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ginaparrish's review against another edition
3.0
As I have been reading through all of Christie’s mysteries, this one came as a bit of a surprise. I appreciate her stand alone pieces (it’s refreshing to get away from her most famous detectives when you are reading them all in a row) but this one is different in that it takes place in Ancient Egypt.
It was an adjustment to understand the culture of Egypt thousands of years ago—obviously no detectives, lots of gods and rituals, gender roles, etc. None of it was thoroughly explained so I went along with it with a bunch of question marks in my head. It needed more description: what they were wearing, their hair, what the tomb looked like, the landscape, the house. It was written as if you should know all of that already. Since all I know about Ancient Egypt revolves around mummification and hieroglyphics, I had trouble picturing an authentic setting.
As for the story itself, I enjoyed it. It is difficult to have a murder mystery without a detective and without the methods we now use to determine evidence. But she made it work. The narrator drove me a bit crazy—she had the tendency to call everyone else stupid while being completely oblivious and naive herself. Overall, worth a read but not her best work.
It was an adjustment to understand the culture of Egypt thousands of years ago—obviously no detectives, lots of gods and rituals, gender roles, etc. None of it was thoroughly explained so I went along with it with a bunch of question marks in my head. It needed more description: what they were wearing, their hair, what the tomb looked like, the landscape, the house. It was written as if you should know all of that already. Since all I know about Ancient Egypt revolves around mummification and hieroglyphics, I had trouble picturing an authentic setting.
As for the story itself, I enjoyed it. It is difficult to have a murder mystery without a detective and without the methods we now use to determine evidence. But she made it work. The narrator drove me a bit crazy—she had the tendency to call everyone else stupid while being completely oblivious and naive herself. Overall, worth a read but not her best work.
natxha's review against another edition
4.0
'Once the heart is opened to evil-evil blossoms like poppies amongst the corn.'
I suspected almost every characters in the story but one character that is very dear to me.
And I am so so happy, that character isn't dead. *happy dance*
I've read only four books from Agatha Christie but I think I can remember her writing style now. Her writing always give us a steady pace to follow her story, her clues. Then twisted it when we are close to the answer.
This book is just like that. An enjoyable read as always. ❤️
I suspected almost every characters in the story but one character that is very dear to me.
And I am so so happy, that character isn't dead. *happy dance*
I've read only four books from Agatha Christie but I think I can remember her writing style now. Her writing always give us a steady pace to follow her story, her clues. Then twisted it when we are close to the answer.
This book is just like that. An enjoyable read as always. ❤️
mrsbooknerd's review against another edition
3.0
I really enjoyed the historical setting of this book, it gave a different flavour to Christie-familiar elements. The crazy rich family whodunit but in ancient Egypt.
I felt like it needed a good edit as the filler between deaths felt over repeated, and it needed a better lead character that Renisenb, she was dull and slow and I would much have preferred to have one or a mix of the other characters lead us through the plot.
But a good standalone whodunit.
I felt like it needed a good edit as the filler between deaths felt over repeated, and it needed a better lead character that Renisenb, she was dull and slow and I would much have preferred to have one or a mix of the other characters lead us through the plot.
But a good standalone whodunit.
nishaxxxp's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the way spirituality was woven into this story and how the setting was fleshed out, although I did feel the characters did have “British” personalities in some moments.
martinaferro's review against another edition
2.0
First Agatha Christie.. Slightly disappointed but I think this just wasn’t a book for me.
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: 35 of Christie's novels
Setting: Ancient Egypt
Detective and Companions: Renisenb, Hori
Crime: Renisenb's father and mortuary priest, Imhotep, brings home a young, haughty concubine, Nofret. She dies, and then others in the family die as well.
Suspects:
- Henet, the obsequious housekeeper
- Esa, Imhotep's mother
- Yahmose, Imhotep's eldest son
- Sobek, Imhotep's second son
- Ipy, Imhotep's youngest son
- Satipy, Yahmose's wife
- Kait, Sobek's wife
- Kameni, a scribe from the North
Twists and Turns:
- Of all the people in the household, Yahmose seems the most unlikely killer as he is gentle and timid. But the timidity conceals a desire for power that leads him to kill almost all the members of his family.
- When Satipy dies, it is thought that she was the killer and, haunted and frightened by Nofret's ghost, she falls off a cliff to her death. But it was actually the murderous look in Yahmose's eyes that made her take a step back and fall.
- Yahmose was mildly poisoned by the same poisoned wine that killed Sobek, hence he was thought to be a victim. But he had cleverly taken sips of the wine so that he would be ill but would not die.
