Paint-by-Numbers – DaneCobain.com

Agatha Christie – They Do it With Mirrors | Review

Title: They Do it With Mirrors

Author: Agatha Christie

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 288

Rating: 3.5/5

Agatha Christie – They Do it with Mirrors

This wasn’t Christie’s strongest novel, unfortunately, but it was still okay. I always say that Christie at her worst is better than most people at their best, and this book is the book which proves that. It’s fine, an adequate little murder mystery, but it just didn’t have the magic of some of her other books.

I’m not saying that because this is a Miss Marple book, either. In fact, I think I prefer Marple to Poirot, and the old pussy herself is in fine form here. I also liked the setting (it takes place in a “mental asylum“), but I thought it was almost wasted and that the characters weren’t so great. At the same time, I think she could have easily overdone it if she wasn’t careful.

Don’t get me wrong, if you’re a cozy mystery fan or if you’ve read and enjoyed Christie’s books before then you’re going to enjoy this one too. It just feels a little more like a paint by numbers than an original creation, and perhaps that’s just because Christie’s style has been so widely imitated. I think the only reason that I was a little disappointed here was that my hopes were so high because of my favourable experiences of Christie in the past.

Ultimately, then, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend starting with this one, but if you’re reading the Marple books in order then I also wouldn’t skip it. As for me, I’m a completionist, so I was always going to read it. And despite my lukewarm review, I’m still glad I picked it up.

Agatha Christie

Click here to buy They Do it With Mirrors.

Paula Hawkins – The Girl on the Train | Review

Title: The Girl on the Train

Author: Paula Hawkins

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 416

Rating: 3*/5

Paula Hawkins – The Girl on the Train

First off, I appreciate that I’m late to the party. People have been raving about The Girl on the Train for the last couple of years, and there’s even a movie out starring Emily Blunt – whoever that is. I haven’t seen the movie, and I’ve only just read the book. It didn’t live up to the hype.

Oh, sure – it was a competently written thriller, and it did have an interesting take on how a story should be told. And it was a professional quality release. It’s just that expectations were high and it failed to deliver.

The narrative is effectively told in the form of three written diaries, which follow the stories of three different women, and it often jumps backwards and forwards through time. Each of the characters are fundamentally unlikable, and so as a result of that, I found myself not really caring what happened to them. For the first half of the book, I found it difficult to tell who was who.

Paula Hawkins

I’d also heard a lot about the twist at the end, but even that was an anti-climax. That’s probably because I figured out what had happened and so it wasn’t much of a twist – it was just the plot continuing and rolling towards its inevitable end. Then there was Rachel, the alcoholic, who felt like too much of a cliche. Alcoholics are easy to write, because they’re predictable – and the influence of the alcohol on the plot was too predictable, too formulaic.

Still, it was a decent enough thriller, even if it did feel paint-by-numbers. I can see why it might appeal to people, but I also feel as though it would only be hailed as a masterpiece by people who only read a half dozen books per year. It just didn’t feel revolutionary, and that was disappointing.

Overall, I wouldn’t go out of my way to recommend this one, but if you’ve seen the movie and enjoyed it – or if you’ve heard so much about the book that you’re determined to read it – then feel free to give it a go. And it does have its plus sides – it’s entertaining enough, and it won’t take you too long to read it.

I read the bulk of it on the train home. I was the boy on the train reading The Girl on the Train.