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ijustreallyliketrees's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, and Murder
typedtruths's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicide, and Gun violence
➸ Trigger warnings for period-typical racism and racial slurs (anti-Chinese), infidelity (secondary characters), suicide by gunshot, death of a husband from heart failure mentioned, murder of an uncle by gun violence, murder by poisoning (through injections of bacterial cultures, disguised as natural deaths from blood poisoning and tetanus), murder of a husband by gun violence (disguised as suicide), attempted murder by poisoning and gun violence (on-page), death in a plane crash mentioned, and blackmail.poirot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Death, Murder, Racism, Xenophobia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: War
pam_simpson06's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Murder
prashiie's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Graphic: Drug use, Abandonment, Murder, Misogyny, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent
prettiestwhistles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Moderate: Murder, Gun violence, Sexism, Death, Kidnapping, Violence, Suicide, Racism, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Colonisation, War, and Alcohol
emory's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
If you'd like to read the mysteries and need to avoid encountering the 1920s racism, skip stories The Western Star and The Cheap Flat in particular, as both include racial slurs and the first includes a racist and orientalist view of a theoretical Chinese character. The story regarding the Egyptian expedition is similar. The final story, The Missing Will, also includes disdain for "modern women", the whole thing seeming to be a setup for a distasteful punchline. Other occasional 1920s-isms throughout.
Standout stories to me were The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor, The Adventure of the Cheap Flat, The Million Dollar Bond Robbery, and The Disappearance of Mr Davenheim. Apparently I read the edition lacking 3 extra stories; I think I'll have to track them down.
Graphic: Racism, Suicide, Murder, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Misogyny
early 20th century era racism and misogyny throughoutmadamenovelist's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Classism, Death, Murder, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Sexism
It feels there is somehow even more racism/xenophobia in Christie’s short stories than her longer works. Her plotting, pacing, and personal knowledge of chemistry/medicine are fantastic but it’s hard to focus when slurs against Asians show up without preamble.sunnysky's review
- 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
4.0
It’s fast paced so it is easy to read, but I prefer one big mystery that spans a novel.
Minor: Murder
thequeeraunt's review against another edition
- 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
2.5
One redeeming quality of this collection is that because the individual case stories are short, it's an easy book to pick up and put down without feeling like you have to finish just one more chapter. I found myself able to enjoy a more leisurely pace through Poirot Investigates, and even with that in mind, I finished it in under a day.
I do think that Christie, like many classic authors, is worth a passing study. Just be aware before you begin reading her works that they now exist in a context very different from the one in which they were originally written.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, and Sexism