I love all things Agatha Christie and it's been a few years since I read this one, so I thought it would be interesting to see if I could work out/remember who the murderer was as I read this new version.
I found the concept of this new style interesting. I know several people who will read the end of the book first to see if they think it's worth reading. Personally, I think anyone who does this is a complete Philistine, but apparently it works for them! One of my arguments against this has always been that in this kind of novel, reading the end first, kind of spoils any kind of plot twist. Therefore, placing the final chapter, containing the solution, in a sealed envelope gets around this. However, it does pose one or two potential problems - what if the reader manages to somehow lose the envelope out of the book and - if you are reading on kindle - what if the publisher decides to close down the automatic email delivery system which delivers the final chapter? I had read most of the book on my kindle, but had to read the final chapter on my phone because it was online. I have no way of uniting the two files, so could never read the book on one device alone and would have to be careful not to delete the email with the final chapter attached. Nevertheless, it is an interesting way to deliver a fresh look at an old favourite.
The plot itself is relatively well known, I think, although given how much I love Christie, I may overestimate other people's familiarity with it, but I enjoyed it just as much this time around as the first time I read it. I had a vague recollection of the ending and was able, by the end, to work out once again, who the murderer was. However, that in no way diminished my enjoyment of what has to be one of the best 'locked room' murder mysteries of all time. Christie truly was the queen of her craft. The hardback edition of this looks beautiful and I'm very tempted to add it to my collection of Christie 'pretty' copies.
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