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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Maybe it would have been more interesting if I understood how to play Bridge. The end seemed slapped together, one more twist and then it abruptly ends. It was like wait what and it was done. Maybe an epilogue could have cleaned the ending up. Poirot reading a letter from Hastings commenting about the case or something.
Look, I know pretty much nothing about bridge, but it doesn’t stop this book from being really quite delightful. Christie, in rare form, has a preface to this books – where she talks about wanting to dig in with the psychology of characters in this one, and that some people might like it, while others (like Hastings!) would find it boring. I didn’t find it boring at all, and was really hooked for a majority of the novel.
The premise is kind of fascinating - a gentleman named Shaitana (is he gay or just the devil, you decide) thinks it would be a fun little game to invite four ‘sleuths’ and four ‘murders’ over for dinner. He mentions this to our dear Hercule Poirot, who of course gets invited, but Poirot warns Shaitana that playing with people can be a dangerous game.
And of course it is!
By the end of the night, Shaitana is dead, and we have four suspects who all could be quite dangerous! And, of course, the rest of the novel is spent digging into the backstories of these characters, and looking at the psychology of how and why and even if these characters not only murdered Shaitana - but if they murdered before.
And I think the whole thing really works. I think limiting the story to only four suspects and digging into who they are is a fascinating way to explore the mystery. The first fifty or so pages, when they’ve just found the murder is really, very captivating, and I almost wish the whole novel was on one night, where each of the sleuths try to figure out who did it.
One of the aspects that I like about this book is that it has a sense of humor. Not only is Poirot (who is there from the beginning) endearingly amusing, but we get our first real introduction to Ariadne Oliver - a fourth wall breaking mystery writer who is clearly an outlet for Christie to vent her frustrations about being a writer - and she’s absolutely delightful.
I do think the last fifty pages or so goes off the rails a little. And while the solution is clever and makes sense with everything that’s presented, I do wonder if Christie felt like she needed to pad the second half a little.
Overall, it’s an excellent read - and very much one that I’d recommend.
The premise is kind of fascinating - a gentleman named Shaitana (is he gay or just the devil, you decide) thinks it would be a fun little game to invite four ‘sleuths’ and four ‘murders’ over for dinner. He mentions this to our dear Hercule Poirot, who of course gets invited, but Poirot warns Shaitana that playing with people can be a dangerous game.
And of course it is!
By the end of the night, Shaitana is dead, and we have four suspects who all could be quite dangerous! And, of course, the rest of the novel is spent digging into the backstories of these characters, and looking at the psychology of how and why and even if these characters not only murdered Shaitana - but if they murdered before.
And I think the whole thing really works. I think limiting the story to only four suspects and digging into who they are is a fascinating way to explore the mystery. The first fifty or so pages, when they’ve just found the murder is really, very captivating, and I almost wish the whole novel was on one night, where each of the sleuths try to figure out who did it.
One of the aspects that I like about this book is that it has a sense of humor. Not only is Poirot (who is there from the beginning) endearingly amusing, but we get our first real introduction to Ariadne Oliver - a fourth wall breaking mystery writer who is clearly an outlet for Christie to vent her frustrations about being a writer - and she’s absolutely delightful.
I do think the last fifty pages or so goes off the rails a little. And while the solution is clever and makes sense with everything that’s presented, I do wonder if Christie felt like she needed to pad the second half a little.
Overall, it’s an excellent read - and very much one that I’d recommend.
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
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:
Yes
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Christie has done it again with an ingenious murder mystery. The imagery is well-conceived as everything comes in 4s - 4 detectives, 4 suspects, 4 past murder, and 1 dead man. I thoroughly enjoyed the unique lack of physical clues and focus on behavioural psychology and motive during the story - it was a pragmatic choice to flesh out character development. Christie's writing style was subtle, and light; it never intruded on the plot (the most important of any mystery), but still retained a personally humorous touch. I could not count how many plot twists she was able to incorporate into the last quarter of the book. Christie fooled me many times over into thinking I finally knew whodunnit, before immediately pulling the rug from under me. As always, Christie's mysteries never disappoint but I would argue this one is one of her best simply for its ending.
adventurous
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes