I wish I could figure these stories out before the end. Sort of. I thought it was, who it was, for a few pages, but then some of the stuff that Poirot said, threw me off. It's all about the psychology of the crime, at least in this case, though coupled with evidence. It's hard to figure out stuff too when so many people are lying.
Appointment with Death is another wonderful and interesting Agatha Christie mystery. I love Hercule Poirot. He's so different. He's unassuming, soft-spoken, but he sees everything. He sits and speaks with all the interested parties, but he doesn't play much of a part in the first part of the novel. The first part of the novel establishes the Boyton family. We are introduced to the victim as she is in life, and the people who surround her. We meet her children, a family friend and the people who are travelling along side them. This part of the novel gives us an idea of motive, but also what might happen as a result of the matriarch's death.
I loved Sarah King. She was the star of the book for me. She was a woman, travelling on her own, who was also a doctor. The other medical person, Gerard, showed her respect, as did everyone else in the camp. Christie definitely wrote some strong, intelligent, formidable female characters. Sarah King did allow her feelings to get in the way. Though she was certain of "anything medical", her feelings definitely influenced her. From her first conversation with Dr. Gerard, I just loved her confidence. 
The ending though, that was a serious surprise. Not just the figuring out of what happened, Poirot going through each member of the assembled party in classic Christie style, but after. The obituary... I won't say anything else, because I don't want to spoil it, but this was Christie at her best. Also, the epilogue was lovely. The reunion was great.
I'm so glad I finally read my fifth Agatha Christie classic. Appointment With Death is everything I wanted to be and I recommend it to any Agatha Christie fan.
This is also #26 on my Classics list. (I'm so behind.)
No comments:
Post a Comment