Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Monogram Murders

I don't think I can recommend this over Agatha Christie's direct works. It's not bad, and it has all the elements of a Poirot story the dame wrote herself, but it seemed to me that the drama of this one came not enough from Poirot's discoveries and keeping the reader in the dark, and too much from the other characters, particularly during the reveal.

Christie has a flair for the dramatic but I think is story went just a tad overboard.

She also often has a standout or surprising character involved in the crime and none of these characters really surprised me. The character development was typical of a Christie mystery but lacked a bit of punch.

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atamano's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-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

2.5

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lilybuddy's review against another edition

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challenging funny 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? No

3.5

I'm not sure what to think. I know it's not Christie's writing herself, and I can't explain why, but it's noticeable. Up until the big reveal I was engaged and during the reveal I was completely lost. Usually, the reveals click into place for me, but now it didn't. It was a bit farfetched (ikr) and seemed even impossible.

Other than that, I also disliked Poirot more than I usually do. Though he seemed willing to learn, at the end, he was rude and snobbish, even derogatory towards Catchpool, more than he usually is towards his sidekicks. All because he was "teaching". But maybe I'm misremembering.

The story in itself was highly entertaining and impressively put together, so it's definitely not all bad! A worthy attempt to honour Agatha Christie's legacy!

Also Catchpool is gay and no one can convince me otherwise.

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iffygeneia's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective 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

3.25

This is a pretty decent detective story, and I would have given it a slightly higher rating were it not for the inevitable comparison to Agatha Christie's own Poirot novels.

Hannah's novel, and her version of Poirot, lacks all of the subtlety Christie had. Christie's novels generally have very clear and straightforward motives, making for a big 'aha'-moment as everything clicks into place during the big reveal.

Spoiler

This book, however, has very muddy and seemingly fluctuating motives for the murders. And it's all very convoluted and far-fetched on a level Christie rarely stooped to.

Hannah's Poirot has all of his peculiarities enhanced up to 11, making him unlikeable at times. He lacks the magnanimous gallantry of Christie's version.
Detective Catchpool, the main character, is a likeable if somewhat generic detective. None of the other characters really became clear to me, partly because of the convoluted plot.

All that said, I did like it. It had the feel of a good Midsomer Murders episode, which I liked. It just didn't quite work as a Poirot novel.

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