I'm really disappointed in this. It's the first time an Agatha Christie book had an ending I guessed at once, and the first I really didn't enjoy. 

I didn't enjoy it a lot at first but then I really liked the last half of it. A great read but there are some problematic ideas in it.

my favorite character was Jacqueline and I didn't want her to be the killer so much but I loved the twist. The only problem is (other than fatphobia) however I've seen this twist in Endless Night so I guessed it at one point. I thought she probably didn't do the same thing twice right? Wrong she did it again.

 

This is my second attempt to read an Agatha Christie book.  The first one was a 1-star / DNF affair.  This one will get two stars because I actually finished the book because: (1) I want to be ready for book club discussion and (2) I want to compare it to the adaptation coming out February, 2022.  I'm going to assume that A.C., being a woman of her time and place, is just as racist, sexist, xenophobic and jingoistic in all of her books.  In addition, this book, which is supposedly one of her top 10, is not all that.  I understand that there are books that are plot driven, but the characters in this book are so full of stereotypes and clichés you might hurt yourself with all the eye-rolling.  The murder doesn't even happen until half-way through the book and then we spend the next 150 pages going back and forth with Poirot about about all his different theories.  I guess these theories are supposed to be "plot twists" but after a while I just wanted to scream at Poirot to just get over himself, put us all out of our misery, and tell us whodunnit.  When that finally happens, I was so over this book that the unveiling of the mystery was actually anti-climatic.

trigger warnings: murder, gunshot wound, suicide mention and suicide attempt, fatphobia, racism against Egyptian and Chinese people, racism in general, murder, alcoholism, sexism and misogyny

I spent such a long time sitting there finding clues mapping out suspects and I knew the golden rule of all mysteries and YETTTTT. Next time though next time I will prevail.