Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition (Hercule Poirot Mysteries, 9)

I am an Agatha Christie n00b. I like all kinds of mystery/ thrillers and have recently finished the Stephanie Plum series by Janet Evanovitch and have now moved on to the Alex Cross series by James Patterson. I had just finished book 2 of Alex Cross when I decided I wanted a break from the modern thrillers. I think with the modern writers, the author feels like they have to have that crazy twist and after a while you just start thinking about the craziest twist the author could pull, and thus it becomes predictable. I still enjoy those books, but how cow this book was like a breath of fresh air. I can't believe I have never read or seen an Agatha Christie story before, I had heard of her but for some reason had no interest. Well, that was a big mistake. Huge.

On to the book: My favorite part about the whole book is how logical everything is, and how well it flows. Poirot's problem solving process feels like a professor walking you through a complex math problem, breaking everything down step by step. You can only move on if the previous step is logical. I like that a lot, it feels like Sherlock Holmes but much more orderly, and without compromising the suspense of it all. Poirot is a very likable protagonist, he empathizes with everyone and yet he is so uncompromising with his own logic and principles. He is very gentlemanly and charming, and this is going to sound so corny but as I was reading this it almost felt like he was my mentor teaching me how to solve this mystery on my own.

I may give out SPOILERS from this point on.

I loved, LOVED the plot. It had hints of An Inspector Calls and Twelve Angry Men, both were great stories with complex character development. They all do start out a little slow, but it's always just enough to keep you going and then- BAM! It starts to snowball before you know it, and you can't put the book down. I don't know what else to say, except this book really has a good beginning, middle and end. I found the ending thoroughly satisfying. I liked that it made logical sense for them to come to the conclusion that they agreed upon.

If you haven't already read this book, don't wait any longer! I solidly recommend it.

This book was a very fast and enjoyable read. I was definitely surprised at how fast I finished. This was a re-read for me, however, it was so long ago I had forgotten all of the story, (except the ending).

What I really liked... I liked author Christie's writing, it flows very well and although there are multiple characters there is no confusion at all. I enjoyed the mystery, the way the book is broken up into parts. The first part, describes the setting and then the crime itself. Obviously, I am not giving anything away when I state there was, in fact, a murder committed. Then, the second part is about the investigation, questioning of the suspects, just the basics. As this second section moves on they go more into depth about each character (titles, jobs, lives, etc...). Then the third section is the most interesting for me. I really enjoyed the theories each investigator came up with. I enjoyed the French in the book! If I had not read this book before I would have had no idea who committed the murder. Since this was a re-read I knew how it was to end.

What I didn't like... I didn't necessarily, not like this. But must point it out for readers who might find offensive or be sensitive. Due to the time period when this was written there are a lot of talks about nationality. However, I think author Christie was making play on those and pointing out how absurd they really are, for example: all Italians stab instead of use a gun and so on... Presumptuous stereotypes just thrown in by the investigators of the crime. She did not write this book with racism. I think she was making a point to show how dumb stereotypes and how wrong they are. Those are my thoughts.

Overall, I enjoyed this read and will continue reading Christie books. I was just refreshed with this book, pleasant read!

5 stars for Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie.

Detective Hercule Poirot resolves a case in Syria and must forego his planned few days of relaxation after being urgently called back to London regarding a new development in a separate case. He is able to obtain last-minute accommodations on the Orient Express train with the help of a rail company executive and friend, but they are forced to stop unexpectedly in the countryside of Yugoslavia during a blizzard and must wait days for snow to be cleared from the tracks.

During the night, a passenger is murdered in their sleeping car! The door is locked from the inside. The window is open, but there are no footprints in the snow. The murderer must be one of the other passengers, but who?! And why?

Murder on the Orient Express has a wide range of interesting suspects and the always clever (and he knows it) French Detective Poirot. The rail company executive Bauc and Dr. Constantine try to help Poirot determine who the murderer is, but of course every new piece of information changes their suspicions and adds to the complexity of the case.

This classic mystery is a very entertaining story with a satisfying ending, and it truly kept me guessing until nearly the end.

