I'm not going to give you a synopsis of the book, you can get that anywhere and it doesn't belong in a book review at Amazon. This is an actual review.
That said, I really enjoyed this one. Is it old fashioned? Sure. Does that make it boring? Absolutely not. In fact, it makes it all the more interesting. Like all of her books, it's a window into the past. Before modern day forensics there were actual brains that solved crimes. Imagine that!
The murder takes place within the first few pages, which is not always the case with Christie books. Most of the time it takes a while before we get there (e.g., Death on the Nile). The pace is near perfect; it doesn't move too fast, nor too slow. Books with too fast a pace become confusing and too slow a pace puts readers to sleep. This one is just enough that you can digest what is going on without being overwhelmed. Speaking of which, though there are a number of characters each are introduced in such a way that you can absorb who they are without it being shoved in your face. Some books worry too much about details all the way down to their life history. Not for Christie, she gets right to the point.
As for the mystery part itself, the ending isn't the typical predictable kind (I can't think of any Christie novels that are). I think most will be fully surprised. It's also worth noting that it isn't cheesy either. Or at least, I don't think so.
One thing worth noting, Miss Marple isn't in the book much. This is a surprise to me. I expected her to be the main character, but she was not. She is credited with the mystery, as well she should be, but if you're a fan of hers, be prepared to not see her as often as you would expect.
All in all this is an exceptional book! I highly recommend it to anyone who likes film noir in addition to the obvious, that being other mystery type books.
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Reviews with images
Kindle Edition has garbage characters sprinkled throughout.
This is not a review of the content of the book, which seems like a reasonably good Miss Marple book. Unfortunately, the Kindle edition has many garbage characters sprinkled throughout the text in place of apostrophes and other punctuation, and it makes the text pretty unreadable. I have reported the issue and I hope the publisher cleans up the eBook so that I can finish this cozy mystery.
Top reviews from other countries
Shweta Sharan
Incredible book with a nail-biting finish!
Reviewed in India on November 28, 2022