Book 14 -- Black Coffee by Agatha Christie

My first repeat author! Fun fact: this is a novelization of a play by the same name, also by Christie.

Context:

An urgent phone call from renowned scientist Sir Claud Amory sends Hercule Poirot packing to London. However, he is too late--upon his arrival, he discovers Sir Claud dead. Who murdered the scientist, and what happened to the formula he was working on?

My Thoughts:

I didn't like this one quite as much as I liked The Body in the Library, but I think that was more personal preference than anything specific.

So, one thing I've noticed with Christie (though I've only read two books) is that her game is introducing lots of minor characters so that you're continually guessing about "who dunnit." While this is a great ploy in terms of mystery writing, sometimes I get confused about who is who and how they know whoever else, especially in this book where several characters had the last name "Amory."

I like that she starts the novel very openly. You feel kind of confused because she tells you up front that Lucia put the poison in the coffee and gives you all of this really important information. You KNOW that it can't possibly that simple, but the facts are right there! This is something I really like about Christie--she challenges her reader to think with the detective. I liked the bit about the formula being hidden in the spills--how creative!

I will say that I don't like Hercule Poirot quite as much as Miss Marple. Poirot feels too much like Generic Brand Sherlock Holmes to me. I liked Miss Marple because she was brilliant, but different from your typical genius detective. Also, I don't think I'm ever going to get over thinking how incredibly stupid people used to be for placing so much of their live's importance on the opinions of others. I don't want to belabor the point; I know that it is historically accurate, I know the reasons why things used to work that way, I just don't like it and never will.

I like that Christie keeps a consistent tone and style, yet still manages to have independent characters. I love her Victorian language and how everything really fits in the historical context, but her characters all have individual personalities, and I really like that about her. It's quite masterful.

My Rating: 3.5/5

I'm still impressed with Agatha Christie and can see why her works have lasted so many years. Though I am not much for mystery novels, her stories always grab me and provide interesting mental puzzles and shocking finales. I'm not much for Sherl--er, Poirot--but I still adore her style and her ability to mislead and confound her audience.