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3.39 AVERAGE
3.39 AVERAGE
Super boring, idk why this is set at Halloween because it’s just a generic small English town murder mystery. So many of the characters sound identical, it feels like a lot of soap boxing, and just so much criticizing this poor little girl who gets horribly murdered. No fun twists, nothing meaningful and emotional. Somehow, the melodramatic Kenneth Branagh movie is wayyyyy better than this (probably cause the plot is entirely different!)
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The set-up for this story is great. During the set-up for a Halloween party, a young girl brags about witnessing a murder in the past, but no one believes her. Later that night she is discovered drowned in a tub of water used for bobbing apples.
Unfortunately, after the murder, the actual mystery becomes a bit muddled. The motivations of the killer are questionable. Despite this, Poirot's character remains the highlight of the book. If you're a fan of the series, you won't enjoy this for the mystery, but you will enjoy it for Hercule. I'd suggest this only to the most dedicated Agatha Christie fans.
Unfortunately, after the murder, the actual mystery becomes a bit muddled. The motivations of the killer are questionable. Despite this, Poirot's character remains the highlight of the book. If you're a fan of the series, you won't enjoy this for the mystery, but you will enjoy it for Hercule. I'd suggest this only to the most dedicated Agatha Christie fans.
dark
mysterious
slow-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
I’ve always been a big fan of Agatha Christie - reading Murder On the Orient Express as a pre-teen gave me a taste for mystery novels that continues to this day, and I’m STILL chasing the high I got from the first time I read the reveal for Murder of Roger Ackroyd. But this novel was, sadly, a total bore.
From what I’ve read about the novel’s production, it was one of her last Poirot mysteries, and it shows. Perhaps she was getting bored. But the characters were bland, every conversation he had was nearly identical, and it preached on practically every page that murders were only committed by hopeless madmen. It became so repetitive that I skimmed the whole last half of the book and was still unsurprised by the ending.
AC, they could never make me hate you… but I’ll also never recommend this book to another soul.
From what I’ve read about the novel’s production, it was one of her last Poirot mysteries, and it shows. Perhaps she was getting bored. But the characters were bland, every conversation he had was nearly identical, and it preached on practically every page that murders were only committed by hopeless madmen. It became so repetitive that I skimmed the whole last half of the book and was still unsurprised by the ending.
AC, they could never make me hate you… but I’ll also never recommend this book to another soul.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Xenophobia
A major theme of the book is how mentally unstable people have violent tendencies. Very cringe by today’s standards.
I got an hour in on this audiobook & was totally bored. The plot also doesn’t resemble the forthcoming movie, as this book is about a murder at a kids’ Halloween party & the movie looks like it happens at a seance.
Dudes, I keep trying to read Agatha Christie and I keep not getting it. This is my third, and probably my last, unless my book club chooses her again (like they chose this).
This was an interesting Hercule Poirot, I'll admit I haven't read anywhere close to all of the Poirot mysteries, but this one felt very different from the others I read. I would classify the Poirot mysteries as cozy mysteries, and this one... was not. The crime was particularly unpleasant and personal, due to the young age of the victim and the manner of her death, and the villains were especially sinister. Holding a child's head in a bucket of water until she drowns is a nasty crime and a very personal crime. This different feel wasn't a bad thing, it was just unexpected.
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-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:
N/A