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A review by davidb71
The Pale Horse by Agatha Christie
4.0
I think this is perhaps my eighth Christie book - or possibly ninth - and what continues to impress me about them is that although they share stylistic similarities, they've all been completely different to each other, and this one is something different again. I enjoyed this a great deal - the cast of characters was interesting; the mystery that was established was more unusual than that of a straightforward murder - it was about uncovering the possible existence of a criminal enterprise bringing about people's deaths through potentially occult means.
I always find her books witty, intelligent, well-crafted and engaging - and there's often a subtle, dry humour in her writing that I can find very enjoyable.
This was published around 1961, I think, which probably makes it the latest of her books that I've thus far read. I thought it was very good - but there was something that didn't seem quite as tight about the crafting of it when compared to some of the others I've read. It felt a little drawn out - only a little, though. And the plotting didn't seem quite as ingenious. It was still a nicely structured and enjoyable book, though.
What massively impresses me about the Christie books I've read so far is how she doesn't just repeat familiar formulas and always seems to be striving to find something new. This book would have been written around 40 years into her publishing career - 40 years! It would have been easy for her to put out slight variations on books she's written before - and they probably would have sold well - but I sense in her a hunger to not repeat herself and to constantly come up with new ideas.
This for me was another very enjoyable Agatha Christie novel. I've enjoyed every one I've read so far. I'm aware that some of her books are not well-regarded, particularly the later ones, but I've yet to read anything by her that's anything less than very, very good.
I always find her books witty, intelligent, well-crafted and engaging - and there's often a subtle, dry humour in her writing that I can find very enjoyable.
This was published around 1961, I think, which probably makes it the latest of her books that I've thus far read. I thought it was very good - but there was something that didn't seem quite as tight about the crafting of it when compared to some of the others I've read. It felt a little drawn out - only a little, though. And the plotting didn't seem quite as ingenious. It was still a nicely structured and enjoyable book, though.
What massively impresses me about the Christie books I've read so far is how she doesn't just repeat familiar formulas and always seems to be striving to find something new. This book would have been written around 40 years into her publishing career - 40 years! It would have been easy for her to put out slight variations on books she's written before - and they probably would have sold well - but I sense in her a hunger to not repeat herself and to constantly come up with new ideas.
This for me was another very enjoyable Agatha Christie novel. I've enjoyed every one I've read so far. I'm aware that some of her books are not well-regarded, particularly the later ones, but I've yet to read anything by her that's anything less than very, very good.