Murder On the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

I have had “murder on the orient express” on my reading list for a really long time. I had to hunt it out for a while, but eventually ended up ordering it from an online seller. It's a Hercule Poirot mystery written by Agatha Christie. Like most of the Hercule Poriot series, this book is also a standalone and doesn't require you to have read any books prior. 

The famous Belgian detective, who retired from the Belgian police force, is now a private detective for hire. He uses his “little gray cells” and a concept known as criminal psychology to solve most of his cases. His funny antiques, smooth french phrases, and sarcastic humor makes his novels very funny to read and add lightness to a novel about gory stuff like death and murder. Of course, we can’t forget his most defining feature, the iconic Hercule Poriot mustache.

Novel review:

The novel starts with Hercule Poriort boarding a train after having completed a successful case for a high profile persona. He plans to travel back to Belgium, with a stop in between at Istanbul for a few days. On the first train journey, he is only accompanied by an English lady known as Mary Debenham and an Indian, Colonel Arbuthnot. The two seem to be strangers but some actions between them intrigue and amuse Hercule Poirot. Then, when he arrives at a hotel in Istanbul, he finds a telegram waiting for him requesting him to come immediately for a development in a prior ongoing case. Hercule Poirot has a coach booked for himself on the Orient express. The novel develops further with Hercule Poirot boarding the Orient Express with his friend, the owner of the train company they were traveling in. Soon enough, a murder occurs in such a circumstance which leads to the conclusion that the murderer is still on the train. The owner of the train company requests Hercule Poriot to undertake the case and find the murderer.

This is the gist of the novel. One thing I can assure you is that this novel will have the most unexpected ending possible. I have never seen a murder mystery novel such as this. The ending will shock you a lot, however you will soon realize that Agatha Christie had been leaving all the hints in shaded words. The best thing I can give a hint at without spoiling the story is that it is noted that it is very unusual for the whole train to be booked at this time of the year towards the start of the story. I will say no more. 

There are many times in the novel where the story is rather boring. If you are expecting an action thriller, this novel does not offer that. Even the reveal at the end is done in a rather simple way, regardless of it being amazing in itself. There are very slow parts where Hercule Poriot bores over the details of the individual travelers documents and makes interviews one by one of each traveler. This caused me to forcibly skip some parts as I wanted to find out who did ‘it’. 

Overall, I would rate this novel a solid 8.5/10 because of its unique setting and amazing outcome. However, you need some patience to bore through certain paths. If you don’t mind that, then go ahead. You will enjoy this book and the way it teases your thinking cap.