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A review by sophiarose1816
Sad Cypress by Agatha Christie
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Sad Cypress is bittersweet in tone and outcome with the murder taking second place to other elements in this multiple layer tale. The central figure is Elinor Carlisle who is arrested for the murder of Mary Gerard. To others, she is appears completely guilty, but one man is determined that evidence be found to free her. Hercule Poirot begins his investigation just before the trial is to start.
Sad Cypress is one of Agatha Christie's books that I don't particularly remember reading when I was younger though I suspect I did, but the retrospective framing of the story with present to past and back to present probably didn't appeal to my teenage reading tastes so I promptly forgot it.
Later, I saw the Poirot TV Adaption with David Suchet- who, incidentally, is narrating the audio I listened to- and I appreciated it so much more. After this revisit in audio, I can see how that TV adaption did a stellar job of staying close to the book.
I call this bittersweet because of the unrequited love Elinor feels and the sad way she twists her very character to please Roddie, who is allergic to strong emotions or drama, all for that love. Then, she has to come to grips with how easily the man she loves is distracted by physical beauty when he doesn't even know Mary. Then there is the way events have been manipulated so that every instance, conversation, and expression entrap Elinor tightly as the only one who could and wanted to harm Mary. The reader gets the benefit of her inner thoughts and something of her motives so besides the quirky, but engaging doctor, no one else is on her side. There seems no escape for Elinor from being tried and hanged.
Then Poirot does what he does best and gets significance from all the witness statements and it was brilliant.
David Suchet is so talented the way he voiced all the characters and especially since half were women and of different classes and ages.
All in all, I thought this was another brilliant piece from Christie and recommend it to historical cozy fans.
Sad Cypress is one of Agatha Christie's books that I don't particularly remember reading when I was younger though I suspect I did, but the retrospective framing of the story with present to past and back to present probably didn't appeal to my teenage reading tastes so I promptly forgot it.
Later, I saw the Poirot TV Adaption with David Suchet- who, incidentally, is narrating the audio I listened to- and I appreciated it so much more. After this revisit in audio, I can see how that TV adaption did a stellar job of staying close to the book.
I call this bittersweet because of the unrequited love Elinor feels and the sad way she twists her very character to please Roddie, who is allergic to strong emotions or drama, all for that love. Then, she has to come to grips with how easily the man she loves is distracted by physical beauty when he doesn't even know Mary. Then there is the way events have been manipulated so that every instance, conversation, and expression entrap Elinor tightly as the only one who could and wanted to harm Mary. The reader gets the benefit of her inner thoughts and something of her motives so besides the quirky, but engaging doctor, no one else is on her side. There seems no escape for Elinor from being tried and hanged.
Then Poirot does what he does best and gets significance from all the witness statements and it was brilliant.
David Suchet is so talented the way he voiced all the characters and especially since half were women and of different classes and ages.
All in all, I thought this was another brilliant piece from Christie and recommend it to historical cozy fans.