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lottie1996's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
jesikasbookshelf's review
3.0
How Christie managed to fit a sweet budding romance with its own back story, and Poirot's signature explanation scene into such a short book is honestly beyond me. It is festive, light and a lovely quick Christmas read (plus a very quick tick on my Poirot reading list).
I can't help but feel that this story would have benefited from being a bit longer - I mean, it has all of the plot of a full novel so this really could have done with a little more prose dedicated to suspense between the reveals. However, I know that this was an early draft of The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding which is longer and listed separately on the official Poirot reading list so I can only assume that it is a different reading experience (even if it isn't a particularly different story, which I very much doubt). It will be nice to see how Christie reworked her story to make it more substantial - but I think that's a read for next Christmas.
Spoiler
two fake murders, a burglary ringI can't help but feel that this story would have benefited from being a bit longer - I mean, it has all of the plot of a full novel so this really could have done with a little more prose dedicated to suspense between the reveals. However, I know that this was an early draft of The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding which is longer and listed separately on the official Poirot reading list so I can only assume that it is a different reading experience (even if it isn't a particularly different story, which I very much doubt). It will be nice to see how Christie reworked her story to make it more substantial - but I think that's a read for next Christmas.
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