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mrsbooknerd's review
2.0
This is more of a thriller romance type story than a straight whodunit.
I enjoyed elements of the book, and I didn't want to stop, but I also found it wandering and repetitive at times.
I enjoyed elements of the book, and I didn't want to stop, but I also found it wandering and repetitive at times.
bymeme's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
thaurisil's review against another edition
4.0
While I read through Agatha Christie's novels with the Agatha Christie Centenary Celebration group, I'm putting a templated synopsis of each novel in my review. It has spoilers!
Book: 4 of Christie's novels, 1 of Colonel Race novels
Setting: The ship Kilmorden Castle and Africa
Detective and Companions: Anne Beddingfeld, Colonel Race
Crime: A man falls to his death on a train track. A lady is found strangled in the Mill House. A criminal organisation, masterminded by the "Colonel", is behind a revolution in Africa.
Suspects:
- Colonel Race
- Sir Eustace Pedler, MP
- Pagett, Sir Eustace's long-term secretary
- Harry Rayburn, Sir Eustace's new secretary
- Mr Chichester, a priest
Twists and Turns:
- The media is out on a hunt for a man in a brown suit who was seen entering the house after Nadina, the lady found strangled in the Mill House. But the man is Harry, who did not kill Nadina. He found Nadina dead in the house.
- Mr Chichester is a fake priest. Later, Sir Eustace gets a secretary called Miss Pettigrew. Mr Chichester, Miss Pettigrew, a night stewardess and a Russian count who appears in the prologue, are all the same man, Minks.
- We know that Pagett did not go to Florence at the time Nadina was killed, placing suspicion on him as the possible killer. It turns out he actually went home to his wife and children, whom Sir Eustace do not know about.
- Sir Eustace, a sarcastic but laid-back and kindly MP, who narrates some chapters via diary entries, turns out to be the "Colonel".
- Harry is not Harry Lucas, as Anne suspects, but John Eardsley, Harry's friend who was thought to be killed in the war.
This is more of a thriller than a mystery. I found it an interesting display of Christie trying new writing styles and themes, some more successful than others, and it is a stepping stone in the development of her writing. She employs two first-person narrators. The main narrator is Anne Beddingfeld, but a secondary narrator is Sir Eustace, who writes amusing diary entries. Sir Eustace turns out to be the criminal, and while Christie wasn't very successful in hiding this (I figured it out by the halfway point), it foreshadows a similar technique that would be used to greater success in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
This is the third book in a row that features a strong female character. In The Secret Adversary, Christie introduced Tuppence, who was independent, playful and clever. The Murder on the Links had Cinderella, whose coquettishness masked determination, though she was a minor character. In this book, we have Anne, who, like Tuppence, is a strong and reckless character who wants a good adventure. Anne has a tendency to want to prove herself strong by saying intentionally provocative things and acting cleverer than she actually is, and I felt that whereas Tuppence teases people as a joke, Anne teases people to prove herself superior. As a result I didn't like her as much as Tuppence. Tuppence also had the level-headed Tommy to balance her out, whereas Anne doesn't have such a companion.
Other similarities with The Secret Adversary are the use of a prologue that turns out to influence the plot in a major way, and a political crime that involves a government official.
This is the first of Christie's books where I've read directly feminist passages. Anne asserts that women are not weak. But Christie also shows a more modest view of marriage, saying, through Anne, that a woman would do something she dislikes for a man she likes.
Sir Eustace is a particularly enjoyable criminal. Though sarcastic and pompous, he is funny, and actually treats his followers and his companions well so long as they do not threaten him. I'm not sure how much Christie expects us to guess that he is the "Colonel". I thought I had outsmarted her by guessing the truth by the midpoint of the novel, and yet in some of the later diary entries it seems that Christie means for us to deduce that he is the "Colonel". In any case, the knowledge makes the diary entries more enjoyable to read, for you start to spot hidden and double meanings.
Book: 4 of Christie's novels, 1 of Colonel Race novels
Setting: The ship Kilmorden Castle and Africa
Detective and Companions: Anne Beddingfeld, Colonel Race
Crime: A man falls to his death on a train track. A lady is found strangled in the Mill House. A criminal organisation, masterminded by the "Colonel", is behind a revolution in Africa.
