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logickat's review against another edition
4.0
A random assortment of people at a party decide to have a "séance" to entertain themselves. It is revealed that someone they know has been murdered. One person goes to check on that person, and it turns out he has been murdered. The nephew of the victim is arrested for the crime. His girlfriend knows he is innocent so she befriends a journalist and they team up to solve the case. There are plenty of suspects, because lots of people are lying/acting suspiciously due to other nefarious activity they are engaged in.
obsidian_blue's review against another edition
2.0
It's weird for me to dislike Christie books, but this one did nothing for me. It was a struggle to finish. I think the main issue was that I just found the why behind who murdered an eccentric and misogynistic man (Captain Trevelyan) to be boring due to one of the main character we follow through most of the book.
Captain Trevelyan is found murdered after a weird seance tells the group who is holding it that he is dead. Trevelyan's long time friend and neighbor Major Burnaby goes to his home during a heavy snow and finds Trevelyan dead. Trevelyan's will leaves things to his sister and to his niece and two nephews. Questions quickly emerge about was it one of Trevelyan's family members that finally did him in for their inheritance.
I was more interested when we had Inspector Narricot investigating things. He reminded me a lot of Poirot in his thinking, but the way he acted with people reminded me of Superintendent Battle. When Christie switched over to the fiancee of a man suspected of the murder (Emily) I just didn't care anymore.
Christie tried to throw some romance via Emily and two men during the course of the book, but in the end Emily chooses the one who I considered to be a waste. This is a common theme in Christie books though. She always has the bright young thing seemingly throwing her life away on some man that is not perfect since she will bring him up to scratch.
I also didn't like how we get the perspective of the person who murdered Trevelyan but with a cheat (you don't know that you are not getting the full picture until the end). Usually it seems so obvious when Christie reveals the who and the why since she props up clues along the way. This book felt very muddled to me.
Captain Trevelyan is found murdered after a weird seance tells the group who is holding it that he is dead. Trevelyan's long time friend and neighbor Major Burnaby goes to his home during a heavy snow and finds Trevelyan dead. Trevelyan's will leaves things to his sister and to his niece and two nephews. Questions quickly emerge about was it one of Trevelyan's family members that finally did him in for their inheritance.
I was more interested when we had Inspector Narricot investigating things. He reminded me a lot of Poirot in his thinking, but the way he acted with people reminded me of Superintendent Battle. When Christie switched over to the fiancee of a man suspected of the murder (Emily) I just didn't care anymore.
Christie tried to throw some romance via Emily and two men during the course of the book, but in the end Emily chooses the one who I considered to be a waste. This is a common theme in Christie books though. She always has the bright young thing seemingly throwing her life away on some man that is not perfect since she will bring him up to scratch.
I also didn't like how we get the perspective of the person who murdered Trevelyan but with a cheat (you don't know that you are not getting the full picture until the end). Usually it seems so obvious when Christie reveals the who and the why since she props up clues along the way. This book felt very muddled to me.
julan1027's review against another edition
5.0
On a snowy afternoon neighbors who have gathered for tea decide to converse with the spirits. When they receive a message that Captain Trevelyan has been murdered, his closest friend starts out on a six mile journey through the snow to see for himself that his friend is well. Unfortunately it seems that the spirits were right.
This is Christie at her best. A limited number of suspects. A village isolated by snow. Multiple motives. As always there are plentiful clues and red herrings. A very enjoyable read.
This is Christie at her best. A limited number of suspects. A village isolated by snow. Multiple motives. As always there are plentiful clues and red herrings. A very enjoyable read.
claubeb's review against another edition
lighthearted
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
2.5
korfi's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
3.25
mikegloudemans's review against another edition
2.0
I did enjoy this while reading, but it wasn't one of Christie's more memorable ones for me. The initial setup is interesting enough, but it drags on for a while. Part of this is because I figured almost everything out quite early. Which usually means I'm totally guessing (and probably just plain wrong), but this time . Personally, I think this would have worked better as a short story.
Spoiler
I was pretty confident and correct 1/4 of the way into the book because if you notice the key details and what they imply, there's really no ambiguity or mystery left, and thus the rest of the book just becomes a matter of trying to also figure out the red herrings, which are not exactly the most interesting in this oneaubreyweatherby's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
hartyharrharr's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
grumpykitten16's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.5