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A review by rashthedoctor
Black Coffee by Agatha Christie
2.0
Two things I should mention before I write this review,
- The book can be read as the 7th book of the series or as the 46th book of the series
- This book was actually a play written by Agatha Christie , it was later novelized by Charles Osborne .
What I Liked :
If you have read my past reviews of Poirot books , you will know that the absence of one particular character in the book series - Hastings , gives me a lot of joy . Hastings is supposed to be playing the role of Watson (from Sherlock Holmes) to Hercule Poirot , unfortunately he comes across as a idiot and really gets on my nerves.
Hastings however was present in this book and somehow didn't irritate me , the reasons being that the book was partly written by Charles Osborne , or maybe it was because being a play Hastings role itself was very limited.
Talking of being a play , reading the book gives you the sense that the book was creating suspense and drama for a stage audience , but it wasn't such a bad thing , because the whole scene where the plot really kicks off really comes off like a beautiful stage scene and gives the book a sense of grandeur .
The plot itself is really well thought out and the setting is really well set up so as to create a sense of proper whodunnit that not many detective novels do these days .
What I Didn't Like :
If you take this book just on the basis of it's story , it comes as a really good book , but when you read this you realize it's not at all good , the reason being the author .
Coming into an established series like Poirot , readers have certain expectations as to what they are being offered , and obviously the series author knows that and tries to deliver those things first and foremost .However you can tell by reading this book that while Agatha Christie did make the plot , she didn't actually write it .
Osborne does a poor job in creating the atmosphere that most Poirot book create when the revelation is done or when he is doing all the detective work . In fact Osborne's portrayal of Poirot doesn't ring true at all . It feels like a fan-fiction and a poor one at that . The result is that neither is the suspense available , nor is the character intriguing .
The writing itself feels way too rushed and many unnecessary dialogues are present in the book just to make up the page number (I guess) .
Conclusion:
A fantastic mystery plot , but written by Osborne the book doesn't have the charm of Agatha Christie , nor her presentation skill . The book ends up feeling a cheap imitation of Christie's work . I'm not recommending this to be read , or rather I'd say if you want to read it , than do so to satiate your Agatha Christie fandom and only read it when you have finished with the rest of Christie's work , or before you have started any of her work .