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A review by missfortune99
Hallowe'en Party by Agatha Christie
3.0
The sentiments of the time show through much more strongly in this book compared to some of Christie's other works (where a racist stereotype will be included in the middle of a character description.) In this book, there were only two or three adults introduced who didn't spend at least a page monologing about how times have changed, crime is on the rise, people aren't as morally good as they used to be, and, the big kicker, the mentally ill are no longer being confined, so they're wandering about murdering people. After the second time it felt less like a character quirk and more like a [painfully unsubtle] sermon.
In fairness, I'll say that at least in the case of the U.S., the crime rate thing is true. Violent crime did see a dramatic uptick beginning in the 70's and into the 80's, so it's not like the message is unfounded. HOWEVER, saying violent crimes happen at the hands of the mentally ill is most often unfounded and untrue. It's just out of place in the middle of a mystery novel.
All this being said, I still enjoyed the mystery. The key players were examined in the typical Poirot style, and the ending was interesting and original. If you're looking for a good Halloween read, still add it to your TBR pile.
In fairness, I'll say that at least in the case of the U.S., the crime rate thing is true. Violent crime did see a dramatic uptick beginning in the 70's and into the 80's, so it's not like the message is unfounded. HOWEVER, saying violent crimes happen at the hands of the mentally ill is most often unfounded and untrue. It's just out of place in the middle of a mystery novel.
All this being said, I still enjoyed the mystery. The key players were examined in the typical Poirot style, and the ending was interesting and original. If you're looking for a good Halloween read, still add it to your TBR pile.