Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie is a reread for me. I read this mystery novel decades ago while I was either in high school or college. I went through an Agatha Christie reading spell during that time period and read many of her novels or short stories.
I remember reading Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie back in the day and being quite fond of it at the time. So when I rediscovered Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie at a local Little Free Library earlier this year, I looked forward to rereading it once again.
Although it was fun to reread Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie again (I've always liked Hecule Poirot as a character), sadly I must admit that I didn't enjoy it as much the second time around.
I felt like Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie was a bit on the slow side for the most part. It didn't pick up until the final few remaining chapters left of the novel. I also felt like some of the personalities of a few of the characters were a bit off (or dated???), like that of Judith Hastings, Captain Hastings's adult daughter. Judith is in her 20s, but I felt like Judith was too independent/defensive and wouldn't even hear of anything her father would say to her out of concern. She'd be rude and tell him off saying he had no right to say anything to her about his concerns. Plus, there was a discussion among a few of the characters in one scene that seemed to touch on the premise of eugenics, which felt kind of odd to read.
Captain Hastings seemed rather daft throughout Curtain: Poirot's Last Case. For someone who'd been working with Hercule Poirot for so many years, I would have thought he'd been able to pick up on clues a lot better than he did during Curtain: Poirot's Last Case. Instead, Captain Hastings doesn't figure much of anything out at all. It isn't until he reads Hercule Poirot's manuscript/postscript at the end of the novel that he finally understands everything.
I have pros and cons with Hercule Poirot's manuscript/postscript that is left for Captain Hastings at the end of Curtain: Poirot's Last Case. The Pros for me are that we see the complexity of the novel and how things actually panned out. I also thought it was cool that Poirot's first and last case should be at Styles... However, it wasn't the ending I would have expected for this novel. In many ways, I felt like Agatha Christie's ending for Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie is pure genius... In other ways, I felt like it was a cop out to readers to have the novel's ending have to be explained to the readers through a written manuscript/postscript from Hercule Poirot to Captain Hastings. Not sure at this point in time how I feel about the ending of Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie. I think it will take some time to sort out just how I feel about Curtain: Poirot's Last Case's ending.
The following is a plot summary for Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie from Amazon:
The Queen of Mystery has come to Harper Collins! Agatha Christie, the acknowledged mistress of suspense—creator of indomitable sleuth Miss Marple, meticulous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, and so many other unforgettable characters—brings her entire oeuvre of ingenious whodunits, locked room mysteries, and perplexing puzzles to Harper Paperbacks. The legendary detective saves his best for last as he races to apprehend a five-time` killer before the final curtain descends in Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case.
Do you reread books? Does your view of a book change over time??
I am giving Curtain: Poirot's Last Case by Agatha Christie a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.
Until my next post, happy reading!
I listened to the unabridged audio version of The Alice Network by Kate Quinn and narrated by Saskia Maarleveld.
Listening time for The Alice Network by Kate Quinn is 15 hours, 6 minutes.
I am a fan of historical fiction novels, so I eagerly downloaded The Alice Network by Kate Quinn and began listening to this novel.
I was hoping that The Alice Network by Kate Quinn was going to be an excellent read, especially with all the wonderful ratings of it I discovered on Amazon's website. However, I felt that the The Alice Network overall was a slow read the first half to two-thirds of it before it picked up the pace.
I also enjoyed listening to Saskia Maarleveld narrate The Alice Network by Kate Quinn.
I enjoyed the premise of The Alice Network along with chapters alternating between the viewpoints of the two leading female characters, Charlie St. Clair and Eve Gardiner. Each chapter weaves the past and present until the time line converges into the current time line set in the novel. I did find the story line for The Alice Network to be a bit predictable for the most part. But there were a few surprises, which was pleasant to discover. A couple of the scenes seemed far fetched, but I'll chalk it up to creative license.
I found it a tad annoying that the discussion/reference of girls being easy/sluts if they slept around and became pregnant prior to marriage in various parts of the novel early on because it seemed to be brought up a quite a few times. Fine make the point that this how people felt during this time period, but move on! Instead, the topic seemed to surface during the first half (roughly) of the novel. I also disliked that Charlie kept repeatedly referring to her pregnancy as her 'little problem' throughout the early part of the novel... Again, I found it really annoying to keep hearing this phrase a lot during (roughly) the first half of the novel.
The Alice Network by Kate Quinn is overall a decent read. By the end of The Alice Network, I did like it, but it was not a novel I loved. It wouldn't be a novel that I would highly recommend.
The following is a plot summary for The Alice Network by Kate Quinn from Amazon:
In an enthralling new historical novel from national best-selling author Kate Quinn, two women - a female spy recruited to the real-life Alice Network in France during World War I and an unconventional American socialite searching for her cousin in 1947 - are brought together in a mesmerizing story of courage and redemption.
It's 1947. In the chaotic aftermath of World War II, American college girl Charlie St. Clair is pregnant, unmarried, and on the verge of being thrown out of her very proper family. She's also nursing a desperate hope that her beloved cousin Rose, who disappeared in Nazi-occupied France during the war, might still be alive. So when Charlie's parents banish her to Europe to have her "little problem" taken care of, Charlie breaks free and heads to London, determined to find out what happened to the cousin she loves like a sister.
It's 1915. A year into the Great War, Eve Gardiner burns to join the fight against the Germans and unexpectedly gets her chance when she's recruited to work as a spy. Sent into enemy-occupied France, she's trained by the mesmerizing Lili, the "Queen of Spies", who manages a vast network of secret agents right under the enemy's nose.
Thirty years later, haunted by the betrayal that ultimately tore apart the Alice Network, Eve spends her days drunk and secluded in her crumbling London house. Until a young American barges in uttering a name Eve hasn't heard in decades and launches them both on a mission to find the truth...no matter where it leads.
I am giving The Alice Network by Kate Quinn a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.
Until my next post, happy reading!!
