Death on the Nile

I decided to read this book after cruising the Nile and seeing the hotel where Agatha Christie stayed on her visit to Egypt. I thought it would be fun to read while the places she mentions in the book are still fresh in my mind.

I liked this story very much....even though I'm not a mystery fan in general. Ms. Christie did keep me guessing along with Mr. Poirot as he tried to solve the murders on the ship. ( )

A beautiful young woman’s mysterious death shatters a peaceful cruise on the Nile, but Hercule Poirot is determined to find the killer who’s still onboard.

This is one of my favorite Hercule Poirot mysteries. The setting is exotic, the mystery is smart, and the reveal is extremely satisfying! I didn’t see the ending coming, and for me, that’s the mark of a great mystery. What I love most is that this book is that it’s transporting—meaning that I felt like I was floating down the Nile with Hercule Poirot. The atmosphere is fantastic!

Bonus: Rumor has it that Death on the Nile will be the sequel to the recent Murder on the Orient Express movie!

Read more Agatha Christie reviews on my blog at bigdipperbooks.com ( )

Death on the Nile is your typical Hercule Poirot mystery involving a menagerie of colorful yet mysterious characters and an inconvenient murder during a holiday outing. I used to read Agatha Christie novels as a child, mainly due to a fascination with the ingenious deductive methods of the extraordinary "sleuth," and seemed a bit more accessible than Sherlock Holmes at the time. While I enjoy Hercule Poirot as a character, the mystery novel format of gathering a dozen or so red herrings around a convoluted murder plot and then unraveling false leads one by one in agonizing detail can become a bit monotonous. This is especially true of Death on the Nile, with a less than plausible murder plot and peripheral characters whose only role is to provide inconsequential side "mysteries" for Poirot to solve along the way. Of course, this is precisely what most people read Agatha Christie novels for, but I would argue that, even in this regard, Death on the Nile is not the strongest entry into the genre. Entertaining, but overall, not impressive. ( )

Synopsis: Two people are being persecuted by a woman who is still in love with the man. She follows them all over, finally confronting them during their honeymoon on the Nile. Of course Hercule Poirot finds the clues and understands what is happening.
Review: As with all of the Poirot novels/stories,this one drags in places, but the plot is riveting. ( )

In which the Belgian detective’s Egyptian holiday is ruined by love triangles, tourists, and murder.

"Death on the Nile" is, in many ways, the quintessential Agatha Christie novel. Amidst a colourful setting, a variety of characters – some openly shadowy, others repressing their quirks – are suspected in a locked-room murder, while romances and rivalries obfuscate Poirot’s attempts to untangle the situation. There’s no surprise, then, that this is one of her most well-known works, and opened the Peter Ustinov “all-star” film series of the ’70s and ’80s. As with all Christie’s work set in Africa and the Middle East, she devotes a good deal of time to the lush setting, although here it feels less textured than "Murder in Mesopotamia" or "Appointment with Death". Both the Ustinov and Suchet films have been very successful, although how can you really go wrong with a steamer on the Nile?

On a personal level, though, I’ve always found this novel to be a little cold and analytical. Perhaps I was just not drawn into the lives of the characters, whose scattershot nature conflicts with their seeming familiarity with one another. ("Murder on the Orient Express" succeeds for the opposite reason: everyone tries to keep to themselves, making us wonder who is connected to each other. Here, no one can keep to themselves, making us wish they would.) Or perhaps the murder – which is cleverly done, and will hopefully leave most people surprised – just relies on too many coincidences for my liking. Ultimately, though, I think I’m biased against this because I guessed the murderer’s identity. It’s probably the only Christie we’re I’ve ever done so, and the lesson I learnt was that I’d rather be surprised!

[Incidentally, Colonel Race makes his final appearance in Christie's canon and, although his part could have been played by any old friend of Poirot's, it's nice to see Christie continue to interweave her narrative worlds.]

In short, top marks for construction, and it’s certainly famed for a reason, but it’s just not my bag.

Poirot ranking: 14th of 38 ( )