MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS by Agatha Christie

I’d never read any Agatha Christie books before last year, which was a shame, because she’s one of the greats of the mystery genre. So I’ve set out to rectify that. Last year I read AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, which was excellent, and I’ve just finished reading MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. I wanted to read it because it’s so iconic – it’s inspired numerous imitations, homages, and parodies.

It’s easy to see why. The book is a classic. The premise is simple. Famed investigator Hercule Poirot is on his way home after solving a case aboard the Orient Express, a train heading from the Middle East to Calais. On the way back, the train is snowbound and forced to stop until the tracks can be cleared.

And while the train is stalled, one of the passengers is murdered, an unpleasant American millionaire. Because no one could have left the train – the tracks in the snow would give any escapee away – the murderer has to still remain upon the train. That means Poirot has his best chance to solve the mystery before the train reaches its destination and the murderer escapes.

The book is an elegant, logical puzzle-box of a story, with sharply drawn characters. Highly recommended.

-JM