Review: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Title: Murder on the Orient Express

Author: Agatha Christie

Series: Hercule Poirot, #10

Published: January 2011, William Morrow Paperbacks, (1st published 1934)

Format: Paperback, 265 pages

Source: Publisher

The most widely-read mystery of all time, now a major motion picture directed by Kenneth Branagh and produced by Ridley Scott

“The murderer is with us—on the train now . . .”

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. Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is 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.

My thoughts: As hard as this is to admit, this is my first Agatha Christie book…crazy, right? And believe it or not, my husband, an avid reader himself, is a huge fan of her books, so there are quite a few of her books in my house – so there really isn’t any excuse for my not to have picked one up yet. But that’s been rectified and now I that I have read one, I definitely plan on going back and reading more!

This was such a great mystery – one that I never would have solved in a million years. And the setting – having it happen on a train, where everyone is trapped, in the middle of a snowstorm – how clever! I totally felt the sense of claustrophobia – there was no where for the passengers to go, no where for the “guilty one” to run to. It was brilliant using this setting for this book and I see now why this is such a popular and well-loved book!

I loved all the characters and how each and every one of them has an alibi, or so you are led to believe. Each character is quirkier and more fascinating than the next and the interviews that they each have with Detective Poirot are quite interesting to say the least. I sure wasn’t getting a whole heck of a lot out of them, so I’m glad Poirot was, because when they were all done, I was sure stumped! Poirot, the most unassuming character of the book, just sat back, took it all in and then provided the answer to the case quite naturally, I’d say.

I really enjoyed my first foray into the world of Agatha Christie and will definitely be jumping back in again soon. If you are a fan – what do you suggest I read next? I know this is the 10th book in her Hercule Poirot series – should I go back to the beginning or is there another fan favorite that stands the test of time like this one? And what about her other series, the Miss Marple series? Should I give that one a go, too? Please share your thoughts!!!