Third Girl - Classic Mystery Review

 Goodreads: Third Girl by Agatha Christie

Rating: Liked It
Source: Purchased

Description:  Poirot is approached by a girl who shared a flat with two other girls in London. She is convinced she is a murderer. With rumours of weapons and blood stains and no hard evidence can Poirot determine whether she's guilty, innocent or mad?

Genre: Mystery - Classic

Why I Picked This Book:  Agatha Christie is one of my absolute favorite authors and I like to reread her books periodically.

My Impression: This book was published in 1966 which puts it essentially at the beginning of my least favorite Agatha Christie period.  Whether it was the style she was experimenting with or the fact that by this point she had already written at least 70 books and was getting a bit tired of it her plots become much less tightly wound.  This was an entertaining read with a thoroughly unlikable and yet strangely pitiful murder suspect and a question if the murder victim actually exists.  The investigation is beautifully conducted by Poirot with a very able assist from Ariadne Oliver.  Any book that features Mrs. Oliver is automatically a winner and she takes a pretty front and center role in this mystery which is a delight.  It's a fun short read that goes pretty quickly.  There are two main issues with the book in my opinion.  The first is that this book is pretty forgettable.  I've read it probably half a dozen times and each time I find that the details didn't stick and pretty much as soon as I put the book down they're gone again.  My second issue is the ending was super rushed.  Everything comes out and is tied up in the last 20 pages or so.  It feels a bit like she was writing a longer book and was then told she had to keep it under 200 pages so she dumped everything in the last little bit.  This is still a good read but definitely not Christie's best.

Would I Read More of this Series/Author?  I will always read more Agatha Christie!  

Would I Recommend this Book?  I will always recommend Christie but this probably isn't the book I'd start with.  Her earlier books - especially those written in the 30s, 40s, and 50s - are much stronger.