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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
Entertaining enough that I was prompted to go on a mini Agatha Christie reading binge. A bit odd in its characters' insistence on constantly chattering about all criminals being mental health cases "these days," "These days" being the 1960s. Some truly odd stuff was thrown in towards the end. Odd and pretty unbelievable in my opinion, and I'm sad to say that I guessed who the murderer was almost right away, which I don't usually do with such certainly, so I've got to think it wasn't as well done as it could have been.
mysterious
📖 Read for book club.
In hindsight this may have not been my best introduction to Agatha Christie... 😅
In hindsight this may have not been my best introduction to Agatha Christie... 😅
I recently watched the new movie (A Haunting in Venice) and wanted to read this book. I don’t think I’ve ever said this, but the movie was actually better.
Update from 2023:
My re-reading 10 years later was a more satisfying experience. I think because I started from the beginning with Hercule Poirot, I've gotten used to all his little idiosyncrasies. Also, after [b:Third Girl|16332|Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, #40)|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1295681324l/16332._SY75_.jpg|1084447], this book doesn't seem that critical of 60s culture by comparison. I added a third star to my rating. It's still not a favorite, but it's definitely not among my least favorites.
Original review from 2013:
This is the second Agatha Christie novel I've read, and both of them have been for book groups. While I really enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express, I found this one disappointing. Published in 1969, Christie's characters seem to reflect her own belief that the world was going to hell in a hippie handbasket. I thought the action lagged more than MOE, with Poirot endlessly traipsing around the small town of Woodleigh Common in his unsuitable shoes interviewing witnesses. I saw the ending coming, although Christie did throw in a few twists that I didn't expect...one fairly believable and the other ridiculously far fetched .
My re-reading 10 years later was a more satisfying experience. I think because I started from the beginning with Hercule Poirot, I've gotten used to all his little idiosyncrasies. Also, after [b:Third Girl|16332|Third Girl (Hercule Poirot, #40)|Agatha Christie|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1295681324l/16332._SY75_.jpg|1084447], this book doesn't seem that critical of 60s culture by comparison. I added a third star to my rating. It's still not a favorite, but it's definitely not among my least favorites.
Original review from 2013:
This is the second Agatha Christie novel I've read, and both of them have been for book groups. While I really enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express, I found this one disappointing. Published in 1969, Christie's characters seem to reflect her own belief that the world was going to hell in a hippie handbasket. I thought the action lagged more than MOE, with Poirot endlessly traipsing around the small town of Woodleigh Common in his unsuitable shoes interviewing witnesses. I saw the ending coming, although Christie did throw in a few twists that I didn't expect...one fairly believable
Spoiler
: the affair between Michael Garfield and Rowena DrakeSpoiler
: Michael being Miranda's father
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
I’m a little underwhelmed by this one, which is disappointing because I’ve come to expect a certain amount of cleverness and intrigue from Agatha Christie’s books. But the suspense and twists she’s famous for weren’t really here, or at least not as prominently as they are in some of her better books. Frankly, I was sometimes outright bored while reading this, especially throughout the middle — since when does Agatha Christie spend long paragraphs waxing eloquent about the fairy-like qualities of a garden?
The story started and ended well, and I’m glad that the unraveled mystery held a few genuine surprises. (I’m not sure I totally understand the murderer’s reasoning and motives, but at this point, I’m not inclined to think about them too much more.) Honestly, I’m surprised that, of all the fabulous and untapped Christie material available, this is the book producers chose for the next Poirot movie adaptation. And don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to watch it — I’ll just be very, very curious to see what Hollywood does with this lesser-known Christie book that’s lackluster compared to her stronger works.
The story started and ended well, and I’m glad that the unraveled mystery held a few genuine surprises. (I’m not sure I totally understand the murderer’s reasoning and motives, but at this point, I’m not inclined to think about them too much more.) Honestly, I’m surprised that, of all the fabulous and untapped Christie material available, this is the book producers chose for the next Poirot movie adaptation. And don’t get me wrong, I’m excited to watch it — I’ll just be very, very curious to see what Hollywood does with this lesser-known Christie book that’s lackluster compared to her stronger works.
slow-paced
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A