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thaurisil's review
5.0
While I read through Agatha Christie's novels with the Appointments with Agatha group, I'm putting a templated synopsis of each novel in my review. It has spoilers!
Book: 22 of Christie's novels, 17 of Hercule Poirot novels
Setting: A boat on the Nile
Detective and Companions: Hercule Poirot, Colonel Race
Crime: Rich, famous and beautiful, Linnet Ridgeway marries her poor best friend Jacqueline de Bellefort's husband, Simon Doyle. Jacqueline stalks them jealously on their honeymoon on the Nile. One night, Linnet is found dead with a bullet in her head, but Jacqueline has an alibi and cannot have committed the murder.
Suspects:
- Jacqueline de Bellefort, Linnet's former best friend and Simon's lover
- Simon Doyle, Linnet's new husband
- Louise Bourget, Linnet's new maid
- Andrew Pennington, Linnet's American trustee
- Salome Otterbourne, an erotic romance novelist
- Rosalie Otterbourne, Mrs Otterbourne's unhappy daughter
- Tim Allerton, a jovial young man
- Mrs Allerton, Tim's benevolent mother
- Marie van Schuyler, an elderly American socialite
- Cornelia Robson, Miss Van Schuyler's poor relative
- Miss Bowers, Miss Van Schuyler's nurse
- Mr Ferguson, a cynical communist
- Guido Richetti, an Italian archaeologist
- Jim Fanthorp, a young man who is later found to be a lawyer
- Dr Bessner, an Austrian physician of well-to-do patients
Twists and Turns:
- From the start, Jacqueline is the most likely killer. She shoots Simon in the leg shortly before Linnet is found shot by the same pistol. But she has an alibi, as she was accompanied by Cornelia, Mr Fanthorp and Miss Bowers throughout the night after she shoots Simon.
- Each suspect after that is then systematically ruled out:
> Linnet's necklace of pearls is found missing. When a search is organised, Miss Bowers owns up that she has the necklace, and that her main role is watching over Miss Van Schuyler who is a kleptomaniac. But the necklace is an imitation. Poirot then discovers that Tim Allerton teamed up with his cousin, Joanna Southwood, to steal Linnet's necklace and replace it with an imitation.
> Louise Bourget appears to have a possible motive to kill Linnet, but she is later found killed. Then Mrs Otterbourne tries to tell Poirot who the Louise's murderer is, but she is shot dead with a revolver just as she is about to speak.
> Andrew Pennington, Linnet's suspicious American trustee, is found guilty of fraud. Mr Fanthorp, a mysterious but kind young man, is found to be the nephew of Linnet's British solicitor who was sent to keep a watch on Pennington. Mr Ferguson is a duke in hiding.
> Colonel Race is searching for a leader of unrest in Egypt. It turns out to be Richetti, but he is not concerned with Linnet's murder.
- Finally it is found that Jacqueline and Simon were working together. Simon wanted Linnet's money, so he married her, killed her, and plotted with Jacqueline to create alibis for each other.
This book was adapted into a stage play by Agatha Christie, and it is easy to see why. The setting, plot and characters are tightly written, and the book is fascinating on its own even without the mystery aspect. Jacqueline is an especially well-written characters with her passionate love for Simon which translates into wild, passionate and almost manic behaviour.
From the start, it seemed obvious that Jacqueline killed Linnet, but it seemed impossible how she could have done it. Poirot slowly eliminates the suspects one by one, then reveals how the mystery was done, yet showing sensitivity and care to Jacqueline throughout.
Book: 22 of Christie's novels, 17 of Hercule Poirot novels
Setting: A boat on the Nile
Detective and Companions: Hercule Poirot, Colonel Race
Crime: Rich, famous and beautiful, Linnet Ridgeway marries her poor best friend Jacqueline de Bellefort's husband, Simon Doyle. Jacqueline stalks them jealously on their honeymoon on the Nile. One night, Linnet is found dead with a bullet in her head, but Jacqueline has an alibi and cannot have committed the murder.
Suspects:
- Jacqueline de Bellefort, Linnet's former best friend and Simon's lover
- Simon Doyle, Linnet's new husband
- Louise Bourget, Linnet's new maid
- Andrew Pennington, Linnet's American trustee
- Salome Otterbourne, an erotic romance novelist
- Rosalie Otterbourne, Mrs Otterbourne's unhappy daughter
- Tim Allerton, a jovial young man
- Mrs Allerton, Tim's benevolent mother
- Marie van Schuyler, an elderly American socialite
- Cornelia Robson, Miss Van Schuyler's poor relative
- Miss Bowers, Miss Van Schuyler's nurse
- Mr Ferguson, a cynical communist
- Guido Richetti, an Italian archaeologist
- Jim Fanthorp, a young man who is later found to be a lawyer
- Dr Bessner, an Austrian physician of well-to-do patients
Twists and Turns:
- From the start, Jacqueline is the most likely killer. She shoots Simon in the leg shortly before Linnet is found shot by the same pistol. But she has an alibi, as she was accompanied by Cornelia, Mr Fanthorp and Miss Bowers throughout the night after she shoots Simon.
