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julied's review
- 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
Moderate: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racism, Kidnapping, and Murder
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
- 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
The first of Christie’s Colonel Race series, The Man in the Brown Suit tells the story of Anne Beddingfeld, an intrepid budding adventuress investigating the mysterious death of a man in a train station and the apparently connected murder of a woman in a nearby home.
As you know if you’ve been following along with my reviews, I’ve been chronologically working through Christie’s writings, and have been enjoying myself quite a bit so far. Unfortunately, this one was definitely my least favorite. While it was hilarious in parts (possibly even funnier than it was intended to be, as some parts seemed a bit ridiculous), I found it long winded and confusing, and never really clicked with the narrator in the audio version. And, especially with a portion of the novel set in Africa, there were unfortunately some racist and sexist moments that are always disconcerting and problematic to see and definitely diminished my overall enjoyment level.
In the end, I was still shocked by the twist and enjoyed the characters, but if you’re looking for your next Christie this isn’t the one I’d rush to grab!
Recommended if you like: adventurous mysteries; tough heroines; humorous narration.
CW: Death/murder; kidnapping/confinement; some mentions of war.
Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, and Murder
tatianars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Sexism, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
sunny_not's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
alaharon123's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Fatphobia, Gun violence, and Murder
blinicat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
bhu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
beeley10's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Moderate: Misogyny and Racial slurs
Minor: Murder
Very outdated, sometimes offensive views expressed, confusing plotbackpackfullofbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
I had some trepidation in reading this one. I remembered loving it as a teen, and re-reading it many times, but my hazy adult recollections suggested a rather torrid romance (at least, the closest to a torrid romance I knew existed as a fifteen year old) that might be accused of all the unhealthiness associated with Twilight, but with rather more justice than when Twilight is accused of such.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the main character is funny and relatable in a way that makes for quite a fun adventure aside from the romance. And, I’d rather inflated the impact of one specific ‘romantic’ scene in my memory--much like Twilight, I still wouldn’t recommend this for teenage girls (ahem, sorry past self). But while not a great model for how relationships should be, the romantic part of the story can be enjoyed in the light of ‘people can make bad choices and still end up well later’.
Moderate: Death
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Murder