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3.37 AVERAGE
3.37 AVERAGE
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Much like the previous Poirots, I had no clue who the murder was! I enjoyed how this play was adapted into the book, and would love to see it on stage. Poirot always keeps me guessing but I love the mysteries you are taken on by the wonderful Belgian detective.
adventurous
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Murder
challenging
mysterious
tense
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:
No
Someone stole the top secret plans and that person is one of the house party or servants. Sir Claude Amory determines to get them back so he puts them all in one room, shuts out the lights, and the guilty party can return the plans with no consequences. However, the lights go out, come on, and a body is the result. Poirot, Hastings, and Japp have their work cut out of them in this country house party whodunnit.
Agatha Christie's three-act play was adapted into a novel form by Charles Osborne. I've had it on the shelf for ages and hadn't read it yet, but then acquiring an audio copy was just the incentive to finally visit one of the few Christies I hadn't read yet.
Black Coffee had echoes of another short story of top secret plans going astray at a country house, but there were also a few significant differences, too. More than one person has motive and all have opportunity. Is the sister a simple chatterbox? Or the son merely bitter about his circumstances? What is the son's wife hiding? How was it done? Was the murder about the plans or something else entirely? What do the oddities in the witness accounts mean? So much for Poirot's little grey cells to process.
I enjoyed listening to Poirot, Hastings, and Japp reunite and get the case solved. John Moffat was a new to me narrator, but after a little adjustment, I ended up liking his work.
All in all, I was glad to give this adaption a try. It felt like Agatha Christie's work and was a clever mystery.
Agatha Christie's three-act play was adapted into a novel form by Charles Osborne. I've had it on the shelf for ages and hadn't read it yet, but then acquiring an audio copy was just the incentive to finally visit one of the few Christies I hadn't read yet.
Black Coffee had echoes of another short story of top secret plans going astray at a country house, but there were also a few significant differences, too. More than one person has motive and all have opportunity. Is the sister a simple chatterbox? Or the son merely bitter about his circumstances? What is the son's wife hiding? How was it done? Was the murder about the plans or something else entirely? What do the oddities in the witness accounts mean? So much for Poirot's little grey cells to process.
I enjoyed listening to Poirot, Hastings, and Japp reunite and get the case solved. John Moffat was a new to me narrator, but after a little adjustment, I ended up liking his work.
All in all, I was glad to give this adaption a try. It felt like Agatha Christie's work and was a clever mystery.
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
medium-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
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
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
3.5*
This was a difficult book to score. As many have mentioned, Osborne is no Christie although I could see he did a work of love and admiration, which I respect. He added for instance a lot of references to Poirot’s canon as well as to Agatha’s real life, but I’m not sure all these worked, distracting you from the narration. Still, that is a small gripe.
This novel adaptation felt very much like a play, which I didn’t mind. Many of Christie’s stories have that effect and it often works to concentrate the suspense. Here, some scenes worked better than others. I loved the one ‘of the murder’, with everyone in one room, and there is so much going on! You think you know which cup has been poisoned and you try desperately to keep track of it. If you follow closely, there is a huge clue. Is it too obvious? Not sure. I’d have to read the play, in its original form, and see clearly what was Christie’s and what was Osborne’s interpretation.
This was a difficult book to score. As many have mentioned, Osborne is no Christie although I could see he did a work of love and admiration, which I respect. He added for instance a lot of references to Poirot’s canon as well as to Agatha’s real life, but I’m not sure all these worked, distracting you from the narration. Still, that is a small gripe.
This novel adaptation felt very much like a play, which I didn’t mind. Many of Christie’s stories have that effect and it often works to concentrate the suspense. Here, some scenes worked better than others. I loved the one ‘of the murder’, with everyone in one room, and there is so much going on! You think you know which cup has been poisoned and you try desperately to keep track of it. If you follow closely, there is a huge clue. Is it too obvious? Not sure. I’d have to read the play, in its original form, and see clearly what was Christie’s and what was Osborne’s interpretation.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A delight!
My two favorite quotes:
"And I, Madame, I, Hercule Poirot, am a very good dog!"
and
HASTINGS: My dear Poirot, you're not a housemaid.
POIROT: (Sadly.) No, I'm a detective!
"And I, Madame, I, Hercule Poirot, am a very good dog!"
and
HASTINGS: My dear Poirot, you're not a housemaid.
POIROT: (Sadly.) No, I'm a detective!