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A review by phantomgecko
Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie
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? No
2.0
The first Agatha Christie I've straight up disliked.
Not so much a murder mystery as a convoluted conspiracy. Which could be okay, I guess, but it wasn't.
Poirot and Marple are on top of things, do little investigations into their suspicions, and are competent. With Tommy and Tuppence, it's like they were starting over every chapter. They'd forgotten everything that had already happened. Like they establish that a woman was killed and it had something to do with espionage. Then any time someone mentions those things to them, they're like, "Oh that's so odd, what could they possibly mean? Do they suspect a woman was killed for espionage in our house? How strange!" Bumbling idiots.
Specifically, Tuppence mentions there was a census the night the woman is killed. Then a couple chapters later, Tommy is like, "There was a census," and she's like, "What's a census?" And I did not enjoy it.
Also. The murder in question happened a bit before WWI. And somehow nobody can remember anything about it. They are talking to people in their 70s and 80s and 90s, and those people are like, "Oh I wasn't born yet, but my great aunt heard something from her great aunt."
Hey. Babe. 1973 - 80 = 1893. Like, not only were y'all alive, you were adults. The timeline didn't make any sense at all, and it drove me crazy every single time it was mentioned.
The dog was the most interesting character. And it was a dog. Just a normal dog. I don't even really like dogs.
Not so much a murder mystery as a convoluted conspiracy. Which could be okay, I guess, but it wasn't.
Poirot and Marple are on top of things, do little investigations into their suspicions, and are competent. With Tommy and Tuppence, it's like they were starting over every chapter. They'd forgotten everything that had already happened. Like they establish that a woman was killed and it had something to do with espionage. Then any time someone mentions those things to them, they're like, "Oh that's so odd, what could they possibly mean? Do they suspect a woman was killed for espionage in our house? How strange!" Bumbling idiots.
Specifically, Tuppence mentions there was a census the night the woman is killed. Then a couple chapters later, Tommy is like, "There was a census," and she's like, "What's a census?" And I did not enjoy it.
Also. The murder in question happened a bit before WWI. And somehow nobody can remember anything about it. They are talking to people in their 70s and 80s and 90s, and those people are like, "Oh I wasn't born yet, but my great aunt heard something from her great aunt."
Hey. Babe. 1973 - 80 = 1893. Like, not only were y'all alive, you were adults. The timeline didn't make any sense at all, and it drove me crazy every single time it was mentioned.
The dog was the most interesting character. And it was a dog. Just a normal dog. I don't even really like dogs.