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chalkletters's review against another edition
mysterious
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? No
3.75
I have a handful of physical copies of Agatha Christie that I liberated from my mum’s collection (before her collection mysteriously vanished). Most of them make sense: Five Little Pigs is my favourite, And Then There Were None is a classic, Murder is Easy and By the Pricking of My Thumbs fall into the ‘creepy’ category I favour. I’m honestly not sure why I added Three Act Tragedy to the mix…
Three Act Tragedy is one of those Agatha Christie novels with a really clever concept, one that’s not seen in any of her other books (at least, if memory serves). Unfortunately, that’s kind of all it has, and it’s hard to talk about in a review without spoiling it. Suffice it to say: the concept works extremelywell, turning usual murder mystery conventions on their head the same way that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd does. Hercule Poriots thoughts on dealing with the murder the way it is (not the way you wish it could be) and building a case as you’d build a house of cards work well both which this particular murder and with Hercule Poirot’s cases in general. Unlike some other Agatha Christie novels, the red herrings are believable, though not quite as numerous as the cast might merit.
Where Three Act Tragedy really falls down is the book-specific characters. Sir Charles Cartwright and Egg (Hermione) Lytton Gore aren’t particularly interesting, especially since their entire personalities seem to centre on the romance between them. Egg, in particular, comes to life exclusively when Sir Charles is absent, which is a shame. Sir Charles delivers some good clues, but is otherwise unmemorable, as are most of the suspects. Agatha Christie’s writing is sharp, and there are some lovely moments of observation, but there’s no atmosphere to any of the settings in Three Act Tragedy like there are in some of the other novels.
All of which amounts to the impression that Three Act Tragedy is a lovely puzzle mystery, but perhaps not a novel which merits much rereading once the solution is known.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder, Death, and Child death
mme_carton's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Alcohol, Death, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Death of parent, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Religious bigotry
Minor: Grief, Racism, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Medical trauma
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