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ginaparrish's review against another edition
3.0
On my quest to read through all of Christie's mysteries chronologically, this one was a bit disappointing. If you want to give Agatha Christie a try but haven't read many of her books, go ahead and skip over this one.
For those interested in WHY, here are a few points:
1. I liked that, as a Miss Marple mystery, Miss Marple was present from the beginning. However, she lacks her usual acumen for deduction in this one. You can't follow her logical train of thought and wonder if there is one.
2. The reason for this, and why Christie gives very few clues, is that the solution is very easy to figure out. The only thing missing is motive, which you don't find out until the end, probably because she was afraid of the readers guessing it. But with the title of the book and the map... I guessed it immediately.
3. The character development is really lacking in this one. Every one of them seems to be a stereotype to take at face value. Gina is an untamable, flirtatious Italian young woman. Carrie Louise is an ethereal old woman who cannot face the realities of this world (not sure what that even means). Wally is the American boy with American values. Etc. What's worse, instead of demonstrating to us these qualities in the characters, she outright tells them to us over and over again. Not to mention, you know little to nothing about the man who gets murdered or why.
4. Since the book takes place entirely within the grounds of a rehab facility for juvenile boys, you get a lot of remarks about...what to do about them. Christie doesn't take a hard stance but she does take a soft one. There is a lot of sentiment about how "we should be helping the good boys and not the bad ones" and "bad boys will always be bad" and "crazy people should be locked away." Plus, there seems to be a lot of skepticism about psychology and psychiatry. This makes sense just a few years after WWII, when ideas about mental health were changing. But I am not sure how I felt about how it was expressed in this book.
For those interested in WHY, here are a few points:
1. I liked that, as a Miss Marple mystery, Miss Marple was present from the beginning. However, she lacks her usual acumen for deduction in this one. You can't follow her logical train of thought and wonder if there is one.
2. The reason for this, and why Christie gives very few clues, is that the solution is very easy to figure out. The only thing missing is motive, which you don't find out until the end, probably because she was afraid of the readers guessing it. But with the title of the book and the map... I guessed it immediately.
3. The character development is really lacking in this one. Every one of them seems to be a stereotype to take at face value. Gina is an untamable, flirtatious Italian young woman. Carrie Louise is an ethereal old woman who cannot face the realities of this world (not sure what that even means). Wally is the American boy with American values. Etc. What's worse, instead of demonstrating to us these qualities in the characters, she outright tells them to us over and over again. Not to mention, you know little to nothing about the man who gets murdered or why.
4. Since the book takes place entirely within the grounds of a rehab facility for juvenile boys, you get a lot of remarks about...what to do about them. Christie doesn't take a hard stance but she does take a soft one. There is a lot of sentiment about how "we should be helping the good boys and not the bad ones" and "bad boys will always be bad" and "crazy people should be locked away." Plus, there seems to be a lot of skepticism about psychology and psychiatry. This makes sense just a few years after WWII, when ideas about mental health were changing. But I am not sure how I felt about how it was expressed in this book.
megegghan's review against another edition
4.0
This one was a really quick read. Not a super interesting plot but the supporting characters were delightful caricatures and there was plenty of Miss Marple throughout the whole book (more than can be said for others in the series).
mrsbooknerd's review against another edition
2.0
This was not my favourite.
None of the characters were overly likeable, so i found it hard to get properly involved. The plot was fine. The who and why and how. But it was buried beneath constant repetition and little progression.
None of the characters were overly likeable, so i found it hard to get properly involved. The plot was fine. The who and why and how. But it was buried beneath constant repetition and little progression.
joorizzreadzz's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
whatvictoriaread's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
thaurisil's review against another edition
4.0
While I read through Agatha Christie's novels with the Appointments with Agatha group, I'm putting a templated synopsis of each novel in my review. It has spoilers!
Book: 42 of Christie's novels, 6 of Miss Marple novels
Setting: Stonygates, a mansion with a building for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents
Detective and Companions: Miss Marple, Inspector Curry, Sergeant Lake
Crime: Edgar Lawson attempts to shoot Lewis Serrocold in a closed room. He misses, but simultaneously, Christian Gulbrandsen is killed in his room.
