Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

**NO SPOILERS**

Hello, everybody. Because of all of my newfound free time at home, I have had plenty
time to read the fantastic book: Murder on the Orient Express. To preface my review,
I would like to mention that this classic story also has many movie adaptations,
however I have not seen any of them, but if they do the book any justice, I’m sure
they are good.

I made the decision to read this book after thinking about my past experiences reading
mystery novels, such as Sherlock Holmes, and how they leave me at the edge of my
seat when I read them. Needless to say, this book did not disappoint.

My review:

I am sure you have heard of this book, and have a basic idea of the plot, but if you
don’t, here is a brief explanation of the plot: The book takes place on a train (named
the Orient Express), in which many interesting characters temporarily reside in. One
night, the train gets stuck in a large snow storm, so it must stay in place. The next
morning, to everybody’s apparent surprise, one of the passengers, a man called
Ratchett, had been stabbed 12 times overnight. The work of Detective Hercule Poirot,
a passenger on the train, is enlisted to help to try to find Ratchett’s killer(s). 

I am not going to spoil the ending, but the twist completely bewildered me at first, but
as it was explained, it all ended up making sense. This sense of satisfaction at the end
of the book is very similar to that of a Sherlock Holmes book, and is the main reason I
like to read mystery books. This book in particular specifically stood out to me because
of the extreme attention to detail Christie took when writing it as to make it possible for
the reader to infer the ending.

One way this book differs from Sherlock Holmes novels is the series of interrogations,
or questionings that the detective goes through. This makes this book slightly better and
easier to follow along than Sherlock Holmes, as the reader gets just as much information
as the detective. 

Overall, if you like mystery books, this is a must-read. I rate it 4.5/5.

- ETHAN Roberts

Comments

  1. Marlow TracyApril 13, 2020 at 9:39 AM

    I read Murder on the Orient Express recently and really enjoyed it. Like you described in your review, I loved the author's attention to detail and the twist at the end. It was also interesting because the story took place almost entirely in a confined environment (train cabins), but still managed to keep the reader on their toes. Nice review, and thanks for putting no spoilers!

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