- Each suspect after that is then systematically ruled out:
> Linnet's necklace of pearls is found missing. When a search is organised, Miss Bowers owns up that she has the necklace, and that her main role is watching over Miss Van Schuyler who is a kleptomaniac. But the necklace is an imitation. Poirot then discovers that Tim Allerton teamed up with his cousin, Joanna Southwood, to steal Linnet's necklace and replace it with an imitation.
> Louise Bourget appears to have a possible motive to kill Linnet, but she is later found killed. Then Mrs Otterbourne tries to tell Poirot who the Louise's murderer is, but she is shot dead with a revolver just as she is about to speak.
> Andrew Pennington, Linnet's suspicious American trustee, is found guilty of fraud. Mr Fanthorp, a mysterious but kind young man, is found to be the nephew of Linnet's British solicitor who was sent to keep a watch on Pennington. Mr Ferguson is a duke in hiding.
> Colonel Race is searching for a leader of unrest in Egypt. It turns out to be Richetti, but he is not concerned with Linnet's murder.
- Finally it is found that Jacqueline and Simon were working together. Simon wanted Linnet's money, so he married her, killed her, and plotted with Jacqueline to create alibis for each other.
This book was adapted into a stage play by Agatha Christie, and it is easy to see why. The setting, plot and characters are tightly written, and the book is fascinating on its own even without the mystery aspect. Jacqueline is an especially well-written characters with her passionate love for Simon which translates into wild, passionate and almost manic behaviour.
From the start, it seemed obvious that Jacqueline killed Linnet, but it seemed impossible how she could have done it. Poirot slowly eliminates the suspects one by one, then reveals how the mystery was done, yet showing sensitivity and care to Jacqueline throughout.
mollymoona's review
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
kazooke's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
medhavinii's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
keeps you hooked but if you’ve read a fair share of mysteries then it makes the end obvious
librdibr's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
stekoui's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
magikfaye's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
mauraneandbooks's review against another edition
2.0
Pour moi il n'y a que deux choses à retenir de Mort sur le Nil : le personnage mystérieux de Jacqueline de Bellefort et la fin. A part cela, rien ne mérite vraiment l'attention.
Je me suis procurée Mort sur le Nil à la suite de la sortie du trailer du film qui devrait sortir cette année avec Emma Mackey qui incarne Jacqueline. Je voulais absolument lire le livre avant de voir le film. J'avais déjà lu un livre d'Agatha Christie auparavant, Les Dix Petits Nègres (désormais intitulé Ils étaient dix) que je crois avoir plutôt aimé mais cela remonte à longtemps donc je ne m'en rappelle presque plus. J'ai donc commencé ce roman en pensant l'aimer surtout au vu des critiques positives mais je me suis énormément ennuyée et j'ai mis dix jours à lire ce livre qui fait à peine 400 pages. J'ai trouvé le début avec l'introduction des personnages très long, les crimes et le centre de l'action arrivent très tard puis les interrogatoires sont très longs et répétitifs. Le dénouement est la seule chose qui sauve l'action. Dénouement que j'avais d'ailleurs deviné au bout de cent pages, ce dont je suis plutôt fière!
Peut-être seulement que je n'aime pas le genre policier (très différent du thriller) au vu des autres critiques de Goodreads qui sont unanimes. J'ai aussi sur mes étagères Le Crime de l'Orient Express et je le lirai dans le futur mais pour l'instant un Agatha Christie m'a largement suffit!
Je me suis procurée Mort sur le Nil à la suite de la sortie du trailer du film qui devrait sortir cette année avec Emma Mackey qui incarne Jacqueline. Je voulais absolument lire le livre avant de voir le film. J'avais déjà lu un livre d'Agatha Christie auparavant, Les Dix Petits Nègres (désormais intitulé Ils étaient dix) que je crois avoir plutôt aimé mais cela remonte à longtemps donc je ne m'en rappelle presque plus. J'ai donc commencé ce roman en pensant l'aimer surtout au vu des critiques positives mais je me suis énormément ennuyée et j'ai mis dix jours à lire ce livre qui fait à peine 400 pages. J'ai trouvé le début avec l'introduction des personnages très long, les crimes et le centre de l'action arrivent très tard puis les interrogatoires sont très longs et répétitifs. Le dénouement est la seule chose qui sauve l'action. Dénouement que j'avais d'ailleurs deviné au bout de cent pages, ce dont je suis plutôt fière!
Peut-être seulement que je n'aime pas le genre policier (très différent du thriller) au vu des autres critiques de Goodreads qui sont unanimes. J'ai aussi sur mes étagères Le Crime de l'Orient Express et je le lirai dans le futur mais pour l'instant un Agatha Christie m'a largement suffit!
bunbobabe's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25