Murder On The Orient Express
Summary:
Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Isolated and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer – in case he or she decides to strike again. (summary from https://www.agathachristie.com/stories/murder-on-the-orient-express)
Group Review:
15 thumbs up
0 thumbs down
Our group is made up of many types of readers; those who love cozies, those who wouldn’t be caught dead reading a cozy, cold case fans, noir fans…endless variations and a multitude of tastes.
Yet all gave Christie her due.
Readers appreciated the sparse, concise wording of the novel. With just a few strokes of the pen, one is able to get a sense of the character.
One group member mentioned that Christie’s mysteries were like a math equation. You have all the pieces, you just have to fit it together the right way and you’ll have the solution.
There was also mention of how carefully constructed the mystery was, with strict confines–everything existed very tightly within those confines–that world–that Christie created.
People liked the Golden Age of Mystery component of “fair play” meaning–nothing was kept from the reader. We have all the clues, same as Hercule, and the solution could be worked out by anyone. Of course, we are not all Poirot, and as far fetched as the ending was, you have to admit that it works.
One reader mentioned loving the chapter titles. Another appreciated how the interviews that Poirot conducted matched the personalities of the people he was interviewing–an attention to character that is often overlooked in Christie’s writing.
Other comments were simply along the lines of, “she just writes so well,” “really enjoyable,” “loved the ending.”
