Five of you were speaking the truth, one of you was lying.
The Mousetrap
by Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery
About: A new guesthouse welcomes in its first lodgers. But as the snow settles in, trapping the strangers together, not everyone is who they say they are. When one of them is murdered, it's clear that at least one of them is a murderer.
The Good
The dialogue is brilliant. There is an obvious stage-like quality to it (it is, after all, meant for the stage) but it still reads real and unnerving. The atmosphere in this play is really well done. From the very beginning, there's a sense of doom and unease in the situation. There are so many secrets and little details that make the tension crackle between the pages.
The Bad
This is not my first Agatha Christie and I did guess the murderer so I wasn't too surprised by the ending. That said, I loved how the reveal took place. Everything about it was clever and I liked the full circle moment at the very end. There's something very poignant in how Christie makes her characters all doubt each other but then brings some light in at the end.
The Somewhat Iffy
A couple of characters are a bit coincidental in their actions and one of them disappears all together for the end, but overall, everything came together nicely and it is amazing how much story is told in so few pages.
Overall
A absolute classic. It has a few nice nods to her novels but feels very different from them at the same time. A very atmospheric read and, no doubt, a brilliant play to see performed.
Comments