Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Appointment with Death by Agatha Christie

11 reviews

pam_simpson06's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Cursing, Antisemitism, and Death of parent

tteddybearr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious reflective fast-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

3.75

I love poirot there was not enough of him 👎

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Death of parent

shelfofunread's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, and Antisemitism

dazed_and_distracted's review against another edition

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

kers_tin's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gun violence, Racism, Suicide, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Murder

sam_fielder_137's review against another edition

adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced

• 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

3.75

Cozy little mystery, good for its time. Solution wasn't necessarily expected, but it didn't pack the punch I was hoping for.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

chalkletters's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

4.25

I chose to read Appointment with Death this week because I’ve been watching Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King with my online writing group and I thought it would be interesting to carry on the theme of terrible parents. Reading it with that in mind definitely added intensity to the toxicity the Boynton family are forced to endure. I’ve already said that I like it when Agatha Christie evokes a creepy atmosphere, but this experience dialled it up to eleven! 

Unusually, the best part of this murder mystery is not the detective, nor the solving of the crime. While Mrs Boynton is the victim of murder, her family are all the victims of her reign of terror, and that’s where the reader’s sympathy lies. Agatha Christie sets this up incredibly well, with lots of small simple details which have a chilling cumulative effect. 

Against such a dramatic backdrop, Hercule Poirot doesn’t stand out as much as he usually does. In his sections, the verbatim repetition of his list of clues and his timetable for events surrounding the murder felt like padding; it was difficult not to skim read material that had already been presented word-for-word. That said, the Summation Gathering was effective — particularly the way Agatha Christie twisted the usual practice of trying out how each suspect could be guilty. The solution to the mystery works, and all the clues have been fairly presented without being rushed or told rather than shown, which is more than I can say for some of Agatha Christie’s works. 

Finally, the ending works back around to centring the Boynton family members, which pays off all that they suffered in the set-up. It’s not a long scene, and it wraps up a lot of storylines very quickly and neatly, but it feels justified because these characters deserve it! 

Appointment with Death doesn’t quite reach the heights of Five Little Pigs, but it’s pretty darn close!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Murder

Minor: Antisemitism

poirot's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Medical content, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Gun violence and Misogyny

Minor: Fatphobia and Death of parent

kloughlin's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Racism and Murder

Minor: Suicide, Antisemitism, and Death of parent

ran_sophia's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

The story is excellently elaborate. The plots are well written and placed. I enjoyed the style of writing and storytelling a lot. The pace of writing was nicely quick and the book was read well.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization