Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Just tapping out a quick review after a busy weekend of sunshine and playdates at the park. Last year I read my first mystery novel, The Vanished Bride by Bella Ellis (reviewed here) and decided mysteries are a genre that I’d like to explore more, and where better to start than with the so-called Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie.

Hercule Poirot, the retired Belgian detective, is travelling to London on the Orient Express when the train is delayed by a snow-drift in Yugoslavia, during which one of the passengers is murdered, but fortunately Poirot is on hand to investigate.

I’ve often been deterred by the gruesome and ghastly aspects of the crime genre, but I found this so easy to read, and without any of the blood and violence that I find so off-putting. Murder on the Orient Express is hardly an action-packed thriller, as the main body of the story consists of Poirot methodically interviewing the other passengers to distinguish the witnesses from potential suspects, but it’s still a page turner as Agatha Christie knows exactly when to drop in another clue or twist, and I had a lot of fun puzzling over the evidence and piecing together the clues to work out who the murderer was. It’s also an interesting story morally as the victim is neither innocent or sympathetic, and it raises some questions about justice, vengeance and vigilantism, yet I still found the resolution satisfying.

Murder on the Orient Express was a delight to read, full of humour, twists, misdirection and a very clever resolution, it was a great mystery to start with, but one I’d love to read again. Have a lovely week. X