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fyre_flies's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was an assigned reading that I happened to quite enjoy! This was my first Agatha Christie novel, and I can see myself picking up more of her work. What was surprising about this Miss Marple novel is just how little she shows up in this book and how little she does when she's there. I dinged a star for this reason, as well as because I think the novel could've been about 50 pages shorter to keep it from dragging towards the end. The twists, however, were quite good, and it was easy to get invested in the plot and characters. It was definitely a page turner!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Dementia, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
tweesee_93's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder
eve81's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Xenophobia, War, and Classism
bookwyrmknits's review against another edition
mysterious
4.0
This is an amusing murder mystery novel, and I managed to figure out about half of the (original) crime before the big reveal. There were, of course, things that I didn't get quite right, but that's what I expect from a Christie novel. The cast of characters in this one was enjoyable to read about, and the whole set-up was more believable than I'm used to from mystery novels. I really enjoyed this one.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Medical content
megelizabeth's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
I absolutely loved the plot of this book and the fact that Miss Marple has a much more prominent role than in the previous book in the series. This one is so, so clever and tense and meticulously thought-out, with a brilliant set of characters, and some of the events really hit me in the feels as well. I also really appreciated the overarching post-war social commentary and thought that it provided a super interesting angle which I hadn't really considered before.
The one thing I didn't like about this book was how much casual xenophobia there is. Part of the ending sort of redeems some of this, but not in a way that goes far enough or that truly criticises the xenophobia that is prevalent throughout much of the rest of the book. I of course appreciate the time in which this was written, but it still makes for uncomfortable reading and of course is still worth viewing critically. I did really enjoy the book overall, but it would've just been so much better if these attitudes had been more thoroughly addressed.
The one thing I didn't like about this book was how much casual xenophobia there is. Part of the ending sort of redeems some of this, but not in a way that goes far enough or that truly criticises the xenophobia that is prevalent throughout much of the rest of the book. I of course appreciate the time in which this was written, but it still makes for uncomfortable reading and of course is still worth viewing critically. I did really enjoy the book overall, but it would've just been so much better if these attitudes had been more thoroughly addressed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Racism, Xenophobia, and Murder
Moderate: Blood
Minor: War
heatherb's review against another edition
dark
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia and Murder
Minor: Car accident
bonsai_delores's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A well written murder, best understood after a second reading. Holds up amongst her other titles, I was pleasantly shocked. The use of the “silly old lady” trope helps heighten tension in some places and highlights one of the key turning points of the mystery. It helps that Agatha Christie was good at distinguishing the different types of silly old ladies, and making each of them endearing in their own way. The reveal was shocking enough to be a surprise, but believable enough to make sense during the detective’s synopsis. The only thing that was a little too rushed was the triple reveal at the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, and Alcohol
spworley's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
jdcorley's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Christie takes the first third of the book - before Marple's arrival - to slowly go over and over each of the witnesses' statements, in a certainly intentional plodding, methodical and repetitive way. But we can already begin to see the differences in what different characters focused on and revealed. This is a slower Marple mystery, with a killer who is reacting to what's happening around them, and, so, we too must be highly alert to what's happening. There's more than one motive that isn't a motive to commit these crimes this way, and more than one method that doesn't make sense for the motives we find. Hanging over it all is the horrid cloud of the war - a shattered refugee, a war widow, a deserter, a gun jammed in the back of the drawer, pathetic trading of vegetables and foodstuffs among villagers still trying to keep a stiff upper lip despite having been through an apocalypse. Who wouldn't commit a few cold hearted, calculated murders to get out of it?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder