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A review by blewballoon
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This is my first Agatha Christie book. I should have expected it due to the age of the writing, but the casual racism kept surprising me.
I also think my experience suffered a bit from the "Seinfeld is Unfunny" phenomenon where I've read so many mysteries that are inspired by and derivative of Agatha Christie that reading the original ends up feeling a bit unoriginal.
I felt that the writing was a bit too repetitive and held the reader's hand too much in the first half and then jumped too quickly in the second half to keep the reader from figuring the mysteries out themselves. I can see though how it would be more satisfying as a re-read (or re-watch as a film) once you know the reveals and can see how the clues were there all along.
The writing felt like it would easily translate to a film script, it's mostly dialogue and essentially stage directions of how characters are moving about and reacting to things.
The perspective is third person and not limited to Poirot himself, which I thought was interesting.
I also think my experience suffered a bit from the "Seinfeld is Unfunny" phenomenon where I've read so many mysteries that are inspired by and derivative of Agatha Christie that reading the original ends up feeling a bit unoriginal.
I felt that the writing was a bit too repetitive and held the reader's hand too much in the first half and then jumped too quickly in the second half to keep the reader from figuring the mysteries out themselves. I can see though how it would be more satisfying as a re-read (or re-watch as a film) once you know the reveals and can see how the clues were there all along.
The writing felt like it would easily translate to a film script, it's mostly dialogue and essentially stage directions of how characters are moving about and reacting to things.
The perspective is third person and not limited to Poirot himself, which I thought was interesting.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism