A good read !
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This is an absolute treat for observant Agatha Christie fans as it features four of her superb creations namely Hercule Poirot , Supt Battle , Mrs Oliver and Colonel Race . It is so very clever how it is all solved on the basis of people's bridge playing patterns . Such a pity that the 2006 TV version was spiced up & that the liberties taken in that adaptation sadly stopped it being quite so good . As a novel its dark premise is not too overpowering as there is wry humour . Battle & Race were sadly missed from the TV version and this novel is easy to read while the red herrings keep the reader guessing up untill the end . Agatha Christie sets the scene very well indeed and this novel is a forgotton gem . A great way to make a coach or train journey pass more pleasently !
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A Lot Better Than I Expected
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This book was one of Agatha Christie's books that seemed interesting and different, it could have been great or very bad, it is the former. I wasn't sure about getting it because I do enjoy the whodunnit aspect to A.C's books and there are only four suspects and any of them could have done it ( so there isn't exactly a massive surprise ending or anything ) but for some reason the book is great in a different kind of way to her other books.
In this book, Poirot ( along with three other great detectives ) is invited to a party hosted by mr Shaitana, Shaitana also invites four people he has met in the past and he claims that each of them has commited murder before. After a long game of bridge, mr Shaitana is found dead and so the investigation begins.
Poirot solves this crime out of such clues as all the different guests observational skills, whether they had past crimes or whether that was a mistake, the choice of murder weapon, and a second murder.
This is a aurprisingly excellent book, you will not be dissapointed.BTW, don't read the reviews after mine if you haven't finished the book as 1 of them spoils the ending, I know I said the ending isn't too important in these books but it is still better not to know it.
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keeps you hooked
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real page turner, keeps the suspense going and throws lots of red herrings at you. liked the idea that all the suspects were not quickly eliminated. fast paced easy to follow.
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Who killed the host?
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Although not one of Agatha Christie's very best books, it is still a marvellous murder plot (it is her own fault, she puts the bar so high...). Four possible murderers in a room playing bridge, four of Ms Christie's best detectives (Poirot, Battle, Colonel Race and Mrs Ariadne Oliver) playing in the next room, and the host is found dead by the end of the evening. And the only clues are the bridge scores. Having no idea of how to play bridge, I realised fairly early on that there would be no chance of getting the killer right, but still it was quite a very good reading.
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One of the cleverest Poirot novels
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This is a very unusual Poirot novel in that it has an equal number of suspects and detectives (four in each case). Poirot is invited to dinner by an eccentric acquiantance, Mr Shaitana, who promises to introduce him to four murderers who have got away with their crimes. When Poirot arrives at Mr Shiatana's he finds three other detectives there, enigmatic Superintendant Battle, Colonel Race of the Secret Service, and Mrs Ariadne Oliver, an eccentric writer of detective fiction. The four murderers are elderly widow Mrs Lorrimer, bluff Doctor Roberts, dashing, adventurous Major Despard, and Anne Meredith, a young girl. The two parties, murderers and detectives, settle down to play bridge in separate rooms, and Mr Shiatana sits by the fire in the murderers' room. In the course of the evening he is murdered, but which of the four is responsible? The four detectives set out to solve the crime. As always in Christie's novels there are plenty of humorous touches, one of my favourites is where Superintendant Battle calls for one of the suspects: "I should have kept him to the end" said Mrs Oliver. "in a book, I mean," she added apologetically. "Real life's a bit different" said Battle. "I know" said Mrs Oliver "badly constructed." In the course of the book the detectives find out all the can about the suspects, and learn about the murders they commited earlier (one suspect turns out to be innocent of any murder). There are lots of exciting twists to the plot and you are kept guessing right up until the end. It is apparently possible to find out the identity of the murderer by studying the bridge scores reproduced in the book, if you understand bridge that is. I don't but it doesn't matter, this is an intriguing and clever mystery, definitely one of Mrs Christie's best.
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