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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Assente per più di metà del libro, in questo libro Poirot è un po' troppo onniscente.
Buona trama ma lettura un po' sgradevole per i continui sospiri del narratore.
Buona trama ma lettura un po' sgradevole per i continui sospiri del narratore.
Um dos melhores mistérios que li da gata até hoje. Vai te deixando migalhas durante o livro que você quer desvendar, mt bom. Uma parte das minhas suspeitas estavam certas no final do livro, mas ainda sim me surpreendi
Another fun mystery by Agatha Christie! She does a great job with her characters. When though this one has a lot of espionage in it (which I tend to not like as much), I enjoyed this one a lot. I really liked the school plotline/setting.
This was an enjoyable read. It was quick and easy and I liked the story. However, it was quite slow as it took quite a while for the murder happen. Also I'd hardly call this a Hercule Poirot story since he was barely in it. His only real purpose was to reveal the killer.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is possibly my favourite Poirot I’ve read despite his only appearing in the third act of the book. I just love the school setting and the scope of the mystery which is much bigger than Christie’s work often is.
The mystery is excellent with lots of strands to untangle and a brilliant cast of characters including a sparky school girl whose attitude to the whole mystery was so much fun to read. I will be returning to this again and again I feel.
The mystery is excellent with lots of strands to untangle and a brilliant cast of characters including a sparky school girl whose attitude to the whole mystery was so much fun to read. I will be returning to this again and again I feel.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
International intrigue and murder! What more could you want?
Although there are unfortunately some stereotypes towards foreigners and Asians, I really liked the book. One should also not forget that the book is already a year old and was written in a different time. I devoured it within 2 days!
Although there are unfortunately some stereotypes towards foreigners and Asians, I really liked the book. One should also not forget that the book is already a year old and was written in a different time. I devoured it within 2 days!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Dementia, Murder
I like it when Agatha shakes things up a bit. Originally published in 1959, Dame Christie creates a fictional middle eastern country in which to set a fictional revolution and a fictional girls' school in which to have events begun in said revolution end in murrrrrder. (More than one, actually.)
The fictional country is called Ramat, where British-educated Prince Ali Yusuf has failed to establish a democratic government. Before he and his BFF/pilot, Bob (no, seriously, his name is Bob) flee the country, they make arrangements to smuggle the prince's jewels (not a euphemism, actual gemstones) with Bob's sister and niece (completely unbeknownst to them).
Several months later, the wreck of Prince Ali & Bob's plane is found, and Bob's niece is starting the school year at Meadowbank, a prestigious and progressive girls' school, where the prince's cousin is also a new student. Une petite coïncidence, oui ? Then the prickly new games mistress (the British equivalent of a girls' PE teacher) is murdered and other strange events soon follow. Other than the old groundskeeper and his handsome new assistant, the school is entirely populated by females. So who is the titular cat hiding amongst all these pigeons?
Incidentally, Monsieur Poirot doesn't show up until page 160 of 224, when he is summoned by one of the school girls who has already figured out enough to fear for her own safety. He sweeps in with his moustaches to give the local police a clue and save the school.
Solution:
The fictional country is called Ramat, where British-educated Prince Ali Yusuf has failed to establish a democratic government. Before he and his BFF/pilot, Bob (no, seriously, his name is Bob) flee the country, they make arrangements to smuggle the prince's jewels (not a euphemism, actual gemstones) with Bob's sister and niece (completely unbeknownst to them).
Several months later, the wreck of Prince Ali & Bob's plane is found, and Bob's niece is starting the school year at Meadowbank, a prestigious and progressive girls' school, where the prince's cousin is also a new student. Une petite coïncidence, oui ? Then the prickly new games mistress (the British equivalent of a girls' PE teacher) is murdered and other strange events soon follow. Other than the old groundskeeper and his handsome new assistant, the school is entirely populated by females. So who is the titular cat hiding amongst all these pigeons?
Incidentally, Monsieur Poirot doesn't show up until page 160 of 224, when he is summoned by one of the school girls who has already figured out enough to fear for her own safety. He sweeps in with his moustaches to give the local police a clue and save the school.
Solution:
Spoiler
It was the headmistress's new secretary, who is actually a spy-for-hire. She was posing as a dancer in Ramat, where she witnessed Bob stashing the jewels in the handle of his niece's tennis racquet. She took the job to get at the tennis racquet, but the niece swapped racquets with her new BFF (who figured it out and took them to Poirot for safekeeping). The games mistress was killed in an attempt to steal the racquet. Another teacher was killed out of jealousy because she was the headmistress's intended successor (completely unrelated to the case). A third was killed because she was attempting to blackmail the killer. In the meantime, the real Princess Shaista had been kidnapped before she left her former school in Switzerland and an spy was put in her place to try to intercept the jewels. The "secretary" was busted, the jealous school co-founder who killed the teacher ended up taking a bullet to save a student's mother and the headmistress, and the jewels were delivered to the prince's secret British wife and child. All in all, a nice little wrap up.
Obv this is from 1959, so I don't expect cultural sensitivity, but it was distracting to read about the many stereotypes about "orientals" and women in general
