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3.82 AVERAGE
3.82 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Another good mystery from the queen of mysteries. The ending felt a bit better than the ABC one as it wasn't out of left field.
Haven’t read this since I was a kid and oh my, the matter-of-fact sexism and how it was simply universally accepted didn’t register at the time. I started the re-read in February but couldn’t finish it—it’s not a long book!—and was reminded of it only as I was going through my year in review stats, but it still took me 7 days. The mystery is fine but I most likely not gonna re-read this again.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
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:
Complicated
Christie knows how to tell a mystery and lay the breadcrumbs out in the perfect way and this mystery was no different. Just when I thought I figured it all out, she pulled the rug from underneath me.
And it is interesting to see her classical style mystery, which cares very little about the detective outside of his/her ability to solve the case. Modern mysteries make the detective have a relatable backstory and have moments unrelated to the murder. So it is almost refreshing to have a mystery entirely dedicated to the mystery, while it also feeling like I wish I knew Poirot more. But there are plenty of other mysteries for that.
One thing I will say about this mystery in particular though is that there is a surprising amount of sexism and misogyny in it. And not in the sense of delineating who are the characters we should root against. Clearly sexist ideals are present in the narrative of the story and accepted as fact by every character. Just interesting to get a taste of accepted realities in Christie's time.
And it is interesting to see her classical style mystery, which cares very little about the detective outside of his/her ability to solve the case. Modern mysteries make the detective have a relatable backstory and have moments unrelated to the murder. So it is almost refreshing to have a mystery entirely dedicated to the mystery, while it also feeling like I wish I knew Poirot more. But there are plenty of other mysteries for that.
One thing I will say about this mystery in particular though is that there is a surprising amount of sexism and misogyny in it. And not in the sense of delineating who are the characters we should root against. Clearly sexist ideals are present in the narrative of the story and accepted as fact by every character. Just interesting to get a taste of accepted realities in Christie's time.