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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.
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
Moderate: Murder, Racism, and Misogyny
siobhanward's review against another edition
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
This is one of my favourite Christie books I've read in a while! I honestly think having the book not focused on Poirot or Miss Marple made the book better. It it wasn't tripping over itself to shoehorn in the detective, and we weren't constantly missing crucial information because the detective was withholding it. I liked Emily and thought she was a fun character to have doing the bulk of the investigation. I also just liked how the story came together - while it was a classic big reveal like Christie normally opts for, it felt a lot less forced than some of the others.
This is definitely a fun and worthwhile read, whether or not you normally like Christie's style.
This is definitely a fun and worthwhile read, whether or not you normally like Christie's style.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Death of parent
aliteracja's review against another edition
mysterious
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Mental illness
ansatejones's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
Minor: Racism and Murder
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
3.5
Finished reading: March 27th 2023
“I suppose that one can, if one has the determination, always get something out of life.”
I can always count on Agatha Christie to help me complete the Reading Through The Centuries challenge, and this time I decided to turn to a stand-alone mystery I've been meaning to read. As much as I do love my time with Hercule Poirot, I was curious to see what I would make of The Sittaford Mystery. Especially with the blurb mentioning a seance and a winter countryside setting... And as a whole, this turned out to be a solid murder mystery. The pace was a tad too slow in points, and there were certain parts of the plot that were too drawn out. Emily made for an interesting character to replace the role of Hercule Poirot though, and I liked how she worked together with the journalist to try and uncover the truth. The plot and plot twists are typical Agatha Christie, and if you have read a few of her books it will be easy to guess who was behind it all (always the one you expect the least). That said, I still enjoyed the journey, and the revelation of the secrets of the different characters/suspects was quite clever.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Murder, Xenophobia, and Racism
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Book fourteen of my personal read through of Agatha Christie in publication order!
I must have read this before because I knew almost immediately was the solution to the mystery was (though I did doubt myself a few times along the way). Not quite a personal favorite because I don't LOVE any of the characters, but it was just perfectly wintery, cozy Agatha Christie mystery feel through the whole thing, and nearly every character was entertaining to read about.
I must have read this before because I knew almost immediately was the solution to the mystery was (though I did doubt myself a few times along the way). Not quite a personal favorite because I don't LOVE any of the characters, but it was just perfectly wintery, cozy Agatha Christie mystery feel through the whole thing, and nearly every character was entertaining to read about.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Infidelity and Racism
A seance is a major plot element, though not taken too seriously.poirot's review against another edition
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? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Sexism, and Death
Moderate: Chronic illness
Minor: Racism
brookebatesratesbooks's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
mrkdk'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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Murder, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Ableism, Violence, and Xenophobia
elenamarmiroli's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Questo libro è risultato un po' deludente, soprattutto dopo il grande interesse iniziale dovuto all'episodio della seduta spiritica, che poteva sicuramente essere sfruttato meglio e rendere l'intera opera più interessante.
In aggiunta a ciò, anche il finale non mi ha soddisfatto pienamente in quanto, rispetto ad altri libri dell'autrice, mi è sembrato meno legato al resto della storia e leggermente più forzato.
Nonostante ciò, ritengo comunque che la lettura di quest'opera sia risultata nel complesso piacevole.
In aggiunta a ciò, anche il finale non mi ha soddisfatto pienamente in quanto, rispetto ad altri libri dell'autrice, mi è sembrato meno legato al resto della storia e leggermente più forzato.
Nonostante ciò, ritengo comunque che la lettura di quest'opera sia risultata nel complesso piacevole.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder
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