Can I say "WOW!" It's not news that Agatha Christie is a maestro of the mystery writing and I don't think it can be a surprise to anyone that her novels are excellent, especially when it comes to one of the most beloved detectives in the world - Hercule Poirot. Nonetheless, every time I read one of her books I get reminded why Ms. Christie is the classic when it comes down to traditional mystery.

When I first picked up this book, I vaguely remembered watching the movie, but as it usually happens I really could not remember the ending. Which is very important in reading the mystery!!! So, I was pretty confident that I'm going to enjoy whatever comes along. It started out slowly and not overwhelmingly exciting, as we used to by now with all those blockbuster movies that open with the bang and 30-second trailers that overload our brains with too much information. They even write books in that style nowadays: shock the reader and keep it running, shooting, screaming, etc., etc., until we get a headache and call it a night. It's almost like a competition of who gives up first - the writer who keeps telling us evermore shocking things or the reader who slumps with exhaustion and takes a sleeping pill at night to ward off any coming nightmares.

However, Ms. Christie is an old-style writer. She takes her time to develop the story and the characters. It might start our slow, but it picks up as you get engrossed in the plot. And the ending? Well, you never see it coming! One thing I really enjoy about Ms. Christie's writing is her very descriptive language which magically transports you into the scene (of luxury Orient Express in 1930s, in this scenario), but at the same time it's not overly burdensome that you loose interest in the plot over all the minuscule details. It's just right. A bit of a tip, search Orient Express online and you will see what it really looked like to get some visuals of the scene and help with all of the movements/actions that transpire during the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed every page of this masterfully written novel. I would think anybody who has every watched Hercule Poirot TV-series (with David Suchet) will appreciate reading the original masterpiece. And as to "whodunnit", well, you'll have to read to the end!

For those readers that like to put themselves into Hercule Poirot’s character and try their luck at solving the murder, this book is handmade for you. But beware! Poirot is an amazing sleuth with uncanny deduction abilities. It is a hard act to follow even though there are clues aplenty. ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ is Christie’s most famous work, with 3 movies based on it. I fear that it would be redundant to go over the specifics of the site and situation of the murder. A large part of the book is devoted to Poirot interviewing the suspects, and it is only the great personality of the detective that carries the plot forward thereby avoiding falling into a tedious slog. I was captivated by the interviews, with meeting such an array of great characters. The dialogue in the interrogations was some of the most edgy and enlightening in the book. I liked the way Christie went over the clues (and red herrings) several times, apparently so that the reader could keep up. Only problem was, that it was still difficult to keep all the who-said-what-when straight. The ending. One has to forgo believability a bit, but it was indeed memorable, and for me, unpredictable. In the end I was proud of Poirot and his astonishing powers of reason. A fun read.

This is a classic. I realize that a lot of people may not see it that way, but I do. If you want to talk mystery novels, two names come to mind - Agatha Christie and Sherlock Holmes. (Yes I realize one is an author and one is a character. They are both names, though.) My son isn't a fan of mystery novels. And his impression of Sherlock Holmes has already been established via the BBC television show and Robert Downey, Jr. movies. So, I decided that the ideal book to expose him to the world of mystery novels would be "Murder on the Orient Express".

We used this book as a homeschool assignment and paired it with a Common Core based study guide. It made for an interesting assignment and I very much enjoyed reading my son's thoughts on Poirot's assessments of the evidence vs his own opinions. This book gave him a lovely insight into the concept of good vs evil, as well as the moral questions regarding whether there is ever a time when it might be acceptable to commit murder.

The book is a good read, an entertaining story, and an opportunity to discuss some very interesting ethical questions. Honestly, I don't believe that my son will be interested in adding more murder mysteries to his reading repertoire in the future. However, he enjoyed reading this book and, in my opinion, will find it to be a useful cultural reference point in the future.

All opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own. I have shared with you my personal experience with this product and cannot guarantee that you will have the same experience with the product that I had, nor can I promise that we will share the same opinion of the product.

This kindle e-book novel is from my Kindle Unlimited account book 9

Poirot is on the Orient Express on his way back to London. Then there is a murder and snow storm stranding the train 🚆. Poirot is conducting an investigation leading to the arrest of the killer.

I have watched and read this book a number of times and enjoyed it every time.

I would recommend this series and author to 👍 readers of British 🏰 mystery novels 👍🔰. 2024