Reviews tagging 'Addiction'

Murder in Mesopotamia by Agatha Christie

9 reviews

silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

Book twenty-five of my personal read through of Agatha Christie in (American) publication order.

While the tone was still on the cozier side, as you would expect, the structure of this one screamed thriller to me. The murder didn't happen until after ramping up the tension a bit, and once it did it was clever locked room type mystery. (I had some suspicion about where the red herrings lay, but that probably just means I read it as a teen and slightly remembered it from then...)

Definitely recommended if you like Agatha Christie but want a change of pace from her cozier and more English feeling stories. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Murder, Grief, and Infidelity

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Suicide, and Bullying

sop17hie's review against another edition

mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Grief, Death, Murder, Vomit, and Colonisation

Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia

Minor: Suicide, Bullying, Addiction, Violence, Stalking, and Infidelity

poirot's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Grief and Racism

Minor: Bullying, Addiction, Drug use, and Suicide

angela005's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder

Moderate: Violence

Minor: Addiction and Drug use

embey's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Stalking, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Gaslighting, Drug use, Blood, Addiction, and Drug abuse

Minor: Colonisation, Racism, and Cultural appropriation

midwifekt's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

If you can get over the rampant colonialism and very British Empire 1930s depiction of the region and the people in the region (thankfully not described much, unlike in certain other Christie books), this one is pretty good.

Bonus points for the narrator being a nurse. Despite being almost 100 years later, some incidental observation  she made about being a nurse were still dead accurate to the present day. My very favorite was when

Poirot has her get out of the way to interview a suspect alone, and she's like "yeah but I'm listening in because while the doctor might make the decisions the nurse needs to know <i>everything</i> about the case." And like, have there been times I've listened outside the door when the doctor got to a room to talk to a patient without me so I knew how the conversation went because I was going to be the one who hit all the follow-up questions?  Yes there have. That was spot on.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Misogyny, Murder, and Racism

Moderate: Addiction and Drug use

kloughlin's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Addiction, Murder, Infidelity, Gore, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Racism

ijustreallyliketrees's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

Moderate: Racial slurs and Misogyny

Minor: Addiction, Racism, and Suicide

mithren's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 It is a pretty good book with a plot twist I did not see coming. A rather solid and entertaining mystery overall.

However I did not see what was so great about Louise Leidner and what made so many people worship her and all that. I appreciate that we are dealing with a biased narrator here, but still. This was a case of more Telling rather than Showing.

I had more sympathy and liked way more Sheila Reilly (she is fun) and David Emmott (I think I've got a book crush) than Mrs Leidner and Richard Carey. But then again, I've got no sympathy for cheaters whatsoever. And although Dr Leidner turned out to be Frederick Bosner and a murderer, they definitely did not know it at the time and betrayed their husband and friend, respectively, with each other. So no, no sympathy coming from my corner at all for them. 
 

 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Infidelity and Addiction