Review – Murder on the Orient Express (A Hercule Poirot Mystery) by Agatha Christie (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Mystery
Length: 238 pages
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: November 3, 2020
ASIN : B08MRYP9QX
Stand Alone or Series: 10th volume in the Hercule Poirot Mysteries
Source: Bought for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars
“ Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward 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, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man’s enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again.”
Series Info/Source: I bought this book for Kindle. This is the 10th volume in the Hercule Poirot Mysteries but these can be read in any order.
Story (4/5): Poirot is suddenly called home and ends up on the famous Orient Express during a snowstorm in an effort to get there. The train is stopped by a large snow drift and the next morning the rather unpleasant millionaire, Ratchett, is found dead. It is up to Poirot to interview the train’s occupants and assess the clues to determine the guilty party.
I enjoyed this and it was a fun read. I like how the pieces of the mystery are put together and enjoyed the irony behind how the story is wrapped up. My only complaint is that I felt like things were moving a bit slow as they got to the tail end of interviewing people, it just got kind of repetitive and I was ready for the story to move on. I did enjoy how the mystery keeps you guessing.
Characters (4/5): The characters were pretty much all slightly heavy characterizations of themselves that are turned a bit on their head as the mystery progresses. I did enjoy Poirot and his way of approaching this puzzle. The side characters were more a vehicle to move the story forward than interesting characters in their own right.
Setting (4/5): The setting on the train was unique and fun. I enjoyed it a lot and thought it was a fun place to have a mystery like this.
Writing Style (4/5): This is the first Agatha Christie novel I have read. I have also never seen a movie adaptation of this story. I found Christie’s writing to be very approachable and easy to read. It really stands the test of time and still makes for an entertaining read. I did find the inquiry/interview parts of the novel a bit repetitive and thought that portion went on a bit long. Although I enjoyed this book, I probably won’t pick up more Agatha Christie books. I personally am not a huge fan of straight-up mysteries like this and prefer more fantasy/sci-fi/paranormal aspects in my mysteries.
My Summary (4/5): Overall this was a fun read and I don’t regret reading it. It’s a well done straight-up mystery in an interesting location and with a unique twist at the end. I found parts a bit slow but in general enjoyed this. I probably won’t pick up more Agatha Christie books because I find straight-up mysteries a bit dry and prefer some fantastical elements to my mysteries.
