March 6, 2016

Murder on the Orient Express


Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot #10) by Agatha Christie
Mystery
1934 (original copyright)
2013 HarperCollins Audio
Read by Dan Stevens
Finished on September 10, 2015
Rating: 3/5 (Good)


Publisher's Blurb:

"The murderer is with us - on the train now..."

Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. One of his fellow passengers must be the murderer.

Isolated by the storm and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer amongst a dozen of the dead man's enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again...

I've become quite a fan of thrillers and mysteries since I began blogging 10 years ago and I love getting recommendations from other readers, whether for a new series or a standalone. Agatha Christie's crime novels have been around for almost 100 years and I've never read one single book! This past summer, I decided it was well past time to give this famous title a try. I enjoyed the audio (the reader was very good) and Christie kept me guessing and changing my mind about the identity of the killer until the very end. I was more than surprised by the denouement, as not only have I never read any of Christie's crime novels, I've never watched any of the movies based on her books, either. So, now to watch the 1974 film. With an all-star cast that includes Albert Finney, Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Anthony Perkins, Michael York, Jacqueline Bisset, Vanessa Redgrave, and Ingrid Bergman, to name a few, how can it possibly disappoint?

Interesting tidbits from Wikipedia:
Murder on the Orient Express is a detective novel by Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934. In the United States, it was published on 28 February 1934, under the title of Murder in the Calais Coach, by Dodd, Mead and Company. The U.K. edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence and the U.S. edition at $2.00.

The U.S. title of Murder in the Calais Coach was used to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel Stamboul Train which had been published in the United States as Orient Express.
and
The Guinness Book of World Records lists Christie as the best-selling novelist of all time. Her novels have sold roughly 2 billion copies, and her estate claims that her works come third in the rankings of the world's most-widely published books, behind only Shakespeare's works and the Bible.


I prefer the original cover art to the updated version, don't you? 

Final Thoughts:

I enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express and I look forward to reading more by Agatha Christie. Which Poirot should I read next?

16 comments:

  1. I didn't love this book. My mom talks about reading Christie's books when she was growing up and being in awe that they were written by a woman.

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    1. Kathy, I think I remember my mom reading a lot of Christie's books when I was in high school. I don't know why it took me over 50 years to finally give one a try. :) I'm sorry you didn't love this book. I wonder if I would've enjoyed it as well if I read the book rather than listening to the audio. It almost felt like I was listening to an old-fashioned radio program. Quite entertaining!

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  2. I've only read a few Christie books but have enjoyed the few that I have. I highly recommend the Murder of Roger Ackroyd? Great book!

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    1. Iliana, I'll have to look for Murder of Roger Ackroyd on Audible.com. My library has a few on audio, but not this one. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  3. I used to own this book but have never read it. I am not sure if I actually have ever even read Christie to be honest.

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    1. Kailana, I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed this book as much as I did. I hope to listen to more of her books!

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  4. I love her work, and I think I've read most all of it. I've written about the ones I've read and you can find the reports on the blog if you are interested.

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    1. Nan, I know you're a huge fan of AC's books and I thought of you as I was listening to this audiobook. It was so entertaining; much like an old radio program. I'm going to go back and read your reviews as I continue with her books.

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  5. This is one of my favorite Poirot books. I can recommend DEATH ON THE NILE, and EVIL UNDER THE SUN, and CARDS ON THE TABLE. I agree that THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD is very good too. I know not everyone loves Christie's books, but to me, they are timeless and wonderful.

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    1. Kay, thank you for the recommendations. Good to know that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd has two recommendations. :) I wish my library had it on audio, but maybe I should try the print copy instead...

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    2. I hated it. I knew the premise, but even so, I found it awful.

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    3. Nan, well then I will probably like it. :)

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  6. The only Christie I've read is And Then There Were None and I loved it. Just heard about a miniseries/movie airing on Lifetime 3/13 and 3/14... need to remember to watch it. I started Murder on the Orient Express on audio years ago, but never got into it.

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    1. Yay! Another recommendation. Thank you, JoAnn. I was actually going to read And Then There Were None, but wound up with the audio for this one instead.

      I don't think we get Lifetime, but maybe I can find the program on Netflix later on.

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  7. I love everything I've ever read by Christie. After reading this post I want to read her again.

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    1. Vicki, Christie sure has a following, doesn't she? I hope to read many, many more of her mysteries in the coming years. I'm glad I inspired you to read her again.

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