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alleelei's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Fatphobia
sylvanbird's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
Wow. Heard this wasn’t good but I’ve liked some of the mysteries others didn’t like. But this was horrible. Ridiculous plot. Slight mystery of who the woman is revealed super soon, and an attempt to continue the mystery falls flat. Attempt at tension over youth movement taking over the world just not interesting. Horribly offensive discussions around Hitler, with the characters way too sympathetic to him. Nearly DNF but I wanted to get through the Christie oeuvre.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, and Antisemitism
bloomingpear's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Racism and Classism
Minor: Drug abuse, Antisemitism, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
trekkifulshay's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-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
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Racism and Antisemitism
janemarple's review against another edition
medium-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? No
1.0
This book is an absolute hot mess. I will start by saying that every negative review on this book is accurate. If I were not working on reading the entire Christie bibliography, I would not have picked this up. Let me assure you, unless you are also reading the complete works of Christie, you should not read this. It is truly awful.
In her recent biography of Christie, Lucy Worsley advances a theory that the author may have been suffering from dementia during this late phase of her life. That makes a lot of sense given how disjointed, disorganized, confusing, and poorly written this book is.
It attempts to be a spy thriller but fails to generate any tension or excitement. She also spends a lot of the book essentially telling young people to get off her lawn, commenting at length on the youth movement for social and racial justice in the late 1960s.
The book is oddly structured, and the story never really takes off. The ending is so implausible and sudden, it’s like she just decided to end it and tacked on a “solution” that comes out of left field but not in a good way. It’s several hours of my life I will never get back.
In her recent biography of Christie, Lucy Worsley advances a theory that the author may have been suffering from dementia during this late phase of her life. That makes a lot of sense given how disjointed, disorganized, confusing, and poorly written this book is.
It attempts to be a spy thriller but fails to generate any tension or excitement. She also spends a lot of the book essentially telling young people to get off her lawn, commenting at length on the youth movement for social and racial justice in the late 1960s.
The book is oddly structured, and the story never really takes off. The ending is so implausible and sudden, it’s like she just decided to end it and tacked on a “solution” that comes out of left field but not in a good way. It’s several hours of my life I will never get back.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
midwifekt's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
0.25
This is Agatha Christie in her weirdest "clash of the civilizations" mode. It's a spy novel, not a mystery, and gets into some weird post-WWII conspiracy/fascism/anti-modern-movements stuff, and has some real terrible fatphobia. She seems terrified of young people and the modern age. She equates a fictional re-emerging fascist movement in Europe with Che Guevera and followers in Central America and the Civil Rights movement in the USA, which made me both 1) baffled and 2) grossed out.
It is also just a poorly written book, I'm pretty sure the happy ending is supposed to involve the reader approving of scientists permanently altering people's personalities but,I don't know, maybe that means that the bad guys won. I can't tell because it was all poorly written and very confusing.
Then there's a wedding, or rather the moments just before a wedding, because it's Agatha Christie.
And the main guy brings the not-actually-Hitler's-son actor back to his elderly aunt as an organist, even though he still has a *swastika branded on his foot.* Like... like a cat leaving a mouse on your pillow. "Here, I got you a pretend fascist heir!" Wut.
There is one well-written very classic-Christie bit with an older military man and him grumbling about getting his clothes brushed that made me laugh. Best part of the book.
It is also just a poorly written book,
Then there's a wedding, or rather the moments just before a wedding, because it's Agatha Christie.
And the main guy brings the not-actually-Hitler's-son actor back to his elderly aunt as an organist, even though he still has a *swastika branded on his foot.* Like... like a cat leaving a mouse on your pillow. "Here, I got you a pretend fascist heir!" Wut.
There is one well-written very classic-Christie bit with an older military man and him grumbling about getting his clothes brushed that made me laugh. Best part of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
mrkdk's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming and Fatphobia
Moderate: Misogyny and Xenophobia
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Drug use, and Antisemitism