hannahcstocks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Torture, Cultural appropriation, Death, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Stalking, and Violence
softasapanda'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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
hannahjoyyyyy's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
shaull's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
An interesting artifact—very different from other Poirot mysteries, in that it feels much more like a proto-James Bond book instead of a cozy mystery. The racism of the day permeates the entire story. Overall over the top in every way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
nicolal's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
mijtje's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? No
2.75
TL;DR
wtf
So this is a weird little book. It’s good to be aware that it’s a collection of short stories which together make up one longer story. This makes it a little too fast paced at times and it might feel like a weird, all-over-the-place book. Which it is. But hey, now you know the reason!
The weirdest part is the crossover between Hercule Poirot and James Bond. It has gadgets, disguises, evil geniuses and of course a world order that secretly controls everything. It’s still good old Poirot and his adorable friendship with the kind of stupid Hastings, but then packed into a really weird story.
The beginning especially is hard to get through. As someone on here described it very aptly: it read as a Hercule Poirot fanfiction. About halfway through it gets better, however. Still, very weird. I feel like I was sucked into a parallel universe for a moment where Agatha Christie wrote shitty spy novels. Good thing she decided not to.
It’s still Hercule Poirot and I love Hercule Poirot, so it’s hard to give a very low rating, but yeah. Read Christie’s other books instead.
wtf
So this is a weird little book. It’s good to be aware that it’s a collection of short stories which together make up one longer story. This makes it a little too fast paced at times and it might feel like a weird, all-over-the-place book. Which it is. But hey, now you know the reason!
The weirdest part is the crossover between Hercule Poirot and James Bond. It has gadgets, disguises, evil geniuses and of course a world order that secretly controls everything. It’s still good old Poirot and his adorable friendship with the kind of stupid Hastings, but then packed into a really weird story.
The beginning especially is hard to get through. As someone on here described it very aptly: it read as a Hercule Poirot fanfiction. About halfway through it gets better, however. Still, very weird. I feel like I was sucked into a parallel universe for a moment where Agatha Christie wrote shitty spy novels. Good thing she decided not to.
It’s still Hercule Poirot and I love Hercule Poirot, so it’s hard to give a very low rating, but yeah. Read Christie’s other books instead.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Death
Since the book was published in 1927, there are some paragraphs that can be seen as racist towards Chinese people.phantomgecko's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.0
Unlike any other Agatha Christie I've read. There's really not much of a mystery by the last bit of it. Like, I didn't feel like there was an ending to "guess." Lots of murder though. More than others. Also distinctly racist.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Racial slurs, and Racism
jessebosco's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-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
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Anti-Asian sentiments are shared superfluously.chamanadee's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
thequeeraunt's review
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- 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
Here's the thing about revisiting books originally published almost 100 years ago - you're going to find racism. There's going to be cringe-worthy language, slurs used in common speech, and some really dated stereotypes. Because of the nature of this particular mystery's antagonist(s), there are some unpleasant characterizations of people from China. I mention all of this at the beginning of my review because if casual racism is a deal-breaker for you, then nothing else I say about the novel will make it palatable.
Moving past the racist characterizations of Chinese people in The Big Four, this is one of the weaker Poirot mysteries I've read so far. Without giving away anything that may spoil the ending, I found that it wrapped up a little too neatly for my tastes. Obviously, that's part of the suspension of disbelief one agrees to when one is reading mysteries, but there were some fairly outrageous stunts pulled in The Big Four that felt like they would have been more at home in a modern international spy thriller than an Agatha Christie novel. In the previous Poirot cases, while the detective's skills are truly amazing, they don't stretch the limits of what I consider humanly possible.
I would hesitate to recommend this book to any reader. Either you are interested in reading Agatha Christie in spite of the language and racism, or you aren't. The Big Four certainly isn't where I would consider starting the Poirot series. I get the feeling that you don't necessarily need to read Poirot from beginning to end as you do with some series, so you could probably just skip this one altogether and move on.
Moving past the racist characterizations of Chinese people in The Big Four, this is one of the weaker Poirot mysteries I've read so far. Without giving away anything that may spoil the ending, I found that it wrapped up a little too neatly for my tastes. Obviously, that's part of the suspension of disbelief one agrees to when one is reading mysteries, but there were some fairly outrageous stunts pulled in The Big Four that felt like they would have been more at home in a modern international spy thriller than an Agatha Christie novel. In the previous Poirot cases, while the detective's skills are truly amazing, they don't stretch the limits of what I consider humanly possible.
I would hesitate to recommend this book to any reader. Either you are interested in reading Agatha Christie in spite of the language and racism, or you aren't. The Big Four certainly isn't where I would consider starting the Poirot series. I get the feeling that you don't necessarily need to read Poirot from beginning to end as you do with some series, so you could probably just skip this one altogether and move on.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, and Classism
Minor: Violence