Suspects:
- Colonel Race
- Sir Eustace Pedler, MP
- Pagett, Sir Eustace's long-term secretary
- Harry Rayburn, Sir Eustace's new secretary
- Mr Chichester, a priest
Twists and Turns:
- The media is out on a hunt for a man in a brown suit who was seen entering the house after Nadina, the lady found strangled in the Mill House. But the man is Harry, who did not kill Nadina. He found Nadina dead in the house.
- Mr Chichester is a fake priest. Later, Sir Eustace gets a secretary called Miss Pettigrew. Mr Chichester, Miss Pettigrew, a night stewardess and a Russian count who appears in the prologue, are all the same man, Minks.
- We know that Pagett did not go to Florence at the time Nadina was killed, placing suspicion on him as the possible killer. It turns out he actually went home to his wife and children, whom Sir Eustace do not know about.
- Sir Eustace, a sarcastic but laid-back and kindly MP, who narrates some chapters via diary entries, turns out to be the "Colonel".
- Harry is not Harry Lucas, as Anne suspects, but John Eardsley, Harry's friend who was thought to be killed in the war.
This is more of a thriller than a mystery. I found it an interesting display of Christie trying new writing styles and themes, some more successful than others, and it is a stepping stone in the development of her writing. She employs two first-person narrators. The main narrator is Anne Beddingfeld, but a secondary narrator is Sir Eustace, who writes amusing diary entries. Sir Eustace turns out to be the criminal, and while Christie wasn't very successful in hiding this (I figured it out by the halfway point), it foreshadows a similar technique that would be used to greater success in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
This is the third book in a row that features a strong female character. In The Secret Adversary, Christie introduced Tuppence, who was independent, playful and clever. The Murder on the Links had Cinderella, whose coquettishness masked determination, though she was a minor character. In this book, we have Anne, who, like Tuppence, is a strong and reckless character who wants a good adventure. Anne has a tendency to want to prove herself strong by saying intentionally provocative things and acting cleverer than she actually is, and I felt that whereas Tuppence teases people as a joke, Anne teases people to prove herself superior. As a result I didn't like her as much as Tuppence. Tuppence also had the level-headed Tommy to balance her out, whereas Anne doesn't have such a companion.
Other similarities with The Secret Adversary are the use of a prologue that turns out to influence the plot in a major way, and a political crime that involves a government official.
This is the first of Christie's books where I've read directly feminist passages. Anne asserts that women are not weak. But Christie also shows a more modest view of marriage, saying, through Anne, that a woman would do something she dislikes for a man she likes.
Sir Eustace is a particularly enjoyable criminal. Though sarcastic and pompous, he is funny, and actually treats his followers and his companions well so long as they do not threaten him. I'm not sure how much Christie expects us to guess that he is the "Colonel". I thought I had outsmarted her by guessing the truth by the midpoint of the novel, and yet in some of the later diary entries it seems that Christie means for us to deduce that he is the "Colonel". In any case, the knowledge makes the diary entries more enjoyable to read, for you start to spot hidden and double meanings.
emmabeckman's review against another edition
4.0
This is definitely one of Agatha Christie's more adventurous novels! I liked that the reader was more involved in the solving of the case, since we followed her as she searched for clues and found out information. It was definitely more than you get in a Poirot and a Marple, I think. (Though of course, I love them all.) Anne was a little bit annoying, but overall, I liked her. I also liked the more involved romance in this book. I've read Death on the Nile before, so I had met Colonel Race previously, (spoiler) which meant that I knew he wasn't a suspect from the beginning.
sappypatheticm's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Minor: Sexism and Fire/Fire injury
dita_blog's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
sinimini's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
kxhte's review
4.75
this was such a fun read after having read all colonel’s race later books!! those two would’ve certainly be quite the match🤭🙂↕️
jayarna's review
5.0
This was so much fun! I loved all the characters and couldn't stop reading, this is such a great one that is more 'adventure' and less 'mystery'
Up there with all my underrated faves
(There is still mystery of course)
Up there with all my underrated faves
(There is still mystery of course)