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A review by meekumoh
Peril at End House by Agatha Christie
adventurous
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This is a really strange book. I suspected the murderer, but I don't think that suggests weak writing. No, I did like the reveal, and I did like the mechanisms of the murder, but it was dull. Nothing was really uncovered through the book in an intelligent or charming way. However, forgiving Christie on style (because not every work can be a banger), she did not salvage this story with charming characters. I felt rather distant from everyone, even Poirot.
In fact, Poirot was rather...nerfed...on purpose through this story. He's old, he's not as smart as he used to be, etc. etc. It's just so uncharacteristic! Listing out all his deductions on a paper too - that took a lot of charm from the story. Oddly, Poirot does so much of what he claims to hate in this book: being the bloodhound! Is it possible to have Poirot be humbled and wronged while still being interesting? I think so, but this book didn't deliver that. "A murder is announced" is another Christie novel that I think did this storyline much better.
In fact, Poirot was rather...nerfed...on purpose through this story. He's old, he's not as smart as he used to be, etc. etc. It's just so uncharacteristic! Listing out all his deductions on a paper too - that took a lot of charm from the story. Oddly, Poirot does so much of what he claims to hate in this book: being the bloodhound! Is it possible to have Poirot be humbled and wronged while still being interesting? I think so, but this book didn't deliver that. "A murder is announced" is another Christie novel that I think did this storyline much better.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Drug use