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idratherbereading542's review against another edition
3.0
I am really horrible with short stories and this book taught me that! Because there are 11 short stories in this I didn't find the book as enjoyable as if the stories were full novels. I just couldn't be on one story long enough to REALLY get into it. However, when I look at the stories individually, I really enjoyed most of them, I would have just preferred them not to be short stories so I could get into the characters more. Here's what I thought of each individual story:
1.) The Witness for the Prosecution - Excellent! I was surprised by the ending and it was intriguing to read.
2.) The Red Signal - This was pretty good, I was fairly surprised by the ending as well.
3.) The Fourth Man - The story within the story was fairly interesting, but the actual short story about the four men on the train I found to be unexciting and the ending didn't really go out with a bang.
4.) S.O.S - This one had me on the edge curious about the ghost and so forth but I found the ending kind of stale.
5.) Where There's A Will - This one was okay but I kind of suspected the ending with the talk of Charles and his fascination with electronic signals and such. Although, I did find it rather funny that her will ended up being burned. What irony.
6.) The Mystery of the Blue Jar - This one was one of my favorites from the book. Who would've guessed this ending! Fabulous...
7.) Sing a Song of Sixpence - This was alright. I didn't find the ending to be particularly exciting, but it wasn't what I expected at least.
8.) The Mystery of the Spanish Shawl - Like the Mystery of the Blue Jar, I did not expect this ending at all. So clever! This one kept my interest and was one of my favorites in the book.
9.) Philomel Cottage - This was a pretty interesting story that kept my intrigued for the most part. The ended of it seemed to be too hinted almost, well at least who Gerald ended up being. It was pretty cool at the very end though what ended up happening to him!
10.) Accident - I wasn't too impressed with this one. It had all the elements there, but it wasn't as mysterious as I generally like in my mysteries.
11.) The Second Gong - I NEVER would have guessed the ending of this one! It kept my interest pretty well and had a very Sherlock Holme's kind of feel. I liked that the ending was unexpected as well.
1.) The Witness for the Prosecution - Excellent! I was surprised by the ending and it was intriguing to read.
2.) The Red Signal - This was pretty good, I was fairly surprised by the ending as well.
3.) The Fourth Man - The story within the story was fairly interesting, but the actual short story about the four men on the train I found to be unexciting and the ending didn't really go out with a bang.
4.) S.O.S - This one had me on the edge curious about the ghost and so forth but I found the ending kind of stale.
5.) Where There's A Will - This one was okay but I kind of suspected the ending with the talk of Charles and his fascination with electronic signals and such. Although, I did find it rather funny that her will ended up being burned. What irony.
6.) The Mystery of the Blue Jar - This one was one of my favorites from the book. Who would've guessed this ending! Fabulous...
7.) Sing a Song of Sixpence - This was alright. I didn't find the ending to be particularly exciting, but it wasn't what I expected at least.
8.) The Mystery of the Spanish Shawl - Like the Mystery of the Blue Jar, I did not expect this ending at all. So clever! This one kept my interest and was one of my favorites in the book.
9.) Philomel Cottage - This was a pretty interesting story that kept my intrigued for the most part. The ended of it seemed to be too hinted almost, well at least who Gerald ended up being. It was pretty cool at the very end though what ended up happening to him!
10.) Accident - I wasn't too impressed with this one. It had all the elements there, but it wasn't as mysterious as I generally like in my mysteries.
11.) The Second Gong - I NEVER would have guessed the ending of this one! It kept my interest pretty well and had a very Sherlock Holme's kind of feel. I liked that the ending was unexpected as well.
dancingbibliophile's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
angrydance'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? No
2.0
missamiew'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? Yes
2.5
seren_s's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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
4.0
rashthedoctor's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
A collection ot excellent short stories written by Agatha Christie, with 2 poirot tales in between
Witness for prosecution πππππ
It's a fascinating tale and you think that you know where this story is headed , until the final act , which absolutely throws curve ball after curve ball and honestly it's just amazing . Morally speaking , it's an unfortunate ending but story wise . Wow!
