due to someone's bag being inadvertently moved down a spot. So the victim wasn't the intended target that time, which ultimately leads to the identification of the culprit. But the deductive insight that's supposed to dazzle us there just doesn't ring true for me at all. I feel like most people in that circumstance would notice their seating position had changed, especially if it preceded a shocking death!)
As with the rest of his series, this book is fine overall. Author Agatha Christie has certainly written worse mysteries for us, and I do appreciate whenever she tries to tweak her usual formulas into slightly different configurations, even if not every experiment results in a winner. But I can understand why we don't ever hear from this particular protagonist again.
[Content warning for racism and sexism.]
This volume: ★★★☆☆
Overall series: ★★★☆☆
Volumes ranked: Death on the Nile > The Man in the Brown Suit > Sparkling Cyanide > Cards on the Table
Like this review?
--Throw me a quick one-time donation here!
https://ko-fi.com/lesserjoke
--Subscribe here to support my writing and weigh in on what I read next!
https://patreon.com/lesserjoke
--Follow along on Goodreads here!
https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/6288479-joe-kessler
--Or click here to browse through all my previous reviews!
https://lesserjoke.home.blog
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is my first AC book, and I was surprised at how quickly the reveal was glossed over. I needed more detail
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I was somewhat indifferent toward And Then There Were None when I read it earlier this year—it was ultimately entertaining, but it had a super slow start and I didn't care for Agatha Christie's choppy writing—so I can't believe how much fun Sparkling Cyanide was. (Side note: what started out as a way of messing with my sister has now resulted in me unintentionally calling this "Cyanide Wine" fifty percent of the time.)
Not only did I enjoy the overarching mystery and the various layers to the character relationships, but the writing style was very readable; and in comparison to the previous Christie novel I read, I felt that there was a better flow to this one. While And Then There Were None had a much more claustrophobic, panicked feel to it, the tone of Sparkling Cyanide was intimate, with a mystery that seemed a little less far-fetched and a smaller cast of characters. This meant that it was easier to keep up with everyone and for each person to have more of a distinct narrative, something I appreciated. The revelation wasn't all that much of a revelation, as I'd suspected at least part of what might have been going on, but that doesn't mean it wasn't any less enjoyable.
Not only did I enjoy the overarching mystery and the various layers to the character relationships, but the writing style was very readable; and in comparison to the previous Christie novel I read, I felt that there was a better flow to this one. While And Then There Were None had a much more claustrophobic, panicked feel to it, the tone of Sparkling Cyanide was intimate, with a mystery that seemed a little less far-fetched and a smaller cast of characters. This meant that it was easier to keep up with everyone and for each person to have more of a distinct narrative, something I appreciated. The revelation wasn't all that much of a revelation, as I'd suspected at least part of what might have been going on, but that doesn't mean it wasn't any less enjoyable.
mysterious
medium-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
This was the very first Agatha Christie I ever read and found it totally gripping at such a young age. I went through all the ones my school library had before continuing my quest to read as many as possible while I was in school. Definitely a wonderful introduction to the crime genre that focuses on the investigation rather than gory details and explicit autopsies!