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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
One of my favorite Christie novels. I've read it many times, and still I'm not quite positive which was the murderer! The twists and suspects in the story are brilliant, and Mrs. Oliver always brings a fun touch to the story.
4.5
Me acordaba algo del argumento y el asesinato en sí de haberlo visto en la serie, pero no demasiado más; sólo tenía algunas imágenes en la cabeza.
Me gustó algo de la trama, pero por alguna razón, no soporto los casos de Poirot relatados en tercera persona con un narrador omnisciente. Me gustan los contados por Hastings, otro personaje que aparezca en la historia, o que si es en tercera persona, lo siga solamente a Poirot, no a los demás personas... No sé porque, pero por alguna razón me molesta.
Y en cuanto al resultado final, lo adiviné unas 20 páginas antes, pero no por eso estuvo mal, porque creo que me mareó un poco antes, aunque estuvo bueno. Lo que sí, me habría gustado que haya más sospechosos y no se centre sólo en cuatro, porque lo hace un tanto más simple, en mi opinión.
Así que por eso le doy cuatro. Me gustó. No es de los mejores, porque es bastante difícil, pero es un buen caso y me dio gusto leerlo.
Me acordaba algo del argumento y el asesinato en sí de haberlo visto en la serie, pero no demasiado más; sólo tenía algunas imágenes en la cabeza.
Me gustó algo de la trama, pero por alguna razón, no soporto los casos de Poirot relatados en tercera persona con un narrador omnisciente. Me gustan los contados por Hastings, otro personaje que aparezca en la historia, o que si es en tercera persona, lo siga solamente a Poirot, no a los demás personas... No sé porque, pero por alguna razón me molesta.
Y en cuanto al resultado final, lo adiviné unas 20 páginas antes, pero no por eso estuvo mal, porque creo que me mareó un poco antes, aunque estuvo bueno. Lo que sí, me habría gustado que haya más sospechosos y no se centre sólo en cuatro, porque lo hace un tanto más simple, en mi opinión.
Así que por eso le doy cuatro. Me gustó. No es de los mejores, porque es bastante difícil, pero es un buen caso y me dio gusto leerlo.
adventurous
lighthearted
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:
No
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This one was a rather dull one. All the events seemed to me happen at the speed of 1.5, faster than usual. Out of the four suspects only one was interesting as character, Major Despard. At the end there was an unexpected twist of events for me and was the only good part.
3.5 stars. What began as a stellar premise soon turned into a slight slog, but then recovered for a fast-paced ending. The inclusion of four Christie regulars -- Poirot, Superintendent Battle, Colonel Race, and Mrs. Oliver -- is a classic example of too much of a good thing. Like those superhero movies that attempt to bridge “universes” by throwing together all these disparate characters, it works more to bog down the narrative than to add flavor to the work. Colonel Race disappears about halfway through the novel (and he didn't really do much before that), and I didn’t even really notice.
And that’s all a shame because the premise is great: four murderers in a single room and one dead body. No possibility for red herrings. But perhaps to a fault? Christie seems to sense that, so she throws in a couple red herrings in the final chapters just for kicks, which is really where this novel is the strongest. Poirot is not my favorite Christie character, but he does redeem this one in his cat-and-mouse game among the suspects in the final chapters.
And that’s all a shame because the premise is great: four murderers in a single room and one dead body. No possibility for red herrings. But perhaps to a fault? Christie seems to sense that, so she throws in a couple red herrings in the final chapters just for kicks, which is really where this novel is the strongest. Poirot is not my favorite Christie character, but he does redeem this one in his cat-and-mouse game among the suspects in the final chapters.
How have I not read this book before. A different type of dinner party---4 sleuths and 4 people who have gotten away with murder. The host is discovered stabbed to death. The 4 sleuths have to look at the previous crimes to try and figure out who committed the murder of the host. More psychological than some of her other works, but very well done. Poirot is wonderful as usual, and it is great to see Ariadne Oliver again in this one. Highly recommend.
mysterious
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:
Complicated
Popsugar 2021: A book that has a heart, diamond, club, or spade on the cover
A cheery, murderous romp through the investigation of four suspects of a deadly crime committed during a game of bridge. What can I say - Agatha Christie is a master and expert in her craft. Her chief sleuth, Hercule Poirot, concocts a plan that not only fools those around him, but fooled me as the reader, so that I, too, was forced to humbly bow to his cleverness in the last 25 pages.
I liked how Poirot wasn't alone in this investigation. The offending bridge party included 8 guests, four of whom become the prime suspects in the crime, and the other four being known detective-like characters (lawman, military, a fiction crime writer). Seeing each of their perspectives as they split up to gather evidence was fun and unique for a Poirot book!
I'm giving this 4 stars because I don't know the first thing about how the game of bridge is played and the first half of the book had quite a few terms and references to the game that I wasn't familiar with. There was enough to get the implications of the terms, though! It's not the book's fault I couldn't be bothered to Google a quick start guide on playing bridge.
Do recommend!
