Title: Murder on The Orient Express
Author(s) Name(s): Agatha Christie
Published in: January, 1934
Why You Might Like This Book: Read this book if you enjoy
- even-paced narration,
- an interesting plot,
- having several suspects,
- mystery and suspense without much violence or drama, and
- classic crime fiction.
Who Should Avoid This Book: Avoid this book if you are triggered by or dislike
- murder,
- kidnapping,
- loss of a child, or
- grief and loss.
Recommended for Children? for ages 12 and above, yes.
This one is a classic by Agatha Christie featuring the famous Hercule Poirot. As Poirot travels from one country to another by a train named the Orient Express, going past many places, along with co-passengers from different countries, the reader is introduced to the different characters through Poirot’s observations. There are many adult men and many adult women on the train, each with their own unique nature. It snows heavily, so the train gets stranded on the way or at least slowed down. Given the title, it should be no surprise: a murder happens on the train, and the person in charge of the transport, M. Bouc calls Poirot and requests him to investigate the case, assuring that they all will cooperate. Because it appears to be an interesting case, Poirot agrees and starts working on it.
Hercule Poirot happens to be travelling by a train on which he has many other co-passengers. On the surface, it seems like most of them, except for the couple and the employers travelling with their employees, are all strangers to one another. They all seem to be having their own personalities and quirks, and Poirot casually observes them, but he does not take anyone or their actions or words seriously. A passenger called Ratchett calls the detective privately and demands that he do his detective job to protect him from a threat he has received from someone, as he suspects that his life might be in danger. But poirot refuses to take that up, even when the rich man offers a lot of money, stating that money does not interest him and he only works on cases he finds interesting. Later, Ratchett is found murdered in his compartment, and that is when the director of the Wagon Lit company, M. Bouc requests Poirot to help him solve the case for his company. There are a few clues, there is also a doctor on board, one Dr. Constantine, who also helps Poirot, and soon the detective uncovers the fact that Ratchett was not that man’s real name, that he was accused of killing a young American girl, a case that made it to the news, then he was let go of because tehre was not enough proof against him (he misused his power), moved away from the USA and changed his name to Ratchett. Thus begins the murder mystery!
As slow-paced as it is, the book is interesting for all thriller lovers. While the plot itself is not rushed, Hercule Poirot’s investigating style if you will, the investigation moves slowly and methodically, as Poirot collects evidence little by little, assessing every suspect and every piece of information. But there is nothing that could leave a reader bored, like unnecessary, long, dreary paragraphs or chapters that mean nothing and do not contribute to the case in any meaningful way. There are over a dozen suspects, and there is little evidence favouring any theory in the beginning, so there are plenty of questions to be asked and plenty of people to be questioned, and every new piece of information adds something new. Typical of an Agatha Christie thriller.
The novel comes in three parts – in the first part, the introductions are done and the crime happens, in the second part, the detective interviews every passenger and the conductors one by one and their luggages are checked, and in the third part, after collecting all the evidence and making enough observations, Poirot sits back and thinks, connecting the dots to solve the case. The ending is not something one can easily predict, hence the author manages to maintain the suspense until the last part.
Given how smooth the flow of the narrative is and how interesting the detective himself finds the case to be, you can easily finish reading this book in 1-2 days! One of the benefits that come with classic crime fiction is that violence is not sensationalised or romanticized – it is presented merely as part of a case, while most of the story is focused on how the case gets resolved by intelligently connecting the dots, like putting together the clues of a brilliant puzzle. This is also one of those books you might enjoy reading more than once, so you might as well buy one if you please. I would give this a 4.5-star rating, as it was a truly satisfying read!
