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leaflibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Okay, I get that this isn't a GREAT Christie mystery. The sleuthing detours felt haphazard and the ending became very convoluted. Still, I had a fun time consuming it! I've been in a reading rut lately, and this revitalized my interest in audiobooks, and Christie in particular.
What stood out to be about this story: low stakes, excellent cartoonish characters* (much more fun than the usual brooding suspects!), mediocre pacing, a bizarre act three murder and a conclusion so nonsensical that I accepted it because I couldn't keep track of all the convoluted clues and unlikely solutions!
What stood out to be about this story: low stakes, excellent cartoonish characters* (much more fun than the usual brooding suspects!), mediocre pacing, a bizarre act three murder and a conclusion so nonsensical that I accepted it because I couldn't keep track of all the convoluted clues and unlikely solutions!
*deadpan flute-obsessed doctor having some kind of affair; zany mystery writer obsessed with the murder weapon; indistinguashable father/son acheology nerd duo turned arranged employer/love interest?; cartoonishly villainous dentist with bipolar behavior who provides internal monologues (!) on multiple occasions; coke obsessed chorus girl turned duchess, and the random horse girl who wants her husband; TWO lost daughters who kind of matter but mostly don’t, plus the bored hairdresser main character you assume is one of those two but is actually a nobody, lol… and a little Belgian detective investigating the case with the police despite his CLEAR conflict of interest as a possible (even likely) suspect! A ridiculous, if occasionally tedious, DELIGHT, I tell you!
Serious side note, though: the version I listened to seemed to censor at least one very extreme instance of racism (and fatphobia!) that occurs as a bonding moment between two main characters. I learned about it later while reading a Goodreads review and was genuinely SHOCKED at its casual, intentional, and blatant awfulness. That lowers the score quite a bit for me and leaves a bad taste in my mouth about the fun and frivolous aspects of the story that I enjoyed.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Antisemitism, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Fatphobia, Drug abuse, Death, Xenophobia, Suicide, Sexism, and Murder
sunny_not's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-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
3.75
As always a lot of its time elements. Other than that a change in settings was nice and the storyline was quite interesting. Although after reading two of her books involving dentists I think she was really scared of dentists for no reason. Norman gale(bale?) i forgot his last name was easy to guess in my opinion. I figured out that it had to do with giselles daughter or her husband and decided that Norman was probably the husband after Anna(?)'s death
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racism, Murder, Classism, Colonisation, and Death
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