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3.92 AVERAGE
3.92 AVERAGE
I've found another of the best Christie books, though it was Darren who pointed it out to me. One of those classic plots which is obvious when solved but utterlyperplexing when still a mystery. Also thecharacters here are more developedthan they often are.
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:
Yes
It's been a while since I read an Agatha Christie novel and I missed them! I finished this one in a day and was guessing until the end!
And, because I have a habit of reading a ton of Christies and then forgetting what happens in them....I'm gonna mark who the guilty party is....for my own reference.
Whodunnit? Crofts forged the will. Nick fabricated murder attempts so she could kill Maggie because Maggie was engaged to Seton. Nick pretended to be the fiancee to get the money after he died.
And, because I have a habit of reading a ton of Christies and then forgetting what happens in them....I'm gonna mark who the guilty party is....for my own reference.
Whodunnit? Crofts forged the will. Nick fabricated murder attempts so she could kill Maggie because Maggie was engaged to Seton. Nick pretended to be the fiancee to get the money after he died.
3.5 stars. Too many anti-Semitic comments to be anything more, but the overall plot was interesting. A little easy to guess the main twist, something I don’t usually find in Christie novels, but the rest of the ‘reveals’ were interesting
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
mysterious
relaxing
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
When a hat with a bullet hole clean through it lands at his feet, Poirot volunteers to help the owner of the hat, a bright young woman who breezily and without concern reports being the miraculous survivor of several recently nearly-fatal "accidents." Poirot is convinced she is in grave danger; rather than investigate a murder, this time, he valiantly attempts to prevent one.
Hastings is in fine form as a dumber-than-usual narrator. Mademoiselle Nick is a likeable heroine, and End House is a compelling setting. I didn't find the surrounding characters to be quite as developed as I would have liked. Usually there is a whole world built by the end of the book, and this time it felt like, other than Nick and End House, the rest was kind of sketched in. Christie is always in trouble when she involves recreational drug use in the plot or characterization; it always comes off pretty afterschool-specialy. "Good Lord, Poirot, do you mean that she used--DRUGS?"
By the way, I'm grading on a Christie curve; I enjoyed this book and generally enjoy the mental puzzlemanship of all Christie mysteries. This is a solid middle-of-the-road Poirot, which means it's still pretty good.
Solved? Yes!
Hastings is in fine form as a dumber-than-usual narrator. Mademoiselle Nick is a likeable heroine, and End House is a compelling setting. I didn't find the surrounding characters to be quite as developed as I would have liked. Usually there is a whole world built by the end of the book, and this time it felt like, other than Nick and End House, the rest was kind of sketched in. Christie is always in trouble when she involves recreational drug use in the plot or characterization; it always comes off pretty afterschool-specialy. "Good Lord, Poirot, do you mean that she used--DRUGS?"
By the way, I'm grading on a Christie curve; I enjoyed this book and generally enjoy the mental puzzlemanship of all Christie mysteries. This is a solid middle-of-the-road Poirot, which means it's still pretty good.
Solved? Yes!
Spoiler
Either I'm getting better at these, or this one was especially easy. I didn't get every red herring resolution or plot turn, but I did get the murderer and the motive pretty early on. After reading Seton's love letters, I made the initial leap of what if they were really for Maggie, and the rest fell into place from there. I'd forgotten that Nick mentioned that her real name was Magdala, so actually Seton's line "I remembered that your name was Magdala" stuck out to me, and made me think of Maggie. I'm not sure how Christie could have hidden this better. Maybe it was harder when Margaret was a more common name, so you would naturally assume that Maggie was short for that, and not question it? But Maggie is such a natural nickname for Magdala. It fits, though, that Maggie would be the one to have the more straightforward nickname, since she's so boring. Hey, do you think she's called 'Nick' because it's a Nick Name?
mysterious
medium-paced
mysterious
relaxing
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:
No