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Murder on the Orient Express: A Book Review

Well, I finally crossed one off my Spring reading list! Yea! Lying around, feeling so crudy these past few days found me needing a little extra self-indulgence. And a good mystery is pure and total self-indulgence for me! So I picked this classic from my stack.

Murder on the Orient Express

by Agatha Christie


(summary from bookcover)

While en route from Syria to Paris, in the middle of a freezing winter's night, the Orient Express is stopped dead in its tracks by a snowdrift. Passengers awake to find the train still stranded and to discover that a wealthy American has been brutally stabbed to death in his private compartment. Incredibly, that compartment is locked from the inside. With no escape into the wintery landscape the killer must still be on board! Fortunately, the brilliant Belgian inspector Hercule Poirot is also on board, having booked the last available berth. He launches an immediate and urgent investigation into this vexing crime--for which each of the thirteen other passengers seems to have a motive.


Being a HUGE mystery fan, I really enjoyed this book. I'd seen the film version, but as all good readers know, the book is always better. The 1930's and 1940's have always intrigued me and I love stories set in those decades. Agatha Christie is a master at developing the characters and slowly unfolding the mystery. I love the twists and turns--a mystery that I can figure out halfway through is no real mystery at all and is very disappointing. Agatha Christie never disappoints for a good read!


Over the past year I've been picking up the re-released hardbacks published by Black Dog & Leventhal. The price is reasonable and they're a great addition to the family library.


For more book reviews with the Spring Reading Thing 2008, go here! Happy reading!
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Comments

Kari said…
Ah, yes. The little grey cells have been busy. =)
March 31, 2008 at 4:46 PM
Kari said…
I posted pictures of my plates. =)
March 31, 2008 at 8:34 PM
Heather and Reese said…
I hope you and your daughter are feeling better. Being sick is the pits.

This was the first Agatha Christie book I read and I LOVED IT!!! It's been nearly 6 years since I read it and some of the details are fuzzy; I guess I'll re-read it in a few years.

Have you read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd? That one took me by surprise. I hadn't a clue who the murderer was.

I've been renting from the library the Poirot tv series. Very interesting. He's my favorite detective, but does strike me as an awful like Adrien Monk!

Reese
April 1, 2008 at 5:18 AM
Anonymous said…
Wow!! I bought all the releases by Black Dog & Leventhal too! You know they made this one into a movie. It tracked the book pretty well.

Oh I've reviewed some of the other Agatha Christie books on my blog.

P.S. I have a bit of a prank going on right now. The site returns to normal on Monday. But head on over if you need a laugh!!
April 1, 2008 at 9:55 AM
Cajun Mama said…
I love this book!
I'm a big Agatha Christie fan.
This is tied with "And Then There Were None" for my favorite. :-)
April 1, 2008 at 1:12 PM
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