Delightful, love these later Poirots with Ariadne Oliver.

Moram da priznam da se meni Agatin stil pisanja dopada. Već sam pročitao jednu knjigu, ova je druga. I siguran sam da neću stati na njoj. Jednostavno, žena je veoma dobra u pisanju krimi romana i nije čudo što je među najprodavanijima.

Ono što moram da napomenem u ovoj knjizi jeste da je meni ipak malo bila dosadnjikava do polovine. Zapravo, možda je problem bio što nisam ni imao previše vremena pa knjigu umesto za dva dana pročitao sam za četiri seckajući je tako na po 60-70 strana. I onda ne stignem pošteno ni da se unesem u knjigu. Naravno, poslednih 100-ak stranica su najuzbudljivije i čitaju se bez daha jer nas sve zanima šta se to zapravo desilo.

Oko mogućeg zločina se isplela čitava mreža mogućnosti i sve su nekako povezane ali opet ne toliko jako i sve može biti a i ne mora. To je ono što glavnog junaka, Poaroa, najviše i nervira (nerviralo je i mene). I sve se čini da je uzaludno i da nema rešenja tog problema, da uzalud tumara u mraku. Naravno, Poaro će na kraju shvatiti šta se zaista desilo i razmrsiti klupko.

Za razliku od prethodne pročitanje Agatine knjige, ako izuzmem Poaroa i gospođu Oliver, ostali likovi mi nisu previše zanimljivi i onda su mi neke scene malo bile dosadnjikave. Čekao sam taj kraj i uzbuđenje. Ne mogu da kažem da knjiga nije uzbudljiva, ali falilo mi je nešto i zbog toga ocena nije najveća. Sve u svemu, nisam obeshrabren što se njenih knjiga tiče i jedva čekam sledeću priliku da čitam o nekom novom slučaju Herkula Poaroa.

I really liked this one; I found myself thinking about it when I couldn't read it. I liked the addition of Ariadne Oliver, and I loved being inside of Poirot's thought process.

I didn't see the ending coming again. How can I figure it out in random books but when I'm on the 38th of the same author I can't get it? I wish Agatha Christie was immortal and still writing.

Christie is nothing if not versatile in the style and structure of the various Poirot novels, it's like she's trying out new ways to tell the story with each novel.

This time around Poirot is involved from the very start, but very exceptionally he actually has to look very hard to even find a murder to solve and we are exposed to a rare insight into Poirots inner dialogue, including a good deal of insecurity and doubt.

In these latter novels, Poirots biggest challenge is boredom and the growing fear of being to old to solve murders, his hunt for challenging cases and the way he forces himself into the investigation is a big part of this novel.

We also get a very rare team effort between Poirot and Ariane Oliver (Christies alter ego), who's also part of the whole investigation.

The story is set in the wild sixties a decade Christie clearly viewed with some reservations, which gives place to quite a few remarks about the maladjusted (and mostly criminal) youths, that seems rather prejudiced today.

Page turner di awal2 tapi trus bosaaan.. setipe Halloween Party tapi twistnya krg greget

I know I've read this before, because it was on a list I found of books I read in 1977. But it's safe to say I didn't remember it. This time I listened to the Hugh Fraser audio version, and he is terrific. The story is a good puzzle, but being set in the 60's, the atmosphere was a bit lacking for me.

While unlike any other Agatha Christie mystery I've read, I really enjoyed this one and was shocked that for once I actually figured it out. Yes, that's right, I figured out an Agatha Christie mystery. Often I come close, sometimes I have the motive or the murderer right, or I eliminate most of the red herrings, but this one I actually solved without any big surprises at the end.

However, while I'm incredibly proud (can you tell?), I'm also a little disappointed. I solved it? What happened, Agatha? Why didn't you stump me even a little?

And though I did enjoy the fun little jabs at The Peacock and Mrs. Oliver, I wasn't as much a fan of the '60s youth focus. I also wasn't thrilled with the last couple pages--they felt a bit sudden. Overall, though, an interesting story with plenty of clues and counter clues and counter counter clues to keep any Agatha Christie fan guessing.