Title: Appointment with Death
Author: Agatha Christie
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 266
Rating: 3/5
This one was a little bit of a disappointment, and it’s the first Agatha Christie novel that I’ve read for a while that I haven’t particularly enjoyed. I think part of the reason for that is the pacing. The first half of the book was dedicated to the setup, despite the fact that it’s pretty clear who’s going to die.
It’s also hard to care too much about the murder victim because she’s deliberately written as an unpleasant old hag. In fact, the ending of the book is a cliché too – once the murderer has been revealed, they commit suicide, and then a newspaper report is printed saying that it was an accidental death because the gun went off by accident while they were cleaning it. It feels like that happens surprisingly often, and I get kind of annoyed when Poirot et. al just allow the truth of the case to be swept under the carpet.
Still, there are also some redeeming features, and even a less enjoyable Agatha Christie novel is better than most other books. I just don’t think this is one that I’d come back to and re-read in a hurry when there are so many other great Agatha Christie books on the market. If you’re looking for somewhere to start, I’d suggest And Then There Were None or Death on the Nile. Although I did at least like the archaeological elements of this story, It just didn’t grip me.
