Sad Cypress: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition (Hercule Poirot Mysteries, 20) Paperback – August 30, 2011

Full of suspense. Author delivered an unexpected end. My first Christie book. Will read many more in the future. Kept me guessing throughout the book

I love all of the Poirot books. I have not found a bad one yet. I wish Agatha Christie was still alive and writing stories. Enough said!

The Hercule Poirot collection by Agatha Christie is a masterclass in mystery writing, filled with clever plots and unforgettable characters. Each book keeps you guessing until the very end, showcasing Christie's genius for suspense and intricate storytelling. A must-read for any mystery lover, this series is timeless and endlessly entertaining! Gorgeous imagery.

The book is a fascinating Hercule Poirot mystery that has a quote about sad cypress from Shakespeare ( because cypress was used to make coffins). The whole story with all the different characters and their different motivations is very interesting and sometimes melancholy. It is one of Agatha Christie 's best mysteries.

First time I can say I figured out who did it prior to the reveal!! Oh, what a great writer!! On to the next book.

As an avid reader of Poirot novels, I have to say that this is one of my least favorite: The book is rather slow building, and we don't see a lot of Poirot until at least the 2nd half of the book. Furthermore, the characters are not so intriguing or enticing, compared to characters of typical Poirot novel. I would have wish for more humour.. and more of Poirot. The denouement is also rather disappointing (rare for Christie), as Poirot is here very understated and ... well that is enough for this review as I don't want to put any spoilers! Having said that, it is worth to mention that this is an inferior book by A.CHRISTIE standards, which means that it is still HEAD AND SHOULDER above your typical current mistery novel (plot complexity and surprise effect at the end are still there, and you still get a bit of typical Christies and Poirot humour and special touch).NOTE: this book was adapted in the Suchet TV serie of Poirot: in the TV serie there is an added part in the end, which is NOT in the book, and which is actually an intersting addition (.. again I don't want to spoil , so I leave my comment as that).

Starts and ends with a court case, which makes for an unusual structure, and perhaps one misses Poirot's usual theatrical performance in the final revelation, but it works very well and demonstrates AC's versatility.Solution is a bit far fetched, but it is surprising and hangs together nevertheless. Re-reading the book after a few years, I found that while I had a dim memory of the solution, I had actually forgotten most of it, for a while suspected the wrong culprit, and found the resolution almost as surprising as upon the first reading.

I like Agatha Christie books and ones that had Hercule Poirot as the investigator in particular, but this one was not as entertaining as some of the others I have read. Hercule is not in the book as as much as he was in other novels, the focus was on the accused person and the events leading up to the murder. It was an OK novel but not the best representation of work by the author or of the character of Hercule Poirot.