Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine
Save Your Time And Money
| AnyBook4Less.com | Order from a Major Online Bookstore |
|
| Home | Store List | FAQ | Contact Us | | ||
| Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money |
||
 |
Title: Black Coffee by Agatha Christie, Charles Osborne ISBN: 0-312-97007-2 Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks Pub. Date: 15 September, 1999 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 2.92 (50 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Agatha Christie's dead
Comment: Like a personal friend, our favorite authors have a voice we instinctively identify. We continue to read their books because we want to hear that voice again. Sadly, many of the voices we love are gone forever, and that includes Agatha Christie's. I found Black Coffee made me sad; it contained all the elements of a Christie -- the people, the place, the puzzle -- but it just wasn't right. I found myself mentally correcting the narrative to make it more "Christie-ish," the way I remember her.
I won't read The Unexpected Guest, just as I didn't continue to read Robert Goldsborough's game imitation of the Nero Wolfe books by Rex Stout. Rex's voice, too, is gone forever.
Whether or not you'll enjoy this book depends on what you read a book for. If you find yourself reading phrases over a second time, savoring the way the author used precisely the right words to speak right to you, you won't like this book. If you like a neat little puzzle, especially in the lightweight style of the drawing-room mysteries of the '30s and '40s, Black Coffee will satisfy you, though like others, I did wonder why the author chose to focus in on the murderer's hand at that crucial moment. Mrs. Christie would be appalled.
Rating: 3
Summary: Adaptation of an Agatha Christie play
Comment: Charles Osborne writes the novel "Black Coffee" as an adaptation of Agatha Christie's original play. This is a typical Hercule Poirot mystery with Poirot being called to the home of Sir Claud Amory, a scientist who suspects that someone in his household is trying to steal his secret formula. Poirot arrives just after Sir Claud is poisoned. He knows that the killer had to be someone in the room so he begins his investiation of the the four family members and two others who might be involved. The usual red herrings are thrown out before Poirot reveals the real culprit. This is an average Christie story and doesn't contain any of the clever twists that distinguish her best work.
Rating: 4
Summary: A great Christie audiobook!
Comment: This is a great Christie story and the final Poirot tale (despite the fact that it obviously takes place before "Curtain" it was published afterward). Despite the fact that it was originally a play and is therefore limited in location (most of it takes place in one room), it still comes across as good. The major complaint I have is that the murderer is revealed in the first cassette by telling what they do. On the stage as this was originally intended to be presented, the action would have been subtle amongst the other things happening on stage at the time and most folks probably would have missed it, but presented as this audiobook the action is trumpeted loudly and the rest of the time you're just waiting for the ending to come. The cat and mouse game Poirot plays with the killer is good and I can just imagine the theatre-goers holding their breath at that final exchange, but the rest of the book just doesn't cut it. Still, if you keep in mind that it was originally intended for the stage (and I think Ms. Christie would have omitted that telling detail if SHE had written it as a book) you can see where it would have been a smash hit.
 |
Title: Unexpected Guest by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0312975120 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 15 September, 2000 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: Spider's Web by Agatha Christie, Charles Osborne ISBN: 0312979509 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 13 August, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
 |
Title: Appointment With Death: A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie, Jayne Pliner ISBN: 0425108589 Publisher: Berkley Pub Group Pub. Date: 08 May, 2001 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0312979487 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 17 September, 2001 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
 |
Title: Destination Unknown by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0312981686 Publisher: St. Martin's Press Pub. Date: 13 October, 2002 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
Thank you for visiting www.AnyBook4Less.com and enjoy your savings!
Copyright� 2001-2021 Send your comments
