Reviews

Cinq heures vingt-cinq by Agatha Christie

Only show reviews with written explanations

outsmartyourshelf's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

When Captain Trevelyan rents his remote house in the middle of Dartmoor to an outsider for the winter, & takes a house in town, his nearest neighbours in the small village of Sittaford are perplexed. The new temporary tenants, a woman & her daughter, are pleasant enough & they often extend invitations to visit. One evening, the women & four visitors decide to hold a séance for entertainment, but things take on a frightening cast when a message comes through purporting to be from Trevelyan himself. He says he is dead & that it was murder. Although saying he thinks it is all rubbish, his closest friend, Major Burnaby, cannot rest until he knows the truth, so sets off walking through a snowstorm for 6 miles to check on Trevelyan. Alas, he is dead & the fact that his estranged nephew was in the local town of Exhampton raises suspicions.

The police inspector on the case is Inspector Narracott but he takes second place to the fiancée of Trevelyan's nephew, James Pearson, who takes it upon herself to investigate. I found her rather annoying to be honest - all that fake "Oh you are so clever" attitude to the men involved in the case became a bit repetitive after the first half dozen times. I also thought it was one of the easier Christie plots to work out. Overall, not the author's best work as it was rather dull.

Content Warnings

tessjvl's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

socorrobaptista's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Um crime bárbaro, um inocente preso, uma jovem tentando limpar o nome do noivo, um momento sobrenatural assustador. Tudo isso e um pouco mais em mais este livro da rainha do crime. Amei a protagonista/detetive amadora, a forma como ela, sozinha, consegue descobrir o que nem o investigador nem o jornalista conseguiram. Muito bom. Tenho de confessar que também fui surpreendida no final.

gswain's review against another edition

Go to review page

4.0

Interesting characters and I liked the switching of point of view. The ending wasn't my favorite but it did make sense.

juli_drozda's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous lighthearted mysterious relaxing 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? Yes

4.5

thereadingmum's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

I haven't been enthralled with Agatha Christie's standalone mystery novels. Perhaps because the main characters always paled in comparison to Poirot and Miss Marple. The Sittaford Mystery has been the one to change my mind.

It starts off in a secluded, snowed in house with an impromptu table turning session that takes a weird turn when a message is received that someone they know is dead. Then they discover he actually died, possibly at that moment. Wooooooo.......Queue Inspector Narracott, who unlike most other detective stories, is actually pretty sharp and not bad looking either. The amateur sleuth is Emily Trefusis, the main suspect's fiancee. She's pretty, clever and determined.

The mystery is solid and fun to follow and the resolution satisfying. My only bug bear was who Emily chose at the end, but that's probably a personal taste thing.

Definitely one of my favourite Christies.