Murder on the Orient Express
By Agatha Christie Ulverscroft Large Print, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4448-0250-4
Genre: Crime, Mystery
Reviewed by Boris Segel - December 5, 2011
Hercule Poirot faces his most challenging locked room mystery in Murder on the Orient Express. In this multi-layered story, Agatha Christie has sent Poirot, the famed Belgium detective, on a journey far outside his normal comfort zone, on a train ride on the Orient Express. The ride is not as smooth or uneventful as Poirot would have liked. The train soon becomes stuck in a snow drift, and it may take days for the train to be freed from its icy prison.
The next morning, Simon Ratchett is found murdered. He was stabbed multiple times, yet his body was found inside his compartment - with the door locked from the inside. Isolated and cut off from the rest of the world, Poirot concludes that the murderer must be on the train. The list of suspects is long, Ratchett had a slew of enemies, and many of them, it appears, are on the train. Can Poirot ferret out who the killer is and how they managed to carry out this ingenious crime, and if the killer killed once, might they try again?
Murder on the Orient Express is classic Christie. The story is filled with an eclectic mix of characters, has a nice assortment of red herrings and subplots, but in true Christie fashion, she does not cheat the reader. All the information that is needed to solve the crime is presented in the story. The trick is to solve the crime before Poirot does, if you can. Even if you have seen a televised version of this story, or have heard this tale before, do yourself a favor and read Christie's original version. No matter how well this story has been translated onto the screen, you will find that the book far surpasses all the film versions. If you have already read this novel, read it again. Murder on the Orient Express is one of those mysteries that you can read over and over again, and each time come away with some new tidbit of information. A must for all Christie fans, and anyone wanting to read a classic mystery story.
Murder on the Orient Express can be purchased directly from Ulverscroft.
Click Here for a complete list of all the books written by Agatha Christie.
Related Reviews:
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, by Agatha Christie.
First, Mrs. Ferrars poisons her husband, then she is blackmailed, then she commits suicide. Next, her lover, Roger Ackroyd is found murdered. Who did it, and why? Only Hercule Poirot can discover the answer in this timeless classic.
Murder in the Mews, by Agatha Christie.
A collection of four Hercule Poirot that includes two locked room mysteries. The stories in this collection are, Murder in the Mews, The Incredible Theft, Dead Man's Mirror, and Triangle at Rhodes.
