• Author: Agatha Christie
• Series: Hercule Poirot #4
• Genre: Murder Mystery
• No of pages: 304
• Dates read: 01.04.19 – 04.04.19
• Rating: 4.5 stars
• Challenge: 2019 Sequels

There is not much I can say about this book without giving away Christie’s pure genius. So this won’t be that indepth of a review.

The first thing I would say after reading Sophie Hannah’s interpretation of Poirot, in The Monogram Murders, it makes you understand what it was about Christie’s Poirot that is unmatched and can’t be replicated no matter how hard we try. He is a great balance of knowing he is smarter than everyone else but also being humble about it. Being stern but compassionate. This balance is what makes Poirot great! It was great to dive back into the original Poirot.

I loved how everyone was framed as a suspect leaving the reader rather confused and no closer to who the actual murderer is. This also gets dragged out through a lot of the book so as you see the pages get smaller and smaller and you are reaching the end of the novel you are still wondering who it could be.

I really enjoyed the character Caroline Sheppard. I loved her ability to just gossip and not care about the consequences. While this isn’t a trait I would promote, it was very intriguing to read especially her nonchalance over causing trouble in her village. She is the person we would all be when something shocking happens, trying to know every little detail and discussing it with our friends.

One of the things I would say is that the writing is pretty basic, it was not the most exciting writing I have ever read. Thankfully, the plot makes up for the writing as the plot is incredibly masterful, so Christie can get away with the average writing style.

The next book I will be reviewing will be The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North. This book has been on my TBR list for so long and I am so happy I can finally get to this book.