Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Murder on the Orient Express

I didn't enjoy this Poirot mystery as much as I expected to, considering how many times it's been adapted in media. I thought perhaps it would be one of the stand-out whodunits in Christie's repertoire. However, upon reaching the denouement, I found it lacking. I was satisfied by the twist, but felt that Poirot's end-game choices were a bit out-of-character for him.

That said, it maps rather nicely onto Rian Johnson's most recent mystery film, Glass Onion, and I can certainly understand the appeal of the plot elements that frustrated me. I would recommend Murder on the Orient Express to any new Christie readers who may be looking specifically for a novel with a film tie-in. As I haven't yet read Death on the Nile, I can't speak to the faithfulness of its recent film adaptation.

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risemini's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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traa's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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hollystopreading's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.75

I wish I didn’t watch the movie years ago!!! I could imagine this to be an extremely nail bitting book!

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bearystarry's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A classic for a reason, I suppose! A few questionable lines due to the time it was written, but. The atmosphere was so good and all of the characters were fun to hear from. The voices from the narrator were excellent.

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thea_reads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The mystery plot itself is of course fantastic. There is a reason why this book is seen as a classic. However I rate it so low because as much as I try to approach books in the time they are written, there is a certain level of nonchalant racism that just completely sickens me. These "conclusions" Poirot makes about the murder suspects due to their race are a.) False as spoiler alert

Spoiler

everyone did it

Spoiler

and b.) are wholly founded on xenophobia, eugenics, etc. For me, I'd say just watch a recent adaptation, as they've probably omitted these wild claims about ethnic groups.

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vincef's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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madamenovelist's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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