The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I can’t imagine there are many mystery authors out there who haven’t read every single Agatha Christie novel. She was (and to my mind remains) the gold standard of the locked room mystery. In fact, I had read all of Dame Agatha’s novels by the time I was in my mid-20s, including those written by her under the pen name of Mary Westmacott. In short, I’m an unabashed fan (okay, maybe I didn’t LOVE her Tommy and Tuppence mysteries so much, but I adored Poirot and Miss Marple — who didn’t?) I recently read Murder on the Orient Express again (after the dismal movie remake with Johnny Depp et al) and was surprised at how well it stood up. Kudos to Christie.
All that is the preamble to The Monogram Murders by Sophie Hannah. To be honest, I expected the worst. Happily, I didn’t get it and so, the 3-star rating is as much of a testament to that as to anything else. For while Ms. Hannah’s Poirot is no match for Ms. Christie’s, she does manage to capture the essence of the great Belgium detective. As for his sidekick in this novel, Detective Catchpool is as good a sounding board as Captain Arthur Hastings before him, though at some times, a wee bit too dimwitted to be entirely believable.
That brings us to the rating: this book started off as a solid 4. Midway through, it started to level off to a 3, and by the somewhat convoluted end, neared the dreaded 2-star mark. Even Agatha, at her most red-herringed best, would be left shaking her head as if to say, “really? that’s where you’ve decided to go? Because there are some missing herrings (and that’s just not fair play).
Which brings me to the rating: I’m torn between a 2 and a 3, but because I mostly enjoyed the first three-quarters, and because Hannah is a decent writer with a good turn of phrase, I’m going with a 3. That said, if you’re looking for Classic Christie, you won’t find it here. You will, however, find a book “in the style of Agatha Christie,” albeit with flaws.
Read it and decide for yourself. There are worse ways to spend a few hours.
GOODREADS RATING SYSTEM:
5: It was amazing
4: really liked it
3: liked it
2: It was okay
1: didn’t like it
Judy, I agree right down the line with your assessment and think 3 stars is right for this book. I haven’t read nearly as much Christie as you have, but still we arrive at the same place for much the same reasons. It is a shame really because had Sophie Hannah’s ending been less convoluted and monstrous, this book could’ve won a solid 4 stars from me. She is a talented and spritely writer, after all.
I felt the say way, Kay. I would say, read more Christie — she holds up after all these years.
I tried. I really tried to like this one. I figured, well, let’s give her a fair chance.
And I persisted. But at some point just before the middle, I had to just let it go.
There are too many other books on my TBR pile. Piles. Shelves. Hold list at the library.
Susan, I understand. I’ve bailed on a few books with the “life is too short” reasoning. I certainly won’t seek another of her books — Christie or not — so, that’s telling in itself, I suppose.