Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
Series: Hercule Poirot #10
Release Date: 4th June 2007
Publisher: HarperCollins
Source: Bought
Add it: Goodreads
Rating:

Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. One of his fellow passengers must be the murderer.

Isolated by the storm and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer amongst a dozen of the dead man's enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again...

 This was my first Agatha Christie novel, picked mostly because I like trains, and it was actually a fun, quick read! I’m so glad I got to finish this challenge off on a good note.

The plot of this book is surprisingly basic and by today’s often convoluted mystery novel standards, quite straightforward. Hercule Poirot, Christie’s most famous character, finds himself on the Orient Express with a number of other distinguished characters when a body is discovered. Trapped inside the train during the middle of the night during a snowstorm, it is left to Poirot to use only his own skills to figure out the mystery and catch the murderer.

Without the aid of DNA evidence, Christie creates a mystery that grows with each character. Poirot sits in the dining car and interviews each passenger in the carriage, relying on their narratives to assist him in figuring out who is the murderer. It is such a deceptively simple set-up but it really works. Each character is different and all are entertaining; I found myself mentally trying to unmask who the murderer was as each interview took place. The ending of the book is equally surprising yet satisfying: I was impressed to see that Christie’s mysteries really do live to the hype and stand the test of time.

I found this book very enjoyable and definitely recommend it to anyone who sees themselves as an amateur detective *coughsAmbercoughs* This is the kind of book that is perfect for curling up during a quiet evening or a rainy day.

 

 

 

  Classic Mystery, Suspense or Thriller.