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3.65 AVERAGE
3.65 AVERAGE
Oof this was a mediocre installment. Not bad! But not great :( The four short stories were quick and rather unimpactful. The first, meh at best. The second can only be described as a short political intrigue. I enjoyed this even though it was so minimal in the mystery.
The third started to really lose my attention with another suspected suicide. It felt in poor taste and uncomfortable to continue to lean on suicide for a mystery. This third story could have succeeded far more with a focus on the diverse and wacky characters present, no need to have the death that it did. I mean COME ON! There was a complicated legacy, intense personalities, a mystic sort of woman. Think of all the possibilities here! It was still an interesting solution to that mystery though. Now the fourth! Oh that one was good and the swiftness of it was a nice end to this book. Overall, these short stories had good bones but weren’t my favorite.
The third started to really lose my attention with another suspected suicide. It felt in poor taste and uncomfortable to continue to lean on suicide for a mystery. This third story could have succeeded far more with a focus on the diverse and wacky characters present, no need to have the death that it did. I mean COME ON! There was a complicated legacy, intense personalities, a mystic sort of woman. Think of all the possibilities here! It was still an interesting solution to that mystery though. Now the fourth! Oh that one was good and the swiftness of it was a nice end to this book. Overall, these short stories had good bones but weren’t my favorite.
I gave this collection of Hercule Poirot stories 5 stars. I thought that the stories were interesting although I quibbled about the ending on two of the four stories.
"Murder in the Mews" (4.5 stars)-Japp asks Poirot to assist when a woman, Mrs Barbara Allen, is found dead in an apparent suicide. After arriving on scene, both men are starting to lean towards murder. Mrs. Allen roommate, Miss Plenderleith, seems largely unaffected by the scene she sees, or so it appears. Japp wonders if Miss Plenderleith had something to do with Mrs. Allen's death. Poirot is intrigued by the scene he has found and realizes that something here is amiss.
I thought this was a very good showing of Poriot's little grey cells. I also liked seeing how well Poirot and Japp worked this one together. I do often find the stories that are absent Poirot's side-kick Captain Hastings to not be as fulfilling as a reader, but thought this one was very well done. The solution to this one was interesting especially because I think there's a lot of logical leaps I didn't see straight on. The only reason why I didn't give this one 5 stars is that the ending was not 100 percent satisfying. I did laugh though since there is some dialogue between Japp and Poirot and murder and I started thinking about "Curtain: Poirot's Last Case."
"The Incredible Theft" (4 stars)- At a big country house (I love stories with big country houses are the setting) Lord Mayfield has invited Sir George Carrington, his wife Lady Julia and their son Reggie. There is also a Mrs. Vanderlyn, who is a beautiful brunette American woman (with a very suspicious past/present), Mrs. Macatta, who is a forthright MP. Then we also have Mr. Carlile, Lord Mayfield's assistant and Mrs. Vanderlyn's maid. Christie sets the stage so to speak when we get to follow around the room and see how some of these characters feel about the other ones. Eventually everyone leaves the dining room and Lord Mayfield and Sir George are left alone to discuss the design of the new fighter. Later on that evening they are about to put the plans away when they hear a scream and leave the study. Coming back they find the plans gone.
Poirot is called in and honestly you can tell that right away he knows what happened, but we go through a whole back and forth with him interviewing people. Once again the ending was not that satisfying because we find out who the guilty party is, and the reasoning behind things made me roll my eyes.
"Dead Man's Mirror" (4 stars)-Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore writes to Hercule Poirot to come to him at once. Poirot of course is not someone who likes to be ordered around. However, after a conversation with someone he knows/trusts about Sir Gervase he decides to go and visit. He arrives and it seems that Sir Gervase has killed himself.
Poirot of course interviews everyone present and it seems there are a lot of warring interests going on between certain people present. Sir Gervase's adopted daughter Ruth was being pressured/bullied by him to marry a distant relation, Hugo Trent. Due to Ruth not wanting to marry Hugo we find out that he intended to rewrite his will disinheriting her. We get led on a merry chase via interviewing suspects, but once again Poirot seems to know almost immediately who the guilty party is and why they did what they did. I just thought it was a little far fetched in places.
"Triangle at Rhodes"(5 stars). We have Poirot on holiday in Rhodes. There's not a lot of people around so he's made friends of sorts with some of the other guests. All of them are agog though at the goings on between two married couples, the Gold's and the Chantry's. The Gold's consists of Douglas and Marjorie. The Chantry's consists of Tony and Valentine. We find out that Valentine has been married 4 or I think maybe even 5 times before she has wed Tony and that the woman seems to have a habit of having men fall in love with her. Tony is possessive of his wife and doesn't like other men coming near her. However, on a beach day, Douglas Chantry lays eyes on Valentine and it appears that is all he cares about during the vacation. Soon the whole place is wondering when Douglas and Valentine will run off. And we have the dreaded "triangle" between a married man, his wife, and mistress. When Valentine dies though everyone wonders who did it and why.
