Sad Cypress

A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: David Suchet

Length: 6 hrs and 1 min

Publisher's summary

Beautiful young Elinor Carlisle stood serenely in the dock, accused of the murder of Mary Gerrard, her rival in love. The evidence was damning: only Elinor had the motive, the opportunity, and the means to administer the fatal poison.

Yet, inside the hostile courtroom, only one man still presumed Elinor was innocent until proven guilty: Hercule Poirot was all that stood between Elinor and the gallows.

©1940 Agatha Christie Limited (P)1993 Chivers Press Ltd

Excellent narration

Good book that I enjoyed listening to. Not one of Christie's best, but still entertaining.

Excellent

I have always liked Sad Cypress as a novel. It is very different from a lot of the other Agatha Christie novels featuring the master sleuth Hecule Poirot.

David Suchet is phenomenal as always!

Really loved it all! One of her stories that fell through the cracks for me when I was younger and I’m glad I finally got around to it.

It isn’t a negative or slight against the narrator, but occasionally he trailed off the ending of the words or read very quietly for dramatic effect. This made it hard to listen to at times while driving the car or doing something busily like washing dishes. Listening to it in a quiet environment would have been better at those times, but otherwise a fantastic listen. Recommended!

Such a nice summer listen

LOVED David Suchet's performance. One of my favorites, even though Poirot is not featured as much as usual.

Almost perfect!

A++ story and A+ overall… just be aware that this reading has a wide volume range, so is not good for listening at low to medium-low volumes :)

good read but annoying volume changes

I liked everything about it but the narrator's voice becomes so low and mumbling when reading one key character that I had to keep changing the volume to listen...I could not leave it on the louder setting because it became too loud for comfort the rest of the time.

Another delightful David Suchet reading

Although not my favorite Poirot novel, I still really enjoy this story: the method of murder is clever, and the there's a lot going on, but not too much. However, and I hate to say it, but the TV adaptation is better (please don't shoot me). David Suchet as the narrator is of course fantastic as we can hear the real Poirot again. Additionally, Mr. Suchet does a great job with voices, including women's voices, which must be difficult for a man with a fairly deep voice. Bravo!

Wonderful book & superb narration!

Agatha Christie never disappoints & David Suchet’s reading of Sad Cypress is the only way to hear it! David Suchet is Hercule Poirot & his distinctly different voices for each character, including the narration in his own voice, make the book come to life & easy to follow. The beautiful, unique subtleties between the female characters & each of the male ones showcase Mr. Suchet’s talent. This is a beautifully written book that I highly recommend & will definitely be listening to more than once.

Strange Plot Twists

If you could sum up Sad Cypress in three words, what would they be?

Suspenseful, perflexing, frustrating

What was one of the most memorable moments of Sad Cypress?

When Piriot came forward with a rather complicated explanation of how the murder was committed.

Have you listened to any of David Suchet’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Dave Suchet does an excellent job in bring Christie's characters to life. He did an excellent job this him and I'd rate this performance up to his usual standards.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

It's a book that moves rather slowly, I definitely would not say I was on the edge of my seat at all times--but the plot unfurles like a flower blossom opening until it is fully in bloom.

Any additional comments?

I enjoyed this book a great deal, but I don't think it's one of the best Piroit Mysteries. It is unusual in that it has rather long court scenes, which is different in a Christie mystery. The ending was rather complicated and I actually had to listen to it twice to fully understand the relationships of the people involved and why the crime was commited. The herione falls to pieces in the end, she was not particularly sympathetic or empowered, she kind of let events overtake her in the name of unrequited love. By contrast the young woman in Christie's Sparkling Cyanide seemed to have it more together and the ending of that story easier to grasp. Die hard Christie fans won't want to miss this book, but if the listener is only an occasional Christie listener there are other books she wrote that are much better.

wonderful

I was never sure who the murderer was even to the last few moments. Very well written.