Reviews

The Monogram Murders, by Sophie Hannah

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rlse's review against another edition

3.0

Not bad for authorized fan fiction. It went a little overboard on plot switchbacks,but that's the fun of it. Always a Poirot fan!

melli80's review against another edition

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4.0

The book was really enjoyable but.. there were times when I was like really why is this important to the mystery

erica_lynn_huberty's review against another edition

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3.0

A very good story, multiple plot-twists… but perhaps the most surprising is a true Christie-like feel, to such an extent that I did not at all mind that Agatha Christie herself did not write “The Monogram Murders.” Normally, I don’t like gimmicky premises for books (zombies, back-stories, riding on coattails of classic literary giants, etc.), but occasionally a real gem surfaces and this is one (“Ahab’s Wife” was by far the best of these, a true literary stand-alone). In the hands of a solidly good contemporary writer who knows from whence she writes, I would not mind several Sophie Hannah takes on the singular detective Poirot. Readers should not expect a line-for-line copy of Christie’s work; the grammar alone is so different and contemporary to that of Christie’s, as well as the lack of play-like pages of dialogue Christie was known for. But what they might easily relax into is the authentic “notion” of Hercule Poirot, particularly in the form of David Suchet’s famous rendition in the television series. This is not unpleasant at all, and made for cozy but gripping reading.

tobyyy's review against another edition

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1.0

DNF. I just couldn’t. Catchpool was literally the worst secondary character to have and also the worst to have narrate the story. He was inept and a coward... someone who left three dead bodies overnight, without examining the crime scene, because he was too scared and squeamish to inspect them. WTF??! How did you get your job, then, sir?? And he keeps shying away from Poirot giving him information/details about the three almost-identical murders, because he is, again, too squeamish. It’s not even as though the murders were particularly grisly. God. SO ANNOYING.

The rest of what I read was okay, but it also just felt off. Well into Uncanny Valley, where it’s extremely similar to how Christie wrote but just not quite there.

Ugh. I’d probably have persevered but for Catchpool. I just can’t handle such an urealistic, unredeemable, and downright ANNOYING narrator.

spicywine's review against another edition

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1.0

Catchpool’s an idiot. Poirot had more patience than I did!

k5tog's review against another edition

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3.0

Hercule Poirot is back - albeit under a different author’s pen. Poor, hapless Inspector Catchpool is left struggling to match his “little grey cells” with Poirot’s as they try to solve the mystery of 3 murders at the Bloxham Hotel that appear to,occur almost simultaneously. Poirot suspects much right away, while Catchpool grapples with uneasiness at being around dead bodies (rather odd for an inspector...).

It’s hard to recreate a character that someone else did such a good job creating in the first place. Some things seemed pretty well done; others not so much. Yet, overall it was a fun read.
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