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hidingzeus's review against another edition
4.0
Definitely different from her later novels, this one reads more like a modern cozy mystery, love interest and all.
thinkspink's review against another edition
3.0
Adrian reads all the Christies #14, and this one is a pulpy adventure thriller. I liked the story, and main character (Anne) a lot. But, some of the views of Africa (and the whole 2nd half of the book is set there) are, shall we say "of its time".
mary_rozendal's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
jkunke's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.25
I enjoyed how different this was from Agatha Christie’s later books. There’s the sole female adventurer who sets off on her own with a meager clue and finds her way. It’s a little slow and long, and it portrays Africa and black people in a racist way.
odcode's review against another edition
2.0
This was not it.
Anne Beddingfeld is not one of the Agatha Christie characters that will be remembered. Her whole goody-two-shoes adventurer personality was not endearing at all (it that was the intention) it was getting and boring.
I kept zoning out of the story and not caring if I followed precisely what was going on.
Anne Beddingfeld is not one of the Agatha Christie characters that will be remembered. Her whole goody-two-shoes adventurer personality was not endearing at all (it that was the intention) it was getting and boring.
I kept zoning out of the story and not caring if I followed precisely what was going on.
“Congratulations and love to the latest arrival on Lunatics’ Island. Is his head dolichocephalic or brachycephalic?”
I wasn’t going to stand that from Suzanne. I sent her a reply of one word, economical and to the point:
“Platycephalic!”
twmorel's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
marmoo's review against another edition
3.0
Falling more on the thriller side of the thriller/mystery spectrum, this early Agatha Christie has a plucky heroine, some memorable travel writing, and a convoluted whodunit. With several allusions to “The Perils of Pauline,” this novel is both satirizing and embracing the pulpy adventure serial. It makes interesting use of the epistolary format, though is sometime limited by the distance between the written account and immediacy of the action.
As you might expert of a novel that treats British colonial South Africa as a playground for English wanderlust, there are some jarring moments of racism sprinkled throughout. The gender politics of the core romance are also… questionable. (Still, I found myself more interested by those sometimes uncomfortable portrayals than I would be by a modern historical fiction that simply imports modern sensibilities into all the “good” characters and heaps the injustices at the feet of the “bad” ones.)
It’s not what I’d call one of Christie’s masterpieces, but there are certainly worse ways to spend an afternoon!
As you might expert of a novel that treats British colonial South Africa as a playground for English wanderlust, there are some jarring moments of racism sprinkled throughout. The gender politics of the core romance are also… questionable. (Still, I found myself more interested by those sometimes uncomfortable portrayals than I would be by a modern historical fiction that simply imports modern sensibilities into all the “good” characters and heaps the injustices at the feet of the “bad” ones.)
It’s not what I’d call one of Christie’s masterpieces, but there are certainly worse ways to spend an afternoon!
riyaa_'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
4.0