Accident πππβ
Again , the ending is the point of biggest flex , that said this time around I had managed to guess what was gonna happen in the finale. Also , i found this a bid unrealistic. Overall still a superb story
FOURTH MAN πππ
First of all , this is not how Dissociative identity disorder works. Either way , it felt like a moral dilemma sort of thing
THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE JAR πππβ
At the beginning, i was sceptical , as it looked likely that this story was taking a supernatural turn , however as usual , Christie put me in a false sense of security and sprang the surprise end that i never saw coming .
MR. EASTWOODS ADVENTURE βββ
Now this story was absolutely gripping and tense , however because of the proximity to the story about the mystery of the blue jar and the resemblance of the final act of both the tales , i rate this a bit lower
PHILOMEL COTTAGE ππππβ
This was nearly my favourite tale of the whole book, it was an intriguing plot and when the plot thickened it arrived with ample suspense to keep me on the edge . Alas the ending felt a bit anti climatic for me .
THE RED SIGNAL πππ
This had both the flaw of being predictable and shoving an unhealthy amount of superstition and supernatural element to me as a reader , ergo it was my least favourite story
THE SECOND GONG ππππ
I stand corrected . As it turns out , this is indeed a hercule poirot book . But for the love of me , I can't shake the feeling that i have read a similar hercule poirot tale before . That's the reason this is rated a bit lower
SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE ππ
This was the disappointing one. It was cringey , and predictable and absolutely nothing new
SOS ππ
Way too predictable and at times needlessly lengthy and boring .
WIRELESS πππ
This was also predictable but a very satisfying tale and although a morose plot , I found it quite funny in the end .
POIROT AND THE REGATTA MYSTERY ππ
The set up for this was pretty clichΓ© and the reveal was also very anti climatic. In fact , I'd argue , the whole thing was not even poirot worthy. Meh
Witness for prosecution πππππ
It's a fascinating tale and you think that you know where this story is headed , until the final act , which absolutely throws curve ball after curve ball and honestly it's just amazing . Morally speaking , it's an unfortunate ending but story wise . Wow!
Accident πππβ
Again , the ending is the point of biggest flex , that said this time around I had managed to guess what was gonna happen in the finale. Also , i found this a bid unrealistic. Overall still a superb story
FOURTH MAN πππ
First of all , this is not how Dissociative identity disorder works. Either way , it felt like a moral dilemma sort of thing
THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE JAR πππβ
At the beginning, i was sceptical , as it looked likely that this story was taking a supernatural turn , however as usual , Christie put me in a false sense of security and sprang the surprise end that i never saw coming .
MR. EASTWOODS ADVENTURE βββ
Now this story was absolutely gripping and tense , however because of the proximity to the story about the mystery of the blue jar and the resemblance of the final act of both the tales , i rate this a bit lower
PHILOMEL COTTAGE ππππβ
This was nearly my favourite tale of the whole book, it was an intriguing plot and when the plot thickened it arrived with ample suspense to keep me on the edge . Alas the ending felt a bit anti climatic for me .
THE RED SIGNAL πππ
This had both the flaw of being predictable and shoving an unhealthy amount of superstition and supernatural element to me as a reader , ergo it was my least favourite story
THE SECOND GONG ππππ
I stand corrected . As it turns out , this is indeed a hercule poirot book . But for the love of me , I can't shake the feeling that i have read a similar hercule poirot tale before . That's the reason this is rated a bit lower
SING A SONG OF SIXPENCE ππ
This was the disappointing one. It was cringey , and predictable and absolutely nothing new
SOS ππ
Way too predictable and at times needlessly lengthy and boring .
WIRELESS πππ
This was also predictable but a very satisfying tale and although a morose plot , I found it quite funny in the end .
POIROT AND THE REGATTA MYSTERY ππ
The set up for this was pretty clichΓ© and the reveal was also very anti climatic. In fact , I'd argue , the whole thing was not even poirot worthy. Meh
cxppatee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ascrizzimartina's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
johngeebair's review against another edition
4.0
This is a fine collection of early short stories from Dame Agatha.
ellehartford's review against another edition
4.0
I didn't read any reviews before I began, and did not realize off the bat that this is actually a collection of short stories, not a novella! My copy is pretty old school and doesn't have a table of contents (and the back cover copy is pretty limited, focusing only on the titular story). So I was a little surprised at the pacing and sudden end of the actual "Witness for the Prosecution" story, haha. That said, many of the stories are enjoyable and suspenseful, and it was a nice quick read!