A lot of fun. Hercule Poirot is a delightful protagonist, and Agatha Christie really knew how to wind up a mystery in a most satisfying manner. ( )

Another entertaining Poirot – I found it absolutely fascinating to read, especially by the way that Poirot deducts the murderer by asking questions about what they remembered of the room that evening and how their bridge game went. I have seen the TV film of this one but it didn’t ruin it for me at all. Agatha Christie has a great way with words, and makes the story seem so alive and kept me engaged the whole way through. I got halfway and couldn’t put it down!

Mrs Oliver, the author, was great fun to read, too, which didn’t let the book get too ‘heavy.’ But just as you think you know who the murderer is, there’s a great twist at the end! I also liked how my copy had copies of their bridge cards, that Poirot talks about throughout the story; I don’t understand card games at all but I thought it was a nice touch. It made the story seem a lot more ‘real.’ ( )

"I would rank this book above "The Big Four" but is does not compare favourably with "Murder is Easy" of "Sad Cypres" or the really grat Christie novels "Nemesis" and "A Pocket Full of Rye", I was glad to see the Oxalic Acid (Hat Paint) got a mention, and it was interesting to have Superintendent Battle and Ariadne Oliver in the same novel. It was fun to read but needed more space. I felt it was a little rushed, but it was a clever novel. Out of ten I'd give it 6

Really, I didn't think this was very good. It's too pleased with its set-up, but the set-up itself is problematic. The premise -- that the host invites four people he believes to be murderers, and four "detectives" to dinner, and is himself murdered -- ends up driving the plot implausibly. For instance, "Superintendent Battle" winds up leading an investigation in which he himself is a major witness! Shouldn't someone who wasn't at least a witness, and at the outside a suspect, have been called in and in charge? Likewise, if a man had just been murdered next to me and a woman who happened to be less of a suspect than me was present while I was being interviewed by the inspector on the grounds that she was a mystery novelist, I'd personally have had a fit. The "what fun" aspect of the precious premise just played really senseless to me in terms of how real people would react in such a situation.

My least favorite Christie so far.

I thought I had this figured out early, but I was wrong! I listened to this (a "radio play" version, really), and I find the BBC productions of Christie's books to be quite charming. If you need something to pass a couple of hours, I recommend them. This is the first Poirot I've listened to, and I think I prefer Miss Marple -- Poirot's accent takes some getting used to. ( )