Rating: 
Summary: Don't read this review unless you've already read book
Review: Like most people here I was excited to find a "new" Christie. But what a disappointment, from the moment that the fireplace spills were mentioned, I knew that a hidden document was there. Also on pages 49-50....the murderer slips the tablets into the coffee... from that moment on I knew who the murderer was. I understand that this was adapted from the play but this line while importaint to someone acting this part, was unnessary in the novel form. Very dry characters, and no clever batter between Hastings and Poriot. Besides Hastings would not go into the garden with a pretty woman who flattered him, as he was a true blue married man, and Poriot warned him not to leave the room. Sadly I will still read Osborne's next book, "The Unexpected Guest" I hope for so much more.
Rating: 
Summary: Definitely Decaf!
Review: Many of the other reviews already said it, what a waste. They should have kept it a play. After all, I've read "The Mousetrap" and "Witness for the Prosecution" as plays, and enjoyed them. But this was so painfully drawn out. The characters were one-dimensional, Poirot was a cariacture of himself, and I guessed the murderer before anyone even died! I didn't give it one star, because it would probably be better if you've never read any Christie, and didn't know the difference.
Rating:
Summary: Has no real feel of Christie!
Review: My first and biggest complaint was that I had no feeling at all as I read this that Agatha Christie had had any part in this. The characterizations, the dialogue, and the movement just didn't feel like her.My second complaint was that hardly anything had been done to make this a novel. It felt like a play that had just had the stage directions and blocking taken out of it. More should have been done to have given this novel some novelization. Third, this was the only Hercule Poirot novel with Captain Hastings in it where Hastings does not narrate the story, so why did the author even bother with Hastings? Hastings also blatantly eavedrops in the story, and in every other book he's ever been in he's always chastising Poirot for doing the same thing, and is embarrassed that Poirot would do such a thing. A most blatant derailing from standard Christie. My biggest problem was that the story dragged on, seemingly endlessly for such a short book. I had this one pegged early, an unusual circumstance for me in reading a Christie story. Over all, I think Poirot should have been left dead, and this book never written since it did nothing to infuse me with a sense of wonder at his incredible rendering of a murder using his little grey cells.
Rating: 
Summary: not a bad "sequel" but not a top-rate Christie, either
Review: Not bad, but it definitely read like a play (not surprising, as it is based on an Agatha Christie play).
Rating:
Summary: Not worth the money.
Review: Not working very well is a "new" book by Agatha Christie, who died in 1976. Christie actually left two unpublished novels which were published after her death, but this is not one of them. "Black Coffee" is a play written by Agatha Christie which has been adapted as a novel by Charles Osborne, whomever he may be. Whomever he may be, he should have done something else. While "Black Coffee" might be a good play, it is much too thin to be a novel. I knew the murderer before the murder took place, and there was not enough development of character to make the book real. Agatha Christie has sold more books than anyone except for the Bible and Shakespeare. She had only one daughter, and the number of her descendents is small. They've all got to be either incredibly wealthy or incredibly stupid. I don't think there is much excuse for them to allow this travesty to be published.
Rating:
Summary: a disappointment
Review: Osborne didn't even come close to acheiving Christie's style. The dialouge was stilted, and the thought and sentence patterns felt so...wrong. Accordingly, Christie's characters do not ring true here. I have read other works where a living writer has tried to imitate another writer's style, and most of them succeeded on a much higher level than this. I admit, though, that I probably would have enjoyed the book more if I could have stopped myself from subconsciously comparing it to Christie's masterpieces.
Rating: 
Summary: Loved It!
Review: Poirot is back in a play that has been rewritten into a mystery novel. As in past mysteries, Poirot finds plenty of support. This time it's in his valet George, who has a rare ability to press trousers just right, although he has no imagination, Hastings who has returned to England on a visit, and Inspector Japp who shows up later in the mystery. Take a secret formula, an eclectic group of people, one well-trafficked room, a Belgian investigator, his best friend and aid, a Scotland Yard investigator, and you have the makings for one of Agatha Christie's brilliant mysteries. Premier physicist, Sir Claud Amory has decided to create a formula for his company, but he is doing so at home without any protection. Sure enough, the worst happens, and Poirot is the one he turns to. Poirot invites Hastings to join him on the train trip to the country. By the time Poirot and Hastings arrive, a murder has occurred, and no one has any sympathy for the victim, making the circumstances worse for those involved. What starts as a simple case of thievery, ends in murder, lies, and espionage. Author Charles Osborne, who helps with this story, includes a map of the room where the crime takes place. The camaraderie of Poirot, Hastings and Japp is charming. The mystery seems simple at first, then the usual Christie twists and turns lead the reader down another more complicated path or two. Poirot finds the mystery to be far more than a sordid crime - it is a poignant, human drama. I found it to be an enjoyable, traditional British mystery, and highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Completely Shocked!
Review: The mystery was excellent, a classic Agatha Christie plot. A mystery where even the least likely person is suspicious and you really don't have ANY idea whom to suspect. It could be him, or her...or him, but it's probably her, no HER... The only downfall? It's not written in Christie's style. It has some classic Poirot references like "the little gray cells" and what not, but the writing style is obviously not hers. It's more adjectival almost...if that makes sense. But an altogether fantastic mystery.
Rating: 
Summary: Agatha Christie gone Charles Osborne...not bad.
Review: The mystery was excellent, a classic Agatha Christie plot. A mystery where even the least likely person is suspicious and you really don't have ANY idea whom to suspect. It could be him, or her...or him, but it's probably her, no HER... The only downfall? It's not written in Christie's style. It has some classic Poirot references like "the little gray cells" and what not, but the writing style is obviously not hers. It's more adjectival almost...if that makes sense. But an altogether fantastic mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Unfortunately disappointing
Review: There was obviously a reason that Dame Agatha didn't release this play in novel format. It's dull, predictable, redundant and boring. I rushed right out to the bookstore the day it was released, and now I wish I had saved the twenty two bucks! Maybe my hopes were just too high.
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