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schokomami's review against another edition
5.0
Tense, enjoyable and clever.
Did expect nothing less from my girl Agatha!
Did expect nothing less from my girl Agatha!
andresvk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
By far my least favorite Christie out of the ones I've read so far. I think that the feeling that any good mystery story should aim for is "I could almost have guessed it", giving the readers all the clues and shocking them with how they fit together. The twists at the end of this one are so contrived they just left me annoyed.
Probably still worth a read, if only for its famous premise.
Probably still worth a read, if only for its famous premise.
pupaebug's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
larachism's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
thechanelmuse's review against another edition
5.0
What is the twist?!...Agatha, you got me. What a wild mystery.
danijoy's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant. This is my first time reading an Agathe Christie novel and I can understand why she is the bestselling novelist of all time. I am now on a quest to read all of her novels. How have I gone 26 years without her stories?
eesh25's review against another edition
5.0
This is my first Agatha Christie book and, I've heard, it's the author's best one. I can definitely see why. The plot is fairly simple. Ten people are, for one reason or another, invited to a large house on an island. To them, they're going for a job or to meet or friend or something similarly harmless. But soon after they arrive, they find their host absent and one by one, they all start to get killed. So... they're trapped on an island with someone who wants to kill them. Fun, right?
That, on its own, is brilliant because it makes for the perfect gothic-esque setting for a mystery, even though the mansion isn't gothic. Further, the author creates a lot of tension via all the suspicion, paranoia—even lack of sanity, in some cases—and how helpless the characters are to stop the series of events taking place. And that atmosphere just gets thicker with every chapter, as more and more people are killed. It's so well done, it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
But what impressed me the most, personally, was how well the author handled all the characters and their individual arcs and personalities.
I'm not sure if I've said this before, but I suck at character names; so much that, after reading a 300 page novel, I sometimes have to look up the name of the main character for the review. So going into this book, I was understandably afraid that I would spend the entire time in confusion over who was who because we were introduced to almost ten friggin' people in the first chapter. Thankfully, I was able to distinguish them easily after only a few chapters.
First, the author didn't use similar, sounding or looking, names. Second, she gave them all simple but distinct backstories, personalities and voices, which she reinforced with every scene. Still, I'm not a hundred percent certain how the author got me to remember who everyone was. It only matters that she did, and it was a miracle, just about.
Also, the mystery is so well done. Not only did I not see the end coming (at all) but it also really engaged the reader with various clues, dropping in just enough hints that even as the end was shocking, it clicked. I loved the atmosphere that the mystery created in the book. So much that, when we got an explanation that cut through it, I was almost disappointed. Not that I could've done without the explanation. No way, that would've driven me nuts. But maybe a part of me wanted to be driven nuts?
Whatever the case, this was a great book and I highly recommend it. Very much looking forward to reading more by the author.
That, on its own, is brilliant because it makes for the perfect gothic-esque setting for a mystery, even though the mansion isn't gothic. Further, the author creates a lot of tension via all the suspicion, paranoia—even lack of sanity, in some cases—and how helpless the characters are to stop the series of events taking place. And that atmosphere just gets thicker with every chapter, as more and more people are killed. It's so well done, it had me on the edge of my seat the entire time.
But what impressed me the most, personally, was how well the author handled all the characters and their individual arcs and personalities.
I'm not sure if I've said this before, but I suck at character names; so much that, after reading a 300 page novel, I sometimes have to look up the name of the main character for the review. So going into this book, I was understandably afraid that I would spend the entire time in confusion over who was who because we were introduced to almost ten friggin' people in the first chapter. Thankfully, I was able to distinguish them easily after only a few chapters.
First, the author didn't use similar, sounding or looking, names. Second, she gave them all simple but distinct backstories, personalities and voices, which she reinforced with every scene. Still, I'm not a hundred percent certain how the author got me to remember who everyone was. It only matters that she did, and it was a miracle, just about.
Also, the mystery is so well done. Not only did I not see the end coming (at all) but it also really engaged the reader with various clues, dropping in just enough hints that even as the end was shocking, it clicked. I loved the atmosphere that the mystery created in the book. So much that, when we got an explanation that cut through it, I was almost disappointed. Not that I could've done without the explanation. No way, that would've driven me nuts. But maybe a part of me wanted to be driven nuts?
Whatever the case, this was a great book and I highly recommend it. Very much looking forward to reading more by the author.
anaferreira5399's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
amanda1793's review against another edition
4.0
Well... that was a good way to start with Agatha Christie I would say.
This book was creepy and seriously kept me guessing. I thought I had things narrowed down a few different times and then would change who o though had done it with each dead body. Oddly enough, however, I did have it partially right for a vast majority of the time I was reading.
A great creepy read. I'd recommend for sure.
This book was creepy and seriously kept me guessing. I thought I had things narrowed down a few different times and then would change who o though had done it with each dead body. Oddly enough, however, I did have it partially right for a vast majority of the time I was reading.
A great creepy read. I'd recommend for sure.
10501's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
I need to read more Agatha Christie!