- As more members of the family die, the motives do not seem clear. Some, like Esa and Henet, clearly die because they know who the murderer is. But the deaths of Sobek and Ipy are not as clear, until it is realised that Yahmose resented them being cleverer and more confident than him.
This is Agatha Christie's only historical fiction. The inspiration for and source of information about ancient Egypt came from her friend, Stephen Glanville, and presumably from her archaeologist husband. It's not an entirely successful attempt – although the customs and language of ancient Egypt are used, the characters resemble Christie's usual British characters.
Unlike other Christie books which usually contain a fair dose of humour, this book is almost entirely dark. There is a shocking number of deaths, and there is a constant tension due to the hatred and resentment that several of the characters bear against each other, and the fear that each of them has knowing that anyone could be killed next.
Of course, there is a romance. Renisenb's father and grandmother decide that she should be married off to Kameni, the gay, laughing scribe, and Renisenb, still mourning her dead husband Khay and caught up in the tension and fear of the situation, believes that she loves Kameni. But it is clear that she actually loves Hori, the scribe whose calm and resoluteness gives Renisenb peace.
Hori says that "the rottenness comes from within". The line is re-visited several times, and its truth becomes apparent when Hori outlines how the change brought about by Nofret revealed the hidden wickedness within several members of the family – Yahmose's desire for power, Satipy's cowardliness, Sobek's dissipation, and Kait's selfishness. It gave me food for thought about what hidden sins we may allow to manifest within our souls if we are not careful to guard our hearts.
Book: 35 of Christie's novels
Setting: Ancient Egypt
Detective and Companions: Renisenb, Hori
Crime: Renisenb's father and mortuary priest, Imhotep, brings home a young, haughty concubine, Nofret. She dies, and then others in the family die as well.
Suspects:
- Henet, the obsequious housekeeper
- Esa, Imhotep's mother
- Yahmose, Imhotep's eldest son
- Sobek, Imhotep's second son
- Ipy, Imhotep's youngest son
- Satipy, Yahmose's wife
- Kait, Sobek's wife
- Kameni, a scribe from the North
Twists and Turns:
- Of all the people in the household, Yahmose seems the most unlikely killer as he is gentle and timid. But the timidity conceals a desire for power that leads him to kill almost all the members of his family.
- When Satipy dies, it is thought that she was the killer and, haunted and frightened by Nofret's ghost, she falls off a cliff to her death. But it was actually the murderous look in Yahmose's eyes that made her take a step back and fall.
- Yahmose was mildly poisoned by the same poisoned wine that killed Sobek, hence he was thought to be a victim. But he had cleverly taken sips of the wine so that he would be ill but would not die.
- As more members of the family die, the motives do not seem clear. Some, like Esa and Henet, clearly die because they know who the murderer is. But the deaths of Sobek and Ipy are not as clear, until it is realised that Yahmose resented them being cleverer and more confident than him.
This is Agatha Christie's only historical fiction. The inspiration for and source of information about ancient Egypt came from her friend, Stephen Glanville, and presumably from her archaeologist husband. It's not an entirely successful attempt – although the customs and language of ancient Egypt are used, the characters resemble Christie's usual British characters.
Unlike other Christie books which usually contain a fair dose of humour, this book is almost entirely dark. There is a shocking number of deaths, and there is a constant tension due to the hatred and resentment that several of the characters bear against each other, and the fear that each of them has knowing that anyone could be killed next.
Of course, there is a romance. Renisenb's father and grandmother decide that she should be married off to Kameni, the gay, laughing scribe, and Renisenb, still mourning her dead husband Khay and caught up in the tension and fear of the situation, believes that she loves Kameni. But it is clear that she actually loves Hori, the scribe whose calm and resoluteness gives Renisenb peace.
Hori says that "the rottenness comes from within". The line is re-visited several times, and its truth becomes apparent when Hori outlines how the change brought about by Nofret revealed the hidden wickedness within several members of the family – Yahmose's desire for power, Satipy's cowardliness, Sobek's dissipation, and Kait's selfishness. It gave me food for thought about what hidden sins we may allow to manifest within our souls if we are not careful to guard our hearts.
kristenmalia's review against another edition
2.0
-1 star for the ending
Why in the world would she pick some old pedophile over a guy her age is beyond me haha
Why in the world would she pick some old pedophile over a guy her age is beyond me haha
kobrien1014's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
laura_sine's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
lindsaykjones's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.0
This one was disappointing. I know that it was outside the usual canon of Agatha Christie novels being set in ancient Egypt and without the great Christie detectives, but I just never got into it. 😔
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