Reviews

Cat Among the Pigeons by Agatha Christie

claire32's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

5.0

theladydoor's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

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

3.0

momoxshi's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

4.0

Finally! An Agatha Christie novel with espionage that I actually found fun to read.

The first few chapters were honestly a bit confusing with the amount of characters but I ended up liking this whole novel. Having

more than one murderer

was expected but the reveal about it was unexpected (at least for me). The red herrings did their job and, as pompous as Poirot always is, his reveal at the end was actually satisfying (and not at all long winded like in other works).

The bit at the very end was the cherry on top. Navigating through the names and personalities in Cat Among Pigeons was well worth it. 

lelia_t's review against another edition

5.0

This is my favorite Christie mystery. Set in a prestigious girls’ school, with students on the cusp of womanhood, it’s a very woman dominated world. A cast of females - mothers, teachers, the magisterial director Miss Bulstrode, and students, including the keen-minded Julia and her tennis-obsessed friend Jennifer - have created almost a closed, self-sufficient world - a world that's been infiltrated by a killer. Poirot doesn’t appear until late in the book, when he works his accustomed magic, figures out what’s what and who’s who and then makes his gentlemanly exit, leaving the school once again in the hands of the more-than-capable women.

I love the world Christie creates here - the girls haven't yet awakened to the distracting charms of men, the women are putting into practice their ideals, pursing their dreams and goals, with a few falls from grace along the way - some forgivable, others deadly.

emmaswain37's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

5.0

starthelostgirl's review against another edition

5.0

I absolutely loved this book! Intrigue, mystery, and missing jewels, all wrapped up in a posh girls’ boarding school - what else could you want?

fivetilnoon's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

3.0

I don’t like the trend lately where Poirot doesn’t make an appearance until the final chapters of a book. I read once that Christie was tired of Poirot by this point so maybe that’s the explanation. I thought the book was good, but not great. The final ending was fantastic though.

issie_emma's review against another edition

3.0

I was undecided as to whether to rate this 3 or 4 stars. It took a while for me to get into the book but about half way through it became gripping! I loved the explanation but some areas were a little confusing. Also didn’t like how I had to get two thirds of the way through to finally see Poirot! Love his personality so was missing that for a while. Still a good read - just not a favourite Christie book of mine!

pbraue13's review against another edition

3.0

A hugely readable mixture of domestic murder mystery and international thriller with a solution that reflects both situations. In this unmasking of two completely different killers and many murders, it's a very unique Christie! Although a wee-bit far-fetched the plot is very satisfying - even if I would have rather seen Miss Marple take this case on, but apparently the several novels prior to this were Miss Marple mysteries so Christie didn't want to deprive the public of Poirot (who is more adept at the international aspects of this novel than Miss Marple would be). Perhaps that is why the female characters are so wonderfully seen and the men are all peripheral (even Poirot - even thought he would totally disagree). 3.5/5 stars!

autumnal54's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0