Suspects:
- Carrie Louise, Miss Marple's kind, trusting and beloved old school friend
- Mildred Strete, Carrie's dull, plain and jealous daughter
- Gina Hudd, Carrie's lively, attractive granddaughter
- Walter Hudd, Gina's husband who dislikes Gina's family
- Stephen Restarick, Carrie's second husband's son, who works in theatre with the delinquents and is attracted to Gina
- Alexis Restarick, Stephen's brother who appears at the house shortly after the shots are fired
- Edgar Lawson, one of the delinquents and supposedly a schizophrenic who tries to shoot Lewis Serrocold
- Lewis Serrocold, Carrie's husband and a philanthropist
- Juliet Bellever, Carrie's secretary and companion who enjoys control over the household
- Dr Maverick, a psychiatrist for the delinquents
Twists and Turns:
- Lewis Serrocold and Edgar Lawson were thought to be having a show down in the library. But behind the closed room of the door, only Edgar Lawson was shouting, while Lewis ran around the house to kill Christian.
- Lewis said that Christian had warned him that someone was poisoning Carrie Louise, and it was supposed that the poisoner had killed Christian to prevent him telling others. However, the poison story was one that Lewis had made up to divert suspicion away from himself.
- Carrie Louise did not believe that anyone would poison her, and did not believe that Edgar would shoot Lewis, despite everyone else believing otherwise. It was actually Carrie Louise's suspicions that were right, not the suspicions of everyone else.
I wonder why Agatha Christie set this in a house where there were two hundred juvenile delinquents, and then featured them so minimally in the story. The setting was an unusual one, and I felt the story would have been better if either the delinquents had not been included, or if the potential they could lend the story had been developed further.
I didn't dislike this as much as everyone else seems to. It wasn't the best Miss Marple, but it was a nice cozy mystery with an ending that surprised me. It did however seem implausible to me that Edgar Lawson would be able to imitate Lewis Serrocold's voice in a way that convinced everyone else, including Lewis' own wife.
Book: 42 of Christie's novels, 6 of Miss Marple novels
Setting: Stonygates, a mansion with a building for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents
Detective and Companions: Miss Marple, Inspector Curry, Sergeant Lake
Crime: Edgar Lawson attempts to shoot Lewis Serrocold in a closed room. He misses, but simultaneously, Christian Gulbrandsen is killed in his room.
Suspects:
- Carrie Louise, Miss Marple's kind, trusting and beloved old school friend
- Mildred Strete, Carrie's dull, plain and jealous daughter
- Gina Hudd, Carrie's lively, attractive granddaughter
- Walter Hudd, Gina's husband who dislikes Gina's family
- Stephen Restarick, Carrie's second husband's son, who works in theatre with the delinquents and is attracted to Gina
- Alexis Restarick, Stephen's brother who appears at the house shortly after the shots are fired
- Edgar Lawson, one of the delinquents and supposedly a schizophrenic who tries to shoot Lewis Serrocold
- Lewis Serrocold, Carrie's husband and a philanthropist
- Juliet Bellever, Carrie's secretary and companion who enjoys control over the household
- Dr Maverick, a psychiatrist for the delinquents
Twists and Turns:
- Lewis Serrocold and Edgar Lawson were thought to be having a show down in the library. But behind the closed room of the door, only Edgar Lawson was shouting, while Lewis ran around the house to kill Christian.
- Lewis said that Christian had warned him that someone was poisoning Carrie Louise, and it was supposed that the poisoner had killed Christian to prevent him telling others. However, the poison story was one that Lewis had made up to divert suspicion away from himself.
- Carrie Louise did not believe that anyone would poison her, and did not believe that Edgar would shoot Lewis, despite everyone else believing otherwise. It was actually Carrie Louise's suspicions that were right, not the suspicions of everyone else.
I wonder why Agatha Christie set this in a house where there were two hundred juvenile delinquents, and then featured them so minimally in the story. The setting was an unusual one, and I felt the story would have been better if either the delinquents had not been included, or if the potential they could lend the story had been developed further.
I didn't dislike this as much as everyone else seems to. It wasn't the best Miss Marple, but it was a nice cozy mystery with an ending that surprised me. It did however seem implausible to me that Edgar Lawson would be able to imitate Lewis Serrocold's voice in a way that convinced everyone else, including Lewis' own wife.
angrydance's review against another edition
mysterious
relaxing
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
readingparalegal4122's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
tiffany_k's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.75