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fiddler76's review against another edition
3.0
So the new Hercule Poirot mystery! I definitely went into this book expecting to be dissapointed, and I wasn't too far off the mark. This book could have easily been about 70 pages shorter, which would really have made it the same size as most of the revered Dame Agatha's books, but Sophie Hannah, for some reason, felt she had more to say.
Another surprise is that the only character from the original Poirot books that comes back to life here, is Poirot himself. No Inspector Japp at Scotland Yard, no Miss Lemon - Poirot's super efficient secretary who is present in all his England based cases, and most of all, no Captain Hastings. This seems odd, as a new Poirot seems a bit empty without bringing these characters back as well. The excuse provided is that Poirot wants to be away from his own apartment, sort of in hiding, and so he decides to lodge in another apartment which is within sight of his own. Sorry, but that just doesn't sound right.
Then there is the stand-in for Hastings, Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard. Though Hannah has tried to re-create Catchpool to be a Hastings-like foil for Poirot, this raises more questions than provides answers. How is it that a Scotland Yard detective is so nervous at the sight of death, and so dim-witted most of the time. The description of the 'horrible' deaths is a bit misleading, as much as Catchpool may try to convince us of the horror. In Dame Agatha's world, these murders may have been horrible, but there needed to be an update here to match the world we live in. There were many more grisly crimes in the original books, and i felt Catchpool (and Hannah) just went a bit over the top.
Besides these faults, there are some inconsistencies in the plot, and some of the motivations didnt feel right. But this is a fairly rapid read and, once you get past the initial few hiccups, it keeps you interested. But what this book did most of all, was to make me want to go back and re-read all Dame Agatha's originals! They are so much cleverer and actually feel much less outdated than Sophie Hannah's brand new book!
Another surprise is that the only character from the original Poirot books that comes back to life here, is Poirot himself. No Inspector Japp at Scotland Yard, no Miss Lemon - Poirot's super efficient secretary who is present in all his England based cases, and most of all, no Captain Hastings. This seems odd, as a new Poirot seems a bit empty without bringing these characters back as well. The excuse provided is that Poirot wants to be away from his own apartment, sort of in hiding, and so he decides to lodge in another apartment which is within sight of his own. Sorry, but that just doesn't sound right.
Then there is the stand-in for Hastings, Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard. Though Hannah has tried to re-create Catchpool to be a Hastings-like foil for Poirot, this raises more questions than provides answers. How is it that a Scotland Yard detective is so nervous at the sight of death, and so dim-witted most of the time. The description of the 'horrible' deaths is a bit misleading, as much as Catchpool may try to convince us of the horror. In Dame Agatha's world, these murders may have been horrible, but there needed to be an update here to match the world we live in. There were many more grisly crimes in the original books, and i felt Catchpool (and Hannah) just went a bit over the top.
Besides these faults, there are some inconsistencies in the plot, and some of the motivations didnt feel right. But this is a fairly rapid read and, once you get past the initial few hiccups, it keeps you interested. But what this book did most of all, was to make me want to go back and re-read all Dame Agatha's originals! They are so much cleverer and actually feel much less outdated than Sophie Hannah's brand new book!
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Murder
Moderate: Infidelity and Blood
Minor: Animal death
krista_reads_it_all's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
jennifersmind's review against another edition
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Animal death
hannah_stebbings's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
celiapowell's review against another edition
4.0
I am kind of amused by the very intensely negative reviews of this book by Agatha Christie fans. I mean, I consider myself an Agatha Christie fan on the basis of having read an awful lot of Agatha Christie and having enjoyed it, but I clearly have a long way to go. Anyway, I thought this was good! It had a good Christie vibe, and I thought Hannah's depiction of Poirot was really very excellent. The dialogue made me chuckle several times. I do understand the criticisms directed at Catchpool, the "narrator sidekick" character introduced for this story, whose internal monologue can be a bit repetitively tedious at times, but it didn't bother me all that much. The mystery wasn't bad, but honestly what I mostly enjoyed about this was admiring Hannah's efforts at placing Poirot in an original story.
shrutishankar's review against another edition
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? No
4.5
caroline2499's review against another edition
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0