Rating: 
Summary: A well-written and classic Agatha Christie
Review: "Appointment with Death" definitely was different than any other Poirot mystery I have read but it was definitely a good read. The exotic location and superb developement of the characters made the book enjoyable and engaging. Certainly worth your while, especially if you are a Poirot fanatic.
Rating: 
Summary: A fair-to-good Christie novel...
Review: "Appointment with Death" is full of shocks as Agatha Christie's books usually are, but is nowhere near as interesting as "Death On The Nile" or even "Evil Under The Sun". For "Appointment with Death", I would recommend renting the video (starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot, featuring Lauren Bacall & Sir John Gielgud, Director: Michael Winner 1988) which, strangely, has more shocks than the book! Not at all bad, but not to be read before the thrills of the Nile river and the Orient Express trip.
Rating: 
Summary: The murder of a loathsome person
Review: "You see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?"Hercule Poirot overhears those words as he travels. They are spoken by a young man named Raymond Boynton to his sister Carol. "She" is their stepmother, a hideous old woman with a talent for mental sadism. She keeps her stepchildren (and natural daughter, who is a schizophrenic) dangling like puppets, doing whatever she says. Lennox, the oldest, has retreated into mute uncaring, and his wife is threatening to leave him. Raymond has fallen in love with the beautiful Sarah King, and lovely young Jinny is beginning to go over the edge. Then Mrs. Boynton is killed. And Hercule Poirot must unravel not who would kill her, but who WOULDN'T kill her. This is one of those mysteries where the murdered person is so loathsome that even if you don't approve of the murder, you DO cheer when it happens. The plot is tight and complex, the characters are excellent, and the ending will surprise, shock, and satisfy you.
Rating:
Summary: Enjoyable read
Review: Although i agree with the other reviewers that this Christie is different from the others I still found it very enjoyable. For some reason i could not put this one down!
Rating:
Summary: Classic Christie
Review: APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH is a perfect example of Agatha Christie's work; exotic locale, cast of interesting and varied characters, and, of course, MURDER. There are other Christie books that are more exciting or more clever than this, but she is in top form here. Characterizations have a bit more psychological depth here than in her other books; the monstrous mother and the near-psychotic daughter, in particular, stand out as memorable creations. Read the book and the play; Christie adapted the novel for the stage herself, and made two changes: she removed Poirot, and changed the identity of the murderer. Typical of Christie, both versions of the story work equally well.
Rating:
Summary: One of Poirot's most interesting detections
Review: Appointment With Death, is probably my personal favourite from all the Poirot mysteries. The atmosphere to the story is claustrophobic and stifling, and the setting of Jerusalem and the red city of Petra is just perfect for a murder mystery. (As are all her books set in the middle east) I first read this book four years ago, and even when i came to re-read it, the vile character of Mrs Boynton was still very much fresh and real in my mind. She is, in my opinion, one of the most memorable characters ever written. (By Agatha Christie or anyone else.) As with all the best Poirot stories ("Cat Among the Pigeons", for example) the detective does not really appear until later on in the book. This way we get more aquainted the characters, and when Poirot takes centre stage, it is more dramatic. Rather like him beeing the dark stranger who sweeps in, solves the puzzle, catches the killer, and them leaves once more. Much more mysterious and enigmatic. Sarah King is great, wonderful company to lead us into the first 100 pages, until the death. Th puzzle is simple, yet one of Agatha Christie's best. It is tightly constructed, with, as ever, brilliantly accurate psychology. The solution is very unexpected. It may not have an astounding solution like And Then there were None, or Murder On the Orient Express, but it does have one that is very realistic, and that you COULD guess, but never will. One of my very favourite Poirot novels, for the strength of its plot, the brilliance of it's psychology, and its solution.
Rating: 
Summary: This book is missing something.
Review: As a reader of many Poirot books this one seems some what dull. Unlike many of Christie book this case had almost no pychological aspects to it. The solution reminds me to much of Encyclopeida Brown. Also the marriage thing at the end was very pathetic. This is not the Agatha Christie I know and love.
Rating:
Summary: A QUESTION OF MORALS...
Review: As in some of her books, Christie explores the issue of moral standards. Is it okay to kill someone if they are truly evil and oppress everyone around them? This is the case in a slightly unusual and intriguing book. Who would be so desperate to kill their mother and grandmother? The question stays at the center of the book as you realize each family member had ample motive. After all, the grandmother that was murdered controlled her relatives while slowly choking the life away... You will find yourself questioning the situation and wondering what you would do if you had to do something...as either the oppressed--or as the law. Christie takes this book beyond frivolous murder and into a perhaps even controversial set of events. It is worth reading as her efforts to produce an above-average mystery are apparent.
Rating:
Summary: Can't Poirot EVER get some time off?
Review: Hercule Poirot has decided to take a vacation to the Middle East. One his first night in Jerusalem he overhears a bit of conversation - "You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?" He assumes that he has heard two people collaborating on a book or play, smiles to himself as he muses that crime seems to follow him everywhere. Of course the conversation comes back to haunt him as he again crosses paths with the speakers. This is another of Christie's dysfunctional families, this time the problem parent is the mother instead of her usual tyrannical father. The Boynton family consists of Mrs. Boynton, grossly overweight, in poor health and whose chief occupation is to torment her family. She has three adult step children, Lennox (married to Nadine), Raymond and Carol and her own daughter, Ginevra. While on an excursion to Petra Mrs. Boynton dies leaving the question of natural causes or murder as the cause. If it is murder was it committed by one of the family or another member of the group? Poirot is consulted by a local offical to sort out the mess which of course he does but not without suffering the hardships of the desert - so hard on patent leather shoes! This 1937 novel is one of Christie's 'psychological' mysteries where much time is spent on motive and character development. The result is that by the end of the novel the reader feels personally acquainted with many of the characters. Also this is set in the Middle East where Christie spent much time herself and gives the novel an insight on the area and travel in those times. It is an excellent mystery, all clues are fairly laid out for the reader to sort out and still quite enjoyable and challenging nearly 70 years later.
Rating:
Summary: Can't Poirot EVER get some time off?
Review: Hercule Poirot has decided to take a vacation to the Middle East. One his first night in Jerusalem he overhears a bit of conversation - "You do see, don't you, that she's got to be killed?" He assumes that he has heard two people collaborating on a book or play, smiles to himself as he muses that crime seems to follow him everywhere. Of course the conversation comes back to haunt him as he again crosses paths with the speakers. This is another of Christie's dysfunctional families, this time the problem parent is the mother instead of her usual tyrannical father. The Boynton family consists of Mrs. Boynton, grossly overweight, in poor health and whose chief occupation is to torment her family. She has three adult step children, Lennox (married to Nadine), Raymond and Carol and her own daughter, Ginevra. While on an excursion to Petra Mrs. Boynton dies leaving the question of natural causes or murder as the cause. If it is murder was it committed by one of the family or another member of the group? Poirot is consulted by a local offical to sort out the mess which of course he does but not without suffering the hardships of the desert - so hard on patent leather shoes! This 1937 novel is one of Christie's 'psychological' mysteries where much time is spent on motive and character development. The result is that by the end of the novel the reader feels personally acquainted with many of the characters. Also this is set in the Middle East where Christie spent much time herself and gives the novel an insight on the area and travel in those times. It is an excellent mystery, all clues are fairly laid out for the reader to sort out and still quite enjoyable and challenging nearly 70 years later.
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