You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i would consider this a classic christie murder mystery, and i really enjoyed it. this is the first of her poirot works that i've read, and i've watched a number of episodes of the 1989 poirot series which i enjoyed a lot, so i wanted to read the books.
i have to say that poirot's character is nothing short of interesting. he's quite the intriguing character and, although he shares a lot of traits with other famous detectives, he's quite unique. he interests me a lot, and i plan to analyze his character from what i found in this book and what i know from the series. christie doesn't really directly mention any of his traits; she doesn't describe them at all, which is understandable considering that this is a part of a series so readers are already familiar with what he's like, but she also does that to all of her characters. she uses the "show-not-tell" tactic a lot to convey what her characters are like, and i find that you can learn a lot about her characters from their conversations with others than you'd expect, which is really interesting. she pulls it off quite nicely.
this mystery is a classic of hers. what i mean by that is that she used a mystery tactic that she commonly uses in her works; the least likely suspect. because of this, i was able to determine who the murderer would be quite quickly, but i was only certain of it around half-way through the book. the crime itself isn't all that interesting, although the characters involved in it certainly are, and the ending of the book, the last two or three chapters, felt really rushed. the book was going with a decent pacing that wasn't too fast nor too slow. however, the ending felt like there were a lot of really important details being dumped all in the span of a few hours and, compared with the rest of the book and how details were discovered within the majority of the book, it was just out-of-place. that's why i gave this book a 4 stars instead of 5.
overall, i'd say that this was an enjoyable book. the mystery might not have been all that interesting or difficult, but the cast of characters made it worth it. i think that others would like this, even if they haven't read any of her other poirot works or many mysteries, but i am not certain. i would recommend it though.
i have to say that poirot's character is nothing short of interesting. he's quite the intriguing character and, although he shares a lot of traits with other famous detectives, he's quite unique. he interests me a lot, and i plan to analyze his character from what i found in this book and what i know from the series. christie doesn't really directly mention any of his traits; she doesn't describe them at all, which is understandable considering that this is a part of a series so readers are already familiar with what he's like, but she also does that to all of her characters. she uses the "show-not-tell" tactic a lot to convey what her characters are like, and i find that you can learn a lot about her characters from their conversations with others than you'd expect, which is really interesting. she pulls it off quite nicely.
this mystery is a classic of hers. what i mean by that is that she used a mystery tactic that she commonly uses in her works; the least likely suspect. because of this, i was able to determine who the murderer would be quite quickly, but i was only certain of it around half-way through the book. the crime itself isn't all that interesting, although the characters involved in it certainly are, and the ending of the book, the last two or three chapters, felt really rushed. the book was going with a decent pacing that wasn't too fast nor too slow. however, the ending felt like there were a lot of really important details being dumped all in the span of a few hours and, compared with the rest of the book and how details were discovered within the majority of the book, it was just out-of-place. that's why i gave this book a 4 stars instead of 5.
overall, i'd say that this was an enjoyable book. the mystery might not have been all that interesting or difficult, but the cast of characters made it worth it. i think that others would like this, even if they haven't read any of her other poirot works or many mysteries, but i am not certain. i would recommend it though.
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
adventurous
mysterious
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
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
The mysteries featuring Hercule Poirot have always been my favourite Agatha Christie reads. This one is no exception. As usual, I found myself making all the wrong guesses as to the identity of the murderer.
I enjoyed the little romance in this book. It tickles me to be reminded how Hercule Poirot has a sweet, romantic side to him too and he isn't just a plain old detective.
I enjoyed the little romance in this book. It tickles me to be reminded how Hercule Poirot has a sweet, romantic side to him too and he isn't just a plain old detective.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Having only just finished Three Act Tragedy a few days ago, I'm happy to report that I enjoyed this one considerably more. The overall plot was more engaging, the setting was more interesting and there were a few characters that stood out to me more than the previous book. Unfortunately though, this book suffered from the same problem as the previous one. While I probably wouldn't have been able to guess the murderer just based off of the clues that were given, I was able to guess due to the same pattern that allowed me to guess the culprit in Three Act Tragedy.
I have noticed that in these novels, Poirot often chooses the person or persons whom he finds most suspicious to join him in his investigation. From his perspective, I can definitely understand why it would be advantageous to keep that person close for the purposes of observation and also as a means of giving that person a false sense of security. As Poirot himself says, people can't help giving themselves away. They love to talk about themselves and inevitably end up letting some important information slip.
However, I also think that this is a ploy on Agatha Christie's part to try an disguise who the true murderer is. The reader is given the false impression that the character(s) whom Poirot seemingly takes into his confidence are above suspicion, when in fact it is often the exact opposite. This plot device worked well a few times, but I feel like it is one that Christie overuses to the point where it starts to have the opposite effect of the one intended. As a result, I've learned to be far more suspicious of the characters who Poirot keeps close to him than of the ones whom he seems to be more interested in openly investigating.
In this case, I found it fairly obvious who the murderer was do to the plot device that I just mentioned. However, unlike Three Act Tragedy, the story itself was interesting enough to keep my interest in spite of this. Despite already having ascertained who the most likely culprit was, I was still very curious to know the how and the why. To be honest, I was completely stumped up until the very end as to HOW the crime was actually committed. I'm also a big fan of the murders that take place on trains, plains, boats, etc. The best of these obviously being Murder on the Orient Express. There's just something about the atmosphere that I really enjoy and it adds a unique flavor to the story. Overall, this book was slightly above average as Agatha Christie books go. I really enjoyed it and I had fun trying to unravel the clues to figure whoduit and how.
However, I also think that this is a ploy on Agatha Christie's part to try an disguise who the true murderer is. The reader is given the false impression that the character(s) whom Poirot seemingly takes into his confidence are above suspicion, when in fact it is often the exact opposite. This plot device worked well a few times, but I feel like it is one that Christie overuses to the point where it starts to have the opposite effect of the one intended. As a result, I've learned to be far more suspicious of the characters who Poirot keeps close to him than of the ones whom he seems to be more interested in openly investigating.
In this case, I found it fairly obvious who the murderer was do to the plot device that I just mentioned. However, unlike Three Act Tragedy, the story itself was interesting enough to keep my interest in spite of this. Despite already having ascertained who the most likely culprit was, I was still very curious to know the how and the why. To be honest, I was completely stumped up until the very end as to HOW the crime was actually committed. I'm also a big fan of the murders that take place on trains, plains, boats, etc. The best of these obviously being Murder on the Orient Express. There's just something about the atmosphere that I really enjoy and it adds a unique flavor to the story. Overall, this book was slightly above average as Agatha Christie books go. I really enjoyed it and I had fun trying to unravel the clues to figure whoduit and how.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder
Minor: Drug abuse
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
4.5 working my way through all the Poirot books and this was a good entry in the locked room type mystery. The murder occurs on an airplane and one of the other passengers or a member of the crew are the suspects. It unfolds with a good amount of intrigue and some fun commentary on the mystery genre itself since one of the characters is a mystery writer.