This was my favorite story in the collection and I loved how we are given the solution. It makes you go back and re-read the story you just finished which I always enjoy.
I read this book for the "Amateur Sleuth" square.
"Murder in the Mews" (4.5 stars)-Japp asks Poirot to assist when a woman, Mrs Barbara Allen, is found dead in an apparent suicide. After arriving on scene, both men are starting to lean towards murder. Mrs. Allen roommate, Miss Plenderleith, seems largely unaffected by the scene she sees, or so it appears. Japp wonders if Miss Plenderleith had something to do with Mrs. Allen's death. Poirot is intrigued by the scene he has found and realizes that something here is amiss.
I thought this was a very good showing of Poriot's little grey cells. I also liked seeing how well Poirot and Japp worked this one together. I do often find the stories that are absent Poirot's side-kick Captain Hastings to not be as fulfilling as a reader, but thought this one was very well done. The solution to this one was interesting especially because I think there's a lot of logical leaps I didn't see straight on. The only reason why I didn't give this one 5 stars is that the ending was not 100 percent satisfying. I did laugh though since there is some dialogue between Japp and Poirot and murder and I started thinking about "Curtain: Poirot's Last Case."
"The Incredible Theft" (4 stars)- At a big country house (I love stories with big country houses are the setting) Lord Mayfield has invited Sir George Carrington, his wife Lady Julia and their son Reggie. There is also a Mrs. Vanderlyn, who is a beautiful brunette American woman (with a very suspicious past/present), Mrs. Macatta, who is a forthright MP. Then we also have Mr. Carlile, Lord Mayfield's assistant and Mrs. Vanderlyn's maid. Christie sets the stage so to speak when we get to follow around the room and see how some of these characters feel about the other ones. Eventually everyone leaves the dining room and Lord Mayfield and Sir George are left alone to discuss the design of the new fighter. Later on that evening they are about to put the plans away when they hear a scream and leave the study. Coming back they find the plans gone.
Poirot is called in and honestly you can tell that right away he knows what happened, but we go through a whole back and forth with him interviewing people. Once again the ending was not that satisfying because we find out who the guilty party is, and the reasoning behind things made me roll my eyes.
"Dead Man's Mirror" (4 stars)-Sir Gervase Chevenix-Gore writes to Hercule Poirot to come to him at once. Poirot of course is not someone who likes to be ordered around. However, after a conversation with someone he knows/trusts about Sir Gervase he decides to go and visit. He arrives and it seems that Sir Gervase has killed himself.
Poirot of course interviews everyone present and it seems there are a lot of warring interests going on between certain people present. Sir Gervase's adopted daughter Ruth was being pressured/bullied by him to marry a distant relation, Hugo Trent. Due to Ruth not wanting to marry Hugo we find out that he intended to rewrite his will disinheriting her. We get led on a merry chase via interviewing suspects, but once again Poirot seems to know almost immediately who the guilty party is and why they did what they did. I just thought it was a little far fetched in places.
"Triangle at Rhodes"(5 stars). We have Poirot on holiday in Rhodes. There's not a lot of people around so he's made friends of sorts with some of the other guests. All of them are agog though at the goings on between two married couples, the Gold's and the Chantry's. The Gold's consists of Douglas and Marjorie. The Chantry's consists of Tony and Valentine. We find out that Valentine has been married 4 or I think maybe even 5 times before she has wed Tony and that the woman seems to have a habit of having men fall in love with her. Tony is possessive of his wife and doesn't like other men coming near her. However, on a beach day, Douglas Chantry lays eyes on Valentine and it appears that is all he cares about during the vacation. Soon the whole place is wondering when Douglas and Valentine will run off. And we have the dreaded "triangle" between a married man, his wife, and mistress. When Valentine dies though everyone wonders who did it and why.
This was my favorite story in the collection and I loved how we are given the solution. It makes you go back and re-read the story you just finished which I always enjoy.
I read this book for the "Amateur Sleuth" square.
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Enjoyable as always, but nothing special. The audiobook was nice crocheting background noise
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Murder
A woman's body is found on the morning after Guy Fawkes. At first look it appears to be suicide, but Japp and Poirot have doubts.
adventurous
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:
No
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes