Reviews with content warning for Infidelity - The Monogram Murders

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The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah

7 reviews

kloughlin's review against another edition

funny mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

This just missed the mark on a Hercule Poirot mystery. Sophie Hannah did a good job writing the beloved character but I found myself jarred out of the story by an uncharacteristic remark from Poirot here and there. The book was longer and the pace was slower (there were still two hours left in the audiobook when Poirot began his reveal) than Agatha Christie novels usually are.

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jennifersmind's review against another edition

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funny 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

2.75

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adelita18's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

This was a very hard plot to follow. Like other reviewers, I was intrigued by the "Agatha Christie" signature all over the cover and missed the true author credit in much smaller font below. While Ms. Hannah did a great job of capturing the overall ambience of a Poirot-period book and some of his nuances there were things that just dragged the potential enjoyment out of the book.

Although this is ostensibly a Poirot story, there are multiple chapters in which he does not appear in the middle of the book - you just follow Edward Catchpool and his bumbling investigation away from Poirot.
The general plot itself was intriguing and had the flavor of an Agatha Christie mystery at the outset. Then about a third of the way through the book, it seemed like the options for resolution became unwieldy and got out of hand for Ms. Hannah. The plot really slowed down and became convoluted. By the time I got to the denouement, I felt overwhelmed by the presentation of the evidence. I kept wondering "Is this over yet?"
There were too many minor witnesses and junk evidence they brought in to the story. Not only did it unnecessarily muddy the waters, it led to a very unsatisfying epilogue to resolve why that was junk evidence.
Catchpool is a hard character to walk with through the story. He has a very difficult personality - self-critical, snippy, easily manipulated, jealous, and whiny. It is no wonder why Ms. Hannah wrote Poirot as barky toward Catchpool throughout the story. I mentally shouted at him myself.

That being said - I did enjoy the narration by Julian Rhind-Tutt. Honestly, that's the reason I stuck with the audiobook - I found his vocal acting very engaging. His Poirot sounded a lot like David Suchet and I loved that.

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norwegianforestreader's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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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

3.0

I've had this for years but have always been a bit reluctant to read it because I knew it wouldn't be as good as Christie's own novels. I got over that and I'm glad I've finally read it, but I also had quite a few reservations.
The plot felt very convoluted and it was the type of mystery where as a reader you aren't really given enough clues to formulate any of your own theories. I also prefer a mystery where there's a clear circle of suspects to consider but that wasn't the case here.
Another flaw for me was Catchpool, Poirot's bumbling detective sidekick, who seemed so clueless that it just became a little irritating. I imagine Hannah intended him to play the Hastings role but I didn't find it that effective.
I don't think I'll be going out of my way to read the rest of Hannah's Poirot stories but I still have about 40 of Christie's books to read anyway.

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readerette's review against another edition

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challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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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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.

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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