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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was an assigned reading that I happened to quite enjoy! This was my first Agatha Christie novel, and I can see myself picking up more of her work. What was surprising about this Miss Marple novel is just how little she shows up in this book and how little she does when she's there. I dinged a star for this reason, as well as because I think the novel could've been about 50 pages shorter to keep it from dragging towards the end. The twists, however, were quite good, and it was easy to get invested in the plot and characters. It was definitely a page turner!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Classism, Death, Bullying, Colonisation, Dementia, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
bookwyrmknits's review against another edition
mysterious
4.0
This is an amusing murder mystery novel, and I managed to figure out about half of the (original) crime before the big reveal. There were, of course, things that I didn't get quite right, but that's what I expect from a Christie novel. The cast of characters in this one was enjoyable to read about, and the whole set-up was more believable than I'm used to from mystery novels. I really enjoyed this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Medical content
bonsai_delores's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
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
4.5
A well written murder, best understood after a second reading. Holds up amongst her other titles, I was pleasantly shocked. The use of the “silly old lady” trope helps heighten tension in some places and highlights one of the key turning points of the mystery. It helps that Agatha Christie was good at distinguishing the different types of silly old ladies, and making each of them endearing in their own way. The reveal was shocking enough to be a surprise, but believable enough to make sense during the detective’s synopsis. The only thing that was a little too rushed was the triple reveal at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death, Xenophobia, Grief, Gaslighting, War, and Terminal illness
Minor: Stalking, Blood, Violence, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Body shaming, and Alcohol
sunny_not's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
fast-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
3.5
The level of xenophobia in this... It's definitely of its time. Other than that the plot was fun however I guessed the twist pretty easily. the pip and Emma storyline was interesting and I enjoyed it Overall a nice read to pass time but very xenophobic and not one of her greatest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Medical content, Blood, Dementia, Murder, Ableism, Toxic friendship, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
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