Tuesday, December 6, 2016

Murder and Mystery...

What do you get when you combine one snowbound train, one rich American found stabbed to death in his own locked sleeping compartment, one world-renown mustachioed detective, and twelve unrelated passengers who are all now murder suspects? Agatha Christie's classic mystery Murder on the Orient Express. After studying the dead man's compartment and interviewing the other passengers one by one, it's up to Hercule Poirot to solve the murder and apprehend the killer before the snow is cleared from the tracks, or the murderer strikes again.
"We know now all that we can know," said Poirot. "We have the evidence of the passengers, the evidence of their baggage, the evidence of our eyes. We can expect no further help. It must be our part now to use our brains."


I'm so glad that Agatha Christie's novels are still in print because I love reading them. I love her crisp prose, her well-drawn characters, and her ever-puzzling mysteries. I also love her sense of humor. Like when Mary Debenham, an English governess, first sees Poirot with his "enormous moustaches" and "egg-shaped head" and thinks to herself that he's "a ridiculous-looking little man. The sort of little man one could never take seriously." Christie can be unexpectedly funny. And Murder on the Orient Express is one of her best. I thoroughly enjoyed going on this bookish ride as Hercule Poirot figured out the who, what and why. I haven't read all of Christie's novels (yet), but here are three of my favorites if you want to give her books a try: The Seven Dials Mystery, Cat Among the Pigeons, and Sparkling Cyanide. 


Happy Reading!

16 comments:

  1. I was thinking about Murder on the Orient Express the other day while reading a novel in which all the suspects involved had good reason to have killed the victim. I was hoping that it would not end up as a joint effort as it would be an unseemly imitation of Christie's novel. Fortunately, the author avoided that difficulty!

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    1. Christie thought up the best ideas for her mysteries; I'm sure a lot of other authors which they'd gotten there first. :)

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  2. I have never read an Agatha Christie book. Can you believe it? I can't. I used to read mysteries all the time and still managed to overlook her books. Sigh!

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    1. On the plus side, you have 78 lovely mysteries to look forward to if you ever do decide to give her a read. :)

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  3. I love Agatha Christie mysteries too. There is something so satisfying about reading them. I have the first Tommy & Tuppence book to read (maybe over the holidays) and I recently picked up a nice (free) copy of Murder on the Nile, which is perfect because I can't remember who done it.

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    1. I still need to read Murder on the Nile (along with many of her other books), but I like knowing that there are good books out there waiting for me to read. :)

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  4. I love Christie! I think I've read nearly all of her books at least once. The Seven Dials Mystery is one of my favorites, along with The Secret Adversary and several of the Miss Marples. Oh, and Why Didn't They Ask Evans?

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    1. I love Christie, too. And I've just moved The Secret Adversary and Why Didn't They Ask Evans? higher up my To Read list! :D

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  5. I haven't read this one yet, but I know the story from watching the adaptations. My favourite Christie novel so far is And Then There Were None, though I agree that Cat Among the Pigeons is a great one too.

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    1. And Then There Were None was the very first Agatha Christie I ever read and I've never forgotten it; it's one of my favorites, too. :)

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  6. It's been so long since I last read an Agatha Christie novel. I believe I read this one when I was in high school, but I would like to re-read it at some point. It's been long enough I barely remember it, sad to say.

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    1. It is sad how plots of books--even favorite books--slowly fade from the mind over time. I wish they'd stick in my brain forever. :)

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  7. I still need to read this one. It sounds like such a fun book. I've only read Sophie Hannah's version of Agatha Christie novels, which I have LOVED. So, I'm thinking I need to read Christie's actual books sooner rather than later :)

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    1. I really like the ones I've read. I think my favorite is The Seven Dials Mystery just because it's so funny. But this one is a close second for the mystery.

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  8. I've to admit I haven't read a lot of Agatha Christie's books but I did enjoy a few I read. I've this one in my pile and I look forward to reading it when the right mood strikes. ;)

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    1. I have to be in the right mood for certain books, too. :)

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