Book Review: Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It is one of mysteries greatest cases from one of, if not the, greatest writers of the genre and it’s been adapted numerous times in film, television, and other genres. Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s best-known Hercule Poirot mystery novels with a compelling crime on a passenger train stuck in a snowstorm in Yugoslavia that looks to be connected to a dark crime in the United States and a dozen suspects that keep readers guessing until the end.

After solving a mystery in French colonial Syria for the military there, Poirot hears news of a ongoing case in England he quickly arranges a spot on the next coach to Calais thanks to his friend the direction of the passenger train company. Once on board, Poirot notes the number of passengers and their various origins. The next day one of them is murdered while the train is stopped thanks to a snowdrift, Poirot is asked to investigate the crime as the Yugoslav police don’t put officers on trains. This is the setup as the Poirot looks to find the answer, which thanks to the cultural zeitgeist I was spoiled to the ending a long time ago but a part of the joy of reading mysteries is figuring out how the protagonist figures it out based on the clues the author gives. After finishing the book, I can see why it is just a classic in the mystery genre and a page-turner to boot. Unlike the previous Poirot novel that I read, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, this was written in the third-person and I enjoyed seeing more Poirot as a character. Frankly a great read and just shows I need to read some of Poirot in the future.

Murder on the Orient Express is one of, if not the, most famous of Hercule Poirot’s cases and just shows why Agatha Christie is seen as the “Queen of Mystery”. A great read from beginning to end.

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