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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Fun mystery with a lively young female who gets things done for her man.
“People don't do things without a reason.”
Another entertaining read. No Poirot or Marple in sight, which always means that you have no idea where the narration is going to go. I rather enjoyed following smart and manipulative Miss Emily, sleuthing to prove the innocence of her Fiancé, who yes, looked rather insipid. One ‘thing’ at the beginning gave me a clue that reduced the pool of suspects. Still, it is always fascinating to see what all that colourful cast had to say and more importantly, to hide ;0)
Another entertaining read. No Poirot or Marple in sight, which always means that you have no idea where the narration is going to go. I rather enjoyed following smart and manipulative Miss Emily, sleuthing to prove the innocence of her Fiancé, who yes, looked rather insipid. One ‘thing’ at the beginning gave me a clue that reduced the pool of suspects. Still, it is always fascinating to see what all that colourful cast had to say and more importantly, to hide ;0)
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Hugh Fraser once again does an amazing job as narrator. He does a grand job with all the different characters and the story's tone.
While there are some "very of their time" like classism, racism, and sexism for example I think Christie does an entertaining job having all the characters interact with each other. Emily the heroine and sleuth of the story is a bright, strong, funny, and can-do determination to save the man she loves from prison. Honestly, I wish we had more books with Emily, she's a capable and entertaining young woman who you would want to have your back in a tricky situation.
The mystery was quite easy to figure out, but that usually is the case with Christie. I thought the motive was somewhat weak. But most murders are the result of love, greed, or hatred. Christie does seem to love to make her killers weak of character but with a passionate love for the greed of the finer life.
The triangle that Christie threw in was not my favorite either, but it wouldn't be a Christie character without people falling in love and popping the question while only knowing someone for five days.
I was enjoying the book until the ending, the killer reveal, motive, and explanation just felt so rushed and tacked on. It just brought the book down a bit for me.
But overall I did enjoy the book and would reread it in colder months.
While there are some "very of their time" like classism, racism, and sexism for example I think Christie does an entertaining job having all the characters interact with each other. Emily the heroine and sleuth of the story is a bright, strong, funny, and can-do determination to save the man she loves from prison. Honestly, I wish we had more books with Emily, she's a capable and entertaining young woman who you would want to have your back in a tricky situation.
The mystery was quite easy to figure out, but that usually is the case with Christie. I thought the motive was somewhat weak. But most murders are the result of love, greed, or hatred. Christie does seem to love to make her killers weak of character but with a passionate love for the greed of the finer life.
The triangle that Christie threw in was not my favorite either, but it wouldn't be a Christie character without people falling in love and popping the question while only knowing someone for five days.
I was enjoying the book until the ending, the killer reveal, motive, and explanation just felt so rushed and tacked on. It just brought the book down a bit for me.
But overall I did enjoy the book and would reread it in colder months.
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:
No
lighthearted
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:
No
This was a pretty classic Christie, with all the usual misdirection and suspense. I liked the unique setup for this one as well as the mysterious Willetts (though I don't think all the questions about them were fully answered in the end). I don't love when Christie gives us a third-person perspective, like with Major Burnaby, where there are major pieces intentionally left out , but I guess that's how she pulls off the mystery. Not a favorite, but it was enjoyable to listen to.
mysterious
This one is hard to rate because I think the enjoyment you can get out of it improves tremendously if you read it through the lens that Treveylan and Burnaby are (secretly) an homosexual couple. It is absolutely not the intended reading, she didn't intend this, but I think it is supported enough by the text and it ups the drama level incredibly. And I read murder mysteries for the drama.
Without the gay reading it's... fine. Standard Agatha Christie fare, not outstanding. 3/5 if you read it normally, 4.5/ or even 5/5 if you read it as I did ("Yeah they are Good Friends. Are they though. Is that all they are.")
Without the gay reading it's... fine. Standard Agatha Christie fare, not outstanding. 3/5 if you read it normally, 4.5/ or even 5/5 if you read it as I did ("Yeah they are Good Friends. Are they though. Is that all they are.")
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Agatha Christie is one of those authors that I can pick up at any time and read just to have a good time. I found The Sittaford Mystery to be pretty unique. I've read a lot of Christie, and this one felt different. Firstly, it is one of her mysteries that does not feature one of her famous detectives. Secondly, it doesn't just follow one character, you go into the heads of multiple characters but by the middle and towards the end you really just follow one. This was similar in style to And Then There Were None, although nothing in my head can ever surpass that masterpiece.
I felt a little overwhelmed trying to remember everybody's names in. I had to think hard about who people were. I don't usually have this problem with a Christie novel, so I'm not sure why I struggled here. Maybe it was because a lot of the characters were secondary and felt a bit flat.
I often guess whodunit and have been right on a number of occasions, but I felt that with this one I had no idea who it was nor never felt like I had an inkling so that was fun. I may not remember this book as well as I do others in a few years but it was a fun read at the time.
I felt a little overwhelmed trying to remember everybody's names in. I had to think hard about who people were. I don't usually have this problem with a Christie novel, so I'm not sure why I struggled here. Maybe it was because a lot of the characters were secondary and felt a bit flat.
I often guess whodunit and have been right on a number of occasions, but I felt that with this one I had no idea who it was nor never felt like I had an inkling so that was fun. I may not remember this book as well as I do others in a few years but it was a fun read at the time.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Racism
medium-paced