Scan barcode
miriki's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jessica365's review against another edition
slow-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? Yes
3.0
congressbaby143's review against another edition
3.0
Listened to this through Hugh Fraser’s narration on Scribd.
And what do we get from a story without Hastings as the narrator? Ahh well the narrator as the murderer himself. All this to say that Miss Agatha Christie thought too that Hastings and Poirot should be together, that is how the world is set right lol I’m grumbling.
Anyway, there was one thing Poirot said in this book that left a mark on me. “Women observe subconsciously a thousand little details, without knowing that they are doing so. Their subconscious mind adds these little things together—and they call the result intuition.” I liked how women’s intuition was viewed by Poirot this way, that it came from a woman’s observation of the little details instead of intuition as an “out of the blue” thing, a form of miracle, or even sometimes tied to women’s paranoia.
This, however, wasn’t as enjoyable a mystery as the others of Poirot that I’ve read before but I still love the Hercule Poirot series so on we go! 3 stars!
And what do we get from a story without Hastings as the narrator? Ahh well the narrator as the murderer himself. All this to say that Miss Agatha Christie thought too that Hastings and Poirot should be together, that is how the world is set right lol I’m grumbling.
Anyway, there was one thing Poirot said in this book that left a mark on me. “Women observe subconsciously a thousand little details, without knowing that they are doing so. Their subconscious mind adds these little things together—and they call the result intuition.” I liked how women’s intuition was viewed by Poirot this way, that it came from a woman’s observation of the little details instead of intuition as an “out of the blue” thing, a form of miracle, or even sometimes tied to women’s paranoia.
This, however, wasn’t as enjoyable a mystery as the others of Poirot that I’ve read before but I still love the Hercule Poirot series so on we go! 3 stars!
robinmorriz's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
junojunejunie's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
jestareader's review against another edition
4.0
'The Big Four' was my first Agatha Christie book and I did not like it at all. I thought Agatha Christie just wasn't for me and wasn't planning to pick another one of her books up. My mum, a huge Agatha Christie fan, convinced me otherwise. She handed me this book and I hesitantly agreed to read it.
Much, much better! I actually enjoyed this one (which was a surprise). I was nearing the end of the novel at a rowing practice and refused to starting training until I finished the book. Luckily my coach is a reader as well and let me finish the last two pages.
I imagine that this book was a better reflection of her style than 'the Big Four' (which I heard was published in segments in a newspaper, which does explain it a bit) but I suppose I will have to read more of her work to see if that's true or not.
Also quite the twist ending. Very nice. 👌👌
In short, 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' = Good, 'The Big Four' = Not so good.
Much, much better! I actually enjoyed this one (which was a surprise). I was nearing the end of the novel at a rowing practice and refused to starting training until I finished the book. Luckily my coach is a reader as well and let me finish the last two pages.
I imagine that this book was a better reflection of her style than 'the Big Four' (which I heard was published in segments in a newspaper, which does explain it a bit) but I suppose I will have to read more of her work to see if that's true or not.
Also quite the twist ending. Very nice. 👌👌
In short, 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' = Good, 'The Big Four' = Not so good.
juliia_zam's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
tense
slow-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
5.0
olivelynae's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
zoesteinberg214's review against another edition
4.0
This is why you can never ever trust first person narrators smh
thenovelbook's review against another edition
4.0
I really wish that I could have had the experience of reading this blind, as I’m extremely curious whether I would have picked up on any of the legitimate clues. Alas, the ending was spoiled for me years ago so all that was left was to see how Agatha Christie worked her tricks… which is a worthwhile enough reason to read, anyway! She’s masterful at misdirection and piling on the secrets and mysteries until the heart of the problem is hopelessly obfuscated.
Knowing the solution as I did, I slightly lost patience with some of the distractions, but I was impressed at how simple she kept the narration surrounding the crucial moment. The solution was signposted brazenly and brilliantly. Of course, I couldn’t quite understand everything about how it all had worked, and had to wait on Poirot to explain exactly who made the telephone call. But as an authorly exercise, she must have found it irresistible. To break the unspoken contract with your reader like that! The world of whodunnits would not be the same without this novel, but it blazes a trail that can’t really be gone down twice.
Knowing the solution as I did, I slightly lost patience with some of the distractions, but I was impressed at how simple she kept the narration surrounding the crucial moment. The solution was signposted brazenly and brilliantly. Of course, I couldn’t quite understand everything about how it all had worked, and had to wait on Poirot to explain exactly who made the telephone call. But as an authorly exercise, she must have found it irresistible. To break the unspoken contract with your reader like that! The world of whodunnits would not be the same without this novel, but it blazes a trail that can’t really be gone down twice.