Closed Casket

Ridiculous plot, badly in need of editing

If this book wasn’t for you, who do you think might enjoy it more?

Don't know, the plot is ludicrous and the story is endlessly repetitive.

What was most disappointing about Sophie Hannah’s story?

The plot. Some of the characterisation is good but they run over the same points again and again ad nauseum. The only thing that makes this a worthwhile purchase is Julian Rhind - Tutt's performance.

What about Julian Rhind-Tutt’s performance did you like?

Everything. His voices and accents are clearly distinguishable and give you an insight into the individuals character and are very appropriate to the story setting.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Intense disappointment, as a Christie fan I think this book is a travesty.

Any additional comments?

One and a quarter hours to reveal the denouement which could have comfortably been completed in 20 minutes.

17 of 17 people found this review helpful

Good but not Christie

Although I enjoyed it, there was too much detail and I kept thinking oh do hurry up. It took a while to get used to the fact that poirot was really not the main character, however I can see why as otherwise it would try to be a copy of Christies which is impossible. If this idea is to repeated cut down the description and padding out. Poirot's books were so good because they were the right length and you could still imagine all the characters

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Not as good The Monogram Murders

In some respects I loved this novel. The narration was superb, the character development wonderful and the 'feel' of the setting, time and Poirotness of the book were so right! It felt ( in so many respects) like something Agatha Christie could have written, expect she hasn't, and if you scratch the surface of this novel, it is obvious that Dame Agatha's fabulous talent is most definitely lacking. The plot was downright silly, the motive weak and frankly laughable. That I could forgive, to be honest, as Agatha Christie plots can stretch motive thinly too, however Agatha's novels are always robust and solid. However, unlike the original Christie masterpieces, the storyline for 'Closed Casket' is full of so many holes it is fragile and quite unstable. It really felt was if it had been painted using broad brush strokes only with little attention to fine detail evident. Agatha's books was solid and robust and always held up to intense scrutinisation, the same can't be said for this poor imitation.

11 of 12 people found this review helpful

A mysterious offer of styles

The narration is excellent - I occasionally found Julian Rhind-Tutt's Poirot a little uncomfortable to listen to when despairing of 'Catchpool' in the last offering. Here he is just that little bit more settled into the character and he distinguishes the other characters from each other with admirable success.

I was intrigued by the mystery, finding myself enjoying the story for most of its length and I was looking forward to the solution which I could not guess at. The style here worked rather well except for the lack of Hastings. Catchpool serves his function in the story but somehow does not manage that likeability of Poirot's original foil. The last quarter takes a bit of a dip, however. Though more successful than 'The Monogram Murders' this story suffers from a similarly drawn out and exasperating denouement. The ending would have benefitted immensely from a bit of pruning - losing the tiresomely detailed catalogue of every wrinkle of the killer's psychology. The major mechanics of the murder are interesting and feel quite faithful in style but there is a truly infuriating moving of goalposts that Christie would surely have felt was just not Cricket. Another minor mystery is also a disappointment and could be excised from the story without losing anything - the reasoning behind its resolution still feeling tenuous even though a character has evidently been given a quirk for the sole purpose of justifying the title.

An enjoyable piece but one that outstays its welcome. That definitely was not Christie's style.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

easy listen

I was in the mood for an old fashioned murder mystery. Must admit next time I'll buy a real Agatha Christie story. Even if I remember who was the culprit. Found this quite a pale imitation. I loved t narration however and will look out for more he narrates.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Poor!

Long drawn out and boring. Hardly surprising as no one can write like Agatha Christie.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Story dragged on way too long

I felt like I kept hearing that same bit of the story again and again.

Love Poirot, love Julian Rt as the narrator.

The story could have ended much sooner, bit of mission to get to the end.

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

So dull!

This book is not an Agatha Christie - that’s for certain! I usually like long books, but this one went on and on with endless detail nobody cared about. The murderer was rather obvious, but the plot itself was downright peculiar and it took oh so long for Poirot to finally solve the case. Not that I can really blame him with how peculiar the motive(s) turned out to be. Most of all though it completely failed to conjure up that charming old England atmosphere. It was just a run-of-the-mill murder mystery and not a good one at that.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

A waste of time

I’m afraid this is a truly turgid, thin and boring story. Even Julian Rhind Tutt’s undoubted reading/voicing skills cannot lift this tale from being over wordy, uninteresting and essentially a waste of time. Simply constructing a ‘Christie-lite’ story with shallow characters, very weak plotting and interminable dialogue that gets nowhere is not a formula for success. Poirot hardly figures in the story either! I thought Hannah’s previous ‘Christie’ book, The Monogram Murders was weak, but this is much worse. I shan’t attempt any more of these very poor attempts to profit from the Agatha Christie heritage.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Boring and flat, not a patch on Agatha Christie

What a long winded and tortuous way to get to a denouement. The characters are one-dimensional and there is so much repetition and unnecessary padding. Julian Rhind-Tutt does great job with the characterisation, even his delivery cannot save this turkey.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful