Gregor

A good explanation of Ross Ulbricht's story. The author's writing style of vividly setting the scene and using direct quotation helps to keep the pace up but can make chapters feel disingenuous at times. One thing that the author failed to mention is that Ulbricht was never sentenced to do with hits or alleged hits, so he was sentenced to life in prison for non-violent crimes.

A change in style from previous Poirot adventures, but not a good one in my eyes. This book feels very disjointed, which is not a surprise when you discover that it was originally twelve distinct short stories that were later cobbled together to form one novel. The grander scale is an interesting change of pace, and Poirot's fallibility is appreciated, but that is not enough to warrant a high rating for a novel that even Christie herself thought was poor.

A good read for gaining perspective on the modern Western diet. Whilst I do not agree with all of the author's suggestions, such as including alcohol in your diet, most of the advice is good, common sense which is sorely lacking in today's landscape.

This novelisation was my first experience of Black Coffee, having never read or seen the original play by Agatha Christie. The tone is spot on throughout, however the plot itself felt middling compared to earlier Poirot stories. A strong ending is enough to lift this whodunnit a little higher in my estimation but it is not a top-tier Poirot mystery for me.

A stellar beginning and ending held back only by a stalling middle. This book took me a long time to finish due to losing momentum in the middle and getting caught up in other books so the fact it is still getting 4.5 stars from me is testament to the highs that this novel reaches. The author continues to excel in detailing fight scenes, which is handy because these 800 pages are full of them! The use of Mustang's narration was a pleasant surprise and resulted in some of the most thought-provoking chapters. The ending sets up the next entry in the series perfectly and I will certainly be coming back for more.