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Post by gemster on Jul 21, 2019 16:20:47 GMT -5
I’m getting this up early as have a busy day tomorrow and don’t want to forget!
What are your initial thoughts on the book - likes, dislikes, any characters that you particularly loved or hated? And what did you think of the man himself Hercule Poirot?
And of course most important - did you guess whodunnit???
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Post by lindarx on Jul 21, 2019 18:11:59 GMT -5
I really liked the book!
I did not figure it out at all. In fact, the person I thought had done it was murdered herself!!
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Post by melbre on Jul 21, 2019 18:34:39 GMT -5
I really liked this one as well. I wasn’t really a fan of Jacqueline, Simon or Miss VanSchuyler. Surprisingly I did guess whodunnit early on, though I doubted myself and suspected maybe another character briefly.
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Post by ermabom on Jul 21, 2019 18:40:19 GMT -5
Let me start with the ‘did you guess whodunnit?’. Sadly I have read this book so many times that I sorta know what happens. However, my memory is that it was a surprise when I first read it.
I adore Mrs. Allerton and Mr. Ferguson. I also was very empathetic towards Rosalie Otterbourne but there isn’t enough of her character for me to really like or dislike her. I didn’t particularly like Tim Allerton. I suspected Joanna Southwood to be up to no good when she wanted to borrow the pearls and I thought she might have substituted them but forgot all about it with the other events happening till the fakes were discovered. I liked both the lawyers to the extent their characters were portrayed - which is not very much.
I really liked Jacqueline. I am not sure what she saw in Simon Doyle. I really didn’t like Linnet Rideway/Doyle. I thought she was very self-centered and really had no empathy for anyone else.
I am a bigger fan of Miss Marple than Hercule Poirot but I enjoy his books because they are sometimes more complicated than the Miss Marple books. He has become like an uncle with idiosyncrasies that grate on one but that one tolerates because one loves the overall man.
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lee058
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Post by lee058 on Jul 21, 2019 19:15:42 GMT -5
I adore Hercule Poirot; I wish I could meet him and talk with him. I particularly liked the way he acted towards Jacqueline in this book, trying to get her to change her life.
I've read this book many times, but even though "whodunit" wasn't a surprise, I noticed more details in the story and character development than previously.
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Post by ccToast on Jul 21, 2019 19:48:14 GMT -5
I liked it very much! Although I suspected the whodunit, they seemed too easy, so I moved on to guessing nearly every other character, as per my usual with AC.
I did correctly guess who stole the pearls. Why keep mentioning Joanna Southward if she didn't have a role to play beyond the first scene?
By the end of the book I really liked Mrs. Allerton although initially I was concerned that she was too doting over her adult son.
I've only read Orient Express and this one with Hercule Poirot, so I'm still at the point where he annoys me more than being fond of him. Perhaps with more familiarity he will grow on me.
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suby
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Post by suby on Jul 21, 2019 21:33:26 GMT -5
I guessed the murderer about 30% in.
I thought it was rather dull and didn't hold up well over time (and I do like Agatha Christie in general)
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Post by roundtoit on Jul 21, 2019 21:55:34 GMT -5
This was my first time reading DOTN. I had my list of suspects, but Jacqueline and Simon were tops the whole time. Just couldn’t figure how they’d managed it. I felt sorry for Rosalee but not her mother until The secret drinking was revealed.
I did not Linnet at all. In fact, it was hard to like any of them.
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Post by bernelli on Jul 21, 2019 23:36:26 GMT -5
I enjoyed the book very much. One of the things that I enjoyed about it was that the actual murder(s) seemed to take place later in the story than I expected. I liked getting to know so many of the characters to the extent we did before the suspicions set in. I haven't read a lot of AC, and for me, it seemed Poroit's character was explained more than the other stories I've read...so I felt like I was finally getting to know something about his sassy, hoity-toity little self. I think he's funny because he knows he's arrogant and conceited and loves that about himself. ---I reserve the right to change my mind about him as I read more AC though... but this was the first time I really had a sense of his character. I KIND OF guessed one of the murder situations: I suspected that Jackie and Simon were in cahoots to get Linnet's money...but I couldn't work out HOW so I wasn't sure. BUT, I suspect myself of either seeing a movie or even perhaps having read the play when I was a teen? Or something. So I'm not sure my suspicions come to be innocently. Ha!
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Post by gemster on Jul 22, 2019 3:53:26 GMT -5
I'm the same as ermabom it's so long since I first read the book I can't remember if I guessed whodunnit or not, I think if I'd been reading for the first time I'd have probably suspected Pennington. It is a while since I read DOTN and I must admit it's not my favourite AC, I don't think any of the supporting characters are that well developed and I didn't feel particularly strongly about any of them, though Mrs Allerton and Cornelia were my favourites. I like Col. Race too but that's mainly because I've read other books/watched TV adaptations where he has quite a big role, he was a bit bland in this one. I loved HP of course but then I always do agreed bernelli I think part of his charm is that he is arrogant and conceited but knows it and takes the piss out of himself.
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sal
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Post by sal on Jul 22, 2019 4:06:28 GMT -5
I read this back in high school, but it was fuzzy. I did realize pretty much right off who had done it, but enjoyed the unraveling of exactly how it was pulled off.
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Post by peacemama on Jul 22, 2019 4:51:05 GMT -5
I couldn't even figure out who would fall victim, let alone the murderer. I'm definitely no Hercule Poirot.
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Post by gosabres60 on Jul 22, 2019 5:09:28 GMT -5
This was my first ever AC read. I didn’t develop any real feel on HP but enjoyed the development of each character. I did guess the whodunnit just couldn’t figure out the how.
I’m not sure I would jump to reading another AC. I just felt ‘meh’ about it.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 22, 2019 5:33:23 GMT -5
I forgot there were so many characters in this book. I did enjoy getting to know them all again. Except Jacqueline, she irritates me no end. Waste of a life the way she’s besotted with Simon and I forgot Poirot wasn’t successful in getting her to see sense.
I’m fond of this book, partly because of the narrative and also partly because I think I’ve seen every DOTN adaptation out there. I’ve also been on the Nile and took the book with me for light reading. The people on our boat could have been right out of the book. I remember one particularly overbearing mother and her daughter who invited a “young man” to dine at their table. lol
Poirot, the man himself, I’ve always adored for his arrogance and idiosyncrasies. I think I’ve said this before but in another book he says, “I don’t approve of murder” - sums up his character for me, and I agree with him!
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allie
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Post by allie on Jul 22, 2019 6:36:16 GMT -5
I liked the book in the beginning, but then I felt like it started to drag on and I wasn’t as enthralled.
I thought Jacqueline was involved but I hadn’t guessed Simon was.
This is on the second AC book I’ve read (the other was Ten Little Indians). I’m thinking that maybe she just isn’t for me, which is ok.
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Post by leftylou on Jul 22, 2019 7:58:22 GMT -5
I started to suspect Simon and Jackie after they got so cozy again post-Linnet.
My least favorite character was Mrs Van Schuyler. She seemed to have no redeeming qualities and I couldn’t stand the way she treated Cornelia. Cornelia surprised me with her choice at the end.
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Post by lindarx on Jul 22, 2019 8:15:30 GMT -5
I really thought that Rosalie's mother was the murderer because of the hints that Linnet's father had ruined many people's fortunes.
Of course, then SHE was murdered; so, there went that one.
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Post by ermabom on Jul 22, 2019 9:07:34 GMT -5
I am trying to recollect a book in which HP's character is developed but I can't remember. There are so many that I think one develops it over time by reading a number of them. This book has some parts that have held up well - the way tourists are swarmed by sellers, the whole Nile cruise thing. But many other parts haven't, especially relationships, the whole colonial thing, etc.
In general, I find her books have not aged well. But that might be because she writes about social classes that don't exist any more in the way they did. Her peripheral characters are very much of their time. You would find mothers/sons or mothers/daughters traveling together but not living together any more. We met a mother/son Italian pair when we were in the Galapagos last year.
I really thing we ought to do 4:50 from Paddington next time. I just reread it recently and it is both a great mystery and has held up better because the focus is more on the characters.
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Post by bumblebuzz21 on Jul 22, 2019 9:48:23 GMT -5
This is the second time I've listened to it on Audible. Does anyone know if it is an abridged version? Just curious based off of some of the comments above. HP's personality cracks me up. Sooooo arrogant!
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Post by leftylou on Jul 22, 2019 10:01:35 GMT -5
I agree with @ermabon. I don’t think I’ve read many HP books; I need to look for 4:50.
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sal
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Post by sal on Jul 22, 2019 10:06:04 GMT -5
Nearly all of the truly irritating people in this one ended up either dead or hauled off to jail (or possibly scared straight, in the case of Allerton). So that was nice.
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Post by honeybzzzs on Jul 22, 2019 10:10:01 GMT -5
I liked this one. I was surprised that I was more then halfway through and no one had died yet. And then the flurry of deaths at the end. I never try to guess “who dunnit”. I prefer to just go along for the ride and see how it all pans out.
I don’t think books need to age well. I enjoy books from other eras and enjoy peeking in on how life was “back then”. Someday, people will be reading books written today and be thinking the same thing.
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Post by leftylou on Jul 22, 2019 10:23:33 GMT -5
I was also surprised at how long it was before the first murder. But they they were dropping like dominos, lol
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Post by balancedlife on Jul 22, 2019 10:48:27 GMT -5
I couldn't even figure out who would fall victim, let alone the murderer. This. When it was all laid out, I found it to be soooo convoluted. There was no possible way that I could have actually figured out step by step who did what, so all I could do was guess. That kind of irritates me. A number of times, I wanted Racer to grab HP by his immaculate lapels and scream, "Just tell me who did it, you smug, mustachioed little fop of a man!" And what's the deal with sudden marriage proposals? These people barely met, for heaven's sake! I don't mind the occasional Miss Marple, but I think that HP is just not my cup of tea.
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maryenne
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Post by maryenne on Jul 22, 2019 12:02:04 GMT -5
I finished it a couple of weeks ago and have read two books since, so my memory is a little fuzzy. I did find the sheer number of characters confusing. I don't usually try to figure out "whodunit", but I am always trying to figure out red herrings. There were a lot in this book.
David Suchet's portrayal of Hercule Poirot was excellent, but I like a recent televised version of Murder on the Orient Express that has Kenneth Branagh directing and playing the role of HP. He wasn't as swishy as Suchet.
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