Peril at End House

okay, I didn't quite see the end coming for this one

writing these reviews is like shouting in space. but I don't mind. this is just an elaborate journal entry for stuff I have read. these flash reviews help me think about what I have just read and go beyond superficial engagement, or at least that's the hope. this one is mostly me ranting about the way Christie writes her female characters. might have some spoilers, kinda.

I bought this book because the cover looked pretty. I reallyyyy liked the blue, the font and a little yellow at the bottom. So I bought it. Thankfully, the story wasn't too bad either and I had a good time reading it. Another breeze (pre?)murder mystery ft. our fav Belgian fella who is painfully not modest. Sometimes I wonder how Poirot's characters even work out because he often caricaturises himself. Is that suppose to add to his mystic and mad genius aura?

Another burning question is, why does Christie have a general anti-woman stance? Someone let me know, am I reading too much into this? Because so far every book I have read has a massive “women are evil manipulative creatures” vibe to it. And a “good woman” is often a dull, Christian, docile lady who isn't “fun” or “attractive”. Is it a common theme for all her books?

I know a lot of judgements on women are from the men in the book and those dialogues are a product of the time it is set in but must Christie fit all her female characters in pre-decided blocks? Was the common recurring theme of female killers new in her time? Did she want to prove “it's 1920s dammit, women can also kill!”. Why couldn't she have more female characters who are smart, shrewd but also not bitchy gold-diggers?

This approach is a bit annoying for me but I am hoping to find some explanation for this trope. Perhaps the target audience for her books (white upper-class women in the war?) liked to see women kill and that was badass for them? I don't know. I just don't enjoy every thinking, empowered women to be painted as an evil vamp about to get you in every single story.