cbellwarzel's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
geraldinecarlos13's review against another edition
3.0
Estuvo entretenido, y me gustó por ser Agatha Christie, pero sin duda no fue mi favorito.
erinmcgawley's review against another edition
4.0
very twisty; didn’t think there’d be three murders and a drug and diamond smuggling ring but hey ho, ms christie is like that
affiknittyreads's review
3.0
A promising premise spoiled by a plethora of racial stereotypes. Lots of characters with not a lot of development.
wickedplutoswickedreading's review against another edition
5.0
Re-read (audiobook) because I had migraines and was bored. Audiobook was very much worth it. Forgot who was the killer.....awesome figuring it out again. Twisty-turny and a lot of fun.
aprilcxz'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
thebookjames's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
cmbhusker's review against another edition
3.0
I'm still puzzled by the title of this one. The poem appeared once or twice, but seemed a rather random insertion, let alone inspiration for the title. But anyway, as for the substance. In many ways, this was a sub-standard Christie--Poirot is barely involved, hovering around the fringes, although he was added just so it can be called a Poirot mystery. The ending, after the solution to the mystery is presented, is pretty random and perfunctory. With at least one character, some clues made about this person are left hanging, and never resolved in any way.
On the other hand, it was kind of fun to read a mystery that was set in a different milieu than most of Christie's mysteries. This one is set in a student boarding house housing both English and foreign students. Though I do enjoy the "rich people behaving badly" featured in a lot of Poirot mysteries, this was kind of a fun switch. The jealousies and dramas of such an environment added a lot of natural intrigue. Initially, however, because so many of the characters were introduced at once, I found it a little hard to keep track of who was who (especially some of the female boarders).
This was a fun book, and the solution was clever, but overall, it felt like an uneven effort, with several aspects that were not particularly well-developed, explained, or carried through.
On the other hand, it was kind of fun to read a mystery that was set in a different milieu than most of Christie's mysteries. This one is set in a student boarding house housing both English and foreign students. Though I do enjoy the "rich people behaving badly" featured in a lot of Poirot mysteries, this was kind of a fun switch. The jealousies and dramas of such an environment added a lot of natural intrigue. Initially, however, because so many of the characters were introduced at once, I found it a little hard to keep track of who was who (especially some of the female boarders).
This was a fun book, and the solution was clever, but overall, it felt like an uneven effort, with several aspects that were not particularly well-developed, explained, or carried through.