Scan barcode
octavia_cade's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
It's really a good thing I am not a detective. I was fairly sure that the obvious antagonist could not be the villain, simply because it seemed too easy: Christie was actively presenting him as the murderer, albeit a sympathetic murderer due to mental disturbance, one who didn't really know what he was doing, but she's never that obvious. It would have been an entirely new departure for her. (An interesting departure, no doubt, as Cust was so confused and so unwell that he was quite unlike her usual culprits.) And yet, suspecting that he was innocent, I had no idea who wasn't. I forgot, I'm ashamed to say, to suspect anyone else at all.
Instead, I was quietly marveling over the character work here. It seems to have taken a substantial step up from the Christie books I've read previously - from Hastings worrying about his thinning hair to Megan Barnard and her rather awful honesty... I was so impressed by it that I genuinely forgot to try and figure out whodunnit. That was a surprise. With Christie, it always is.
Instead, I was quietly marveling over the character work here. It seems to have taken a substantial step up from the Christie books I've read previously - from Hastings worrying about his thinning hair to Megan Barnard and her rather awful honesty... I was so impressed by it that I genuinely forgot to try and figure out whodunnit. That was a surprise. With Christie, it always is.
beingfacetious's review against another edition
Every time I finish an Agatha Christie book, I feel like Lucille Bluth with Gene Parmesan. "Aaahhhhh you got me again!!!!!"
triptisoni's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
amandal_33's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
mrsbooknerd's review against another edition
3.0
I would say that The ABC Murders has been one of my favourite Christie novels. It was compelling from the off and I was drawn into the plot and writing style easily.
The ending too was compulsive, a sudden burst of progression and unravelling culminating in a classic Poirot reveal.
The rating lowered for me in the middle where there was little progression and even the Great Poirot seemed stumped. There was a lot of speaking but few of the conversations held any point. It was just words, as one character said. Filler. Stalling the powder keg ending.
The ending too was compulsive, a sudden burst of progression and unravelling culminating in a classic Poirot reveal.
The rating lowered for me in the middle where there was little progression and even the Great Poirot seemed stumped. There was a lot of speaking but few of the conversations held any point. It was just words, as one character said. Filler. Stalling the powder keg ending.
dragonofbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25