Reviews with content warning for Child death - Murder on the Orient Express

I decided to read this book because I bought a poster with 100 books to read in your lifetime. This is the twentieth book on this list. I cannot believe I am twenty percent in on this journey. I thought I was going to struggle with this book with it being a classic, but it was very enjoyable.

This book is based on Hercule Poirot. He is traveling on the Orient Express and is approached by a desperate American named Ratchett. He is afraid that someone is going to kill him and goes to Poirot for help. Sadly, the next day Ratchett’s worst fears become reality, when he is found dead in his cabin, a victim of multiple stab wounds. With nothing but a scrap of paper to go on, Poirot must piece together Ratchett’s identity before he can find out which of his fellow passengers murdered him.

I will always love crime books and the mystery of figuring out who commit the crime. I think the mystery is enough to keep you hooked. I liked the fact that it is split into parts and it’s not a very big book, it feels like Poirot is sat next to you talking about the case and what his thoughts are. My favourite bits of any mystery book is when the penny finally drops and you know who commit the crime, which in this case happened at the end of the book which slightly annoyed me because I wanted to see if there was going to be any outcome and what was going to happen to the suspect after the case had been solved. I love Poirot, I think he was so level-headed and yet his brain was working a thousand miles a minute that the other detectives couldn’t keep up.

I was hoping for some action and some bad guys getting their ass kicked, but obviously with the setting on this book and everyone being so calm, it wasn’t like there was a need for anyone’s ass to be kicked. This book ended with me having questions regarding the suspects. I would like answers please, I would have liked for there to be multiple POVs with the killers talking and planning so that we knew what they were thinking, I just wanted to be inside their head during the final chapter.

I enjoyed this book and managed to finish it quite quickly. For my first book I read written by Agathe Christie, it has set my expectations pretty high for her next work that I might read.

Content Warnings

meyn's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing fast-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

d4yd4y's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Content Warnings

bookshelfhannah's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

katewhite77's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted mysterious sad fast-paced

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

5.0

My first Agatha Christie and I loved it.

I picked this up because I wanted something short, sharp, absorbing, and plotty, but also not too dark, and I would say this fitted the bill perfectly.

I have also always had a thing about sleeper trains,I I find the idea of them really romantic. However, my personal circumstances mean I am very unlikely to find myself on one, so I have to live vicariously through others.

Having said that, I am glad I wasn't on this particular journey because being stuck in a snow drift would be the least of my worries.

Content Warnings

hannahcstocks's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

Content Warnings

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