The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
meekumoh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Christie's strength draws on her quiet knowledge. Of unpretentious, homebrew methods of murder. Science, yes, but nothing of this scale. Hastings is growing on me as I read on. I'll still say the cat and mouse game between Number 4 and Poirot was very entertaining, but thinking on it, it felt like a series of short stories stuffed into a novel to advance the plot.
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Torture
hannahcstocks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Torture, Cultural appropriation, Death, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Stalking, and Violence
hannahjoyyyyy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
prashiie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
The structure of the story was different compared to the other Poirot stories. Whilst the focus mainly lies on the Big Four, Poirot has many side investigations which all in turn seem to be connected to the Big Four.
Graphic: Murder, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Grief, Violence, Death, and Stalking
Minor: Racial slurs and Misogyny
phantomgecko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moderate: Murder, Racial slurs, and Racism
jessebosco's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Racial slurs and Racism
Anti-Asian sentiments are shared superfluously.chamanadee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism
thequeeraunt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Moving past the racist characterizations of Chinese people in The Big Four, this is one of the weaker Poirot mysteries I've read so far. Without giving away anything that may spoil the ending, I found that it wrapped up a little too neatly for my tastes. Obviously, that's part of the suspension of disbelief one agrees to when one is reading mysteries, but there were some fairly outrageous stunts pulled in The Big Four that felt like they would have been more at home in a modern international spy thriller than an Agatha Christie novel. In the previous Poirot cases, while the detective's skills are truly amazing, they don't stretch the limits of what I consider humanly possible.
I would hesitate to recommend this book to any reader. Either you are interested in reading Agatha Christie in spite of the language and racism, or you aren't. The Big Four certainly isn't where I would consider starting the Poirot series. I get the feeling that you don't necessarily need to read Poirot from beginning to end as you do with some series, so you could probably just skip this one altogether and move on.
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, and Classism
Minor: Violence
slax's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs
samanatha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Graphic: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism