A review by bluejayreads
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

mysterious
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

4.5

My husband was SO EXCITED that I didn't already know the twist to this murder mystery, because apparently knowing the twist makes it not very enjoyable. This is his favorite Agatha Christie book, and he really really wanted me to expierience it too. 

And it was quite an enjoyable read. I did not guess the solution to the mystery at all, which is always a positive thing in my book, and Agatha Christie is indeed fantastic at unexpected twists. The answer of who was the murderer did seem to come out of nowhere, but I did listen to this as an audiobook at work. If I'd been reading this and putting my whole attention into it, I might have been able to follow Hercule Poirot's thought process a little better. 

I can't help but compare this to And Then There Were None, the other book I've read by the same author. Both were short books that can be read quickly, relatively uncomplicated aside from one massive twist revealing who's responsible, managed a large cast of characters who all managed to be distinct, and featured said characters isolated away from anyone who could help or put confounding variables into the murderers' carefully crafted plot. The tension is much lower in Murder on the Orient Express since it doesn't seem likely that the killer intends to kill anyone else, and obviously the twist is different, but otherwise the two books are strikingly similar. 

Personally, I think Murder on the Orient Express would be good for at least two reads if one was so inclined. The first to experience the twist and how wrong your guess about the murderer's identity was (unless you already know the twist, I promise you're wrong), the second to know the twist and see how all the clues are designed to lead everyone astray but do point to the right answer after all. Beyond that, I don't know. Agatha Christie's mysteries do not seem to be designed for re-readability (although I haven't read many mysteries, so that may be typical of the genre). Regardless, I highly enjoyed this adventure, and Agatha Christie is an absolute master at twists. 
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