A cheery, murderous romp through the investigation of four suspects of a deadly crime committed during a game of bridge. What can I say - Agatha Christie is a master and expert in her craft. Her chief sleuth, Hercule Poirot, concocts a plan that not only fools those around him, but fooled me as the reader, so that I, too, was forced to humbly bow to his cleverness in the last 25 pages.
I liked how Poirot wasn't alone in this investigation. The offending bridge party included 8 guests, four of whom become the prime suspects in the crime, and the other four being known detective-like characters (lawman, military, a fiction crime writer). Seeing each of their perspectives as they split up to gather evidence was fun and unique for a Poirot book!
I'm giving this 4 stars because I don't know the first thing about how the game of bridge is played and the first half of the book had quite a few terms and references to the game that I wasn't familiar with. There was enough to get the implications of the terms, though! It's not the book's fault I couldn't be bothered to Google a quick start guide on playing bridge.
Do recommend!
— Scumpul meu domn Poirot! spuse o voce dulce şi prefăcută, o voce cu intonaţii studiate, lipsită de impulsivitate şi spontaneitate.
Hercule Poirot se întoarse şi salută, strângând politicos tnâna interlocutorului său.
În privirea detectivului belgian, apăru o expresie neobişnuită.
S-ar fi spus că întâlnirea aceasta neaşteptată, deştepta în el o emoţie de o rară calitate.
— Scumpul meu doma Shaitana! răspunse el.
Amândoi făcură o pauză, ca doi duelişti care se pregătesc de atac. Erau înconjuraţi de un elegant public londonez care murmura:
Incântător, admirabil!
— Sunt adevărate minuni, nu-i aşa?
Acestea se petreceau la Expoziţia Tahachenior de la Wessex-House, la Londra. Preţul de intrare: o guinee, în beneficiul spitalelor londoneze.
Domnule, reluă Shaitana, e o plăcere să vă întâlnesc, În acest moment nu e nici un amator de spânzurătoare sau de ghilotină E oare sezonul mort în lumea crimei? Sau trebuie să se comită vreun furt aici, azi după amiază?… M-ar distra enorm, eventualitatea aceasta.
— V-ai domnule, răspunse Poirot, mă plimb pe-aici ca orice burghez cumsecade.
O clipă, atenţia domnului Shaitana fu prinsă de apariţia unei încintătoare fete, având pe-o parte a capului între bucle, trei cornuri ale abundenţei din pai. Domnul Shaitana se repezi înaintea ei:
— Scumpă prietenă, de ce n-ai venit la mine la magnifica mea recepţie? Am avut o mulţime de lume necunoscută, o femeie chiar m-a întrebat: „Ce mai faci?”. Şi a adăugat: „La revedere şi mulţumesc!”. Săraca, probabil că era de la ţară. In timp ce încântătoarea persoană răspundea aşa cum se cuvine, Poirot observă frumosul ornament care umbrea buza, supenoară a d-lui Shaitana.
O mustaţă frumoasă… o foarte frumoasă mustaţă, poate unica în Londra comparabilă cu aceea a d-lul Herculo Poirot.
Hercule Poirot se întoarse şi salută, strângând politicos tnâna interlocutorului său.
În privirea detectivului belgian, apăru o expresie neobişnuită.
S-ar fi spus că întâlnirea aceasta neaşteptată, deştepta în el o emoţie de o rară calitate.
— Scumpul meu doma Shaitana! răspunse el.
Amândoi făcură o pauză, ca doi duelişti care se pregătesc de atac. Erau înconjuraţi de un elegant public londonez care murmura:
Incântător, admirabil!
— Sunt adevărate minuni, nu-i aşa?
Acestea se petreceau la Expoziţia Tahachenior de la Wessex-House, la Londra. Preţul de intrare: o guinee, în beneficiul spitalelor londoneze.
Domnule, reluă Shaitana, e o plăcere să vă întâlnesc, În acest moment nu e nici un amator de spânzurătoare sau de ghilotină E oare sezonul mort în lumea crimei? Sau trebuie să se comită vreun furt aici, azi după amiază?… M-ar distra enorm, eventualitatea aceasta.
— V-ai domnule, răspunse Poirot, mă plimb pe-aici ca orice burghez cumsecade.
O clipă, atenţia domnului Shaitana fu prinsă de apariţia unei încintătoare fete, având pe-o parte a capului între bucle, trei cornuri ale abundenţei din pai. Domnul Shaitana se repezi înaintea ei:
— Scumpă prietenă, de ce n-ai venit la mine la magnifica mea recepţie? Am avut o mulţime de lume necunoscută, o femeie chiar m-a întrebat: „Ce mai faci?”. Şi a adăugat: „La revedere şi mulţumesc!”. Săraca, probabil că era de la ţară. In timp ce încântătoarea persoană răspundea aşa cum se cuvine, Poirot observă frumosul ornament care umbrea buza, supenoară a d-lui Shaitana.
O mustaţă frumoasă… o foarte frumoasă mustaţă, poate unica în Londra comparabilă cu aceea a d-lul Herculo Poirot.