Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

"Used with permission from Microsoft."

There is a crazy snowstorm which forces the Orient Express to stop until the storm passes. The train was full, packed for this time of year. So we already know something is about to go down. In the morning a passenger is found dead in his compartment locked from the inside. He was stabbed a dozen times. Whodunit?

This story follows the adventures of a detective that is on the train, Poirot. As he goes through all the possible suspects on this train to figure out who the murderer is.

When I started the book, I wasn’t immediately impressed. I was sure it was going to be predictable, and I was sure I already knew who the murderer was. I wasn’t really in love with the characters and I struggled to remember who they all were. And that was probably my fault, this guy comes on the train at the last possible minute, and I know he was somehow relevant to the story. That to me screamed predictably, so at first, I wasn’t invested.

However, as the story progressed my interest grew, as one by one every suspect I had,  was acquitted by Poirot. I couldn’t help but laugh as Poirot skillfully explains why it couldn’t be that person. And I said to myself, of course, that makes a lot of sense. (Yes, I talk to myself.) This left me wondering who I was missing, what was I overlooking? I pulled out my notepad and began to dig deep into my investigative skills. Following each clue, and each lead knowing that I will be able to figure this out before the big reveal. I didn’t, which annoyed me.

Agatha Christie did a marvelous job at twisting everything together. Each one of the suspects had some connection; that was mind-blowing. Now I think it could be anyone. It could be a man or woman, that is right-handed or left-handed, or both. What is it? Half man, half woman? As the book drew to a close, I was filled with excitement and anxious to find out who it was.

The ending was nothing like I expected. I was very impressed and inspired at the end. The clues were there, the suspect(s) was there. In the end, I loved the book, I loved the characters, and then I sat in silence wondering how did I not see this coming.

Rating 5/5