Reviews

Testemunha Muda by Agatha Christie

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camilla_perotti's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

hjrey's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Though Miss Arundell’s death surprised no one, something else did. The provisions of her will gave rise to varying emotions; astonishment, pleasurable excitement, deep condemnation, fury, despair, anger and general gossip.

About: Poirot receives a letter from a Miss Arundell requesting help on a delicate family matter. However when he arrives at her manor house, he learns that Miss Arundell has died. Though the death has been declared a natural one, Poirot begins to investigate. And sure enough, like a dog with a bone, he hunts his murderer.

Thoughts
This was a really intriguing mystery. Miss Arundell was a great character to set the novel off - an old lady with some bite and certainly no fool. The people (soon to be suspects) she surrounds herself with have reason enough to want her dead but her altered will muddies the water somewhat.

I didn't guess this one. There are at least six strong suspects and Agatha Christie adds enough complications to both Miss Arundell's initial accident and her later death as to make you switch around your idea as to the mind of the murderer. Unless you're Poirot of course. He deduces the murderer quickly enough, though of course keeps his cards to his chest until the very end. I very much enjoyed how stupefied Hastings was at every turn and the dog banter was also pretty darn cute.

That said, this novel isn't wholly light-hearted and does touch on harder subjects such as xenophobia and racism in an interesting way. The hypocritical nature of this small village is displayed really well in how the characters act towards Poirot as well as to one of the suspects who comes from Greece. While Poirot is again mistaken for a Frenchman, this suspect is often referred to as a Turk. Nationalities are tossed around as though any nationality that isn't English isn't worth remembering. Comments on skin colour are also made and hypocrisy is there in abundance. The victim herself is blinded by her 'British values' that, while it doesn't lead to her death, does lead to the only way her case can be solved is, ironically, by hiring a foreigner.

Overall, this is a hard to guess mystery with an interesting cast of characters, quite a few funny moments and serious topics layered in.