Murder on the Orient Express

 Agatha Christie was made a Dame for a reason and I think Murder on the Orient Express was that reason. 

Complete strangers board a train, mingle for a few hours or days, and then go their separate ways. But then a murder happens and those who have nothing to do with each other are then all suspected to have murdered a horrendous man. So many clues. Too many clues. It was one of them, but which one? 

Murder on the Orient Express  has been made into many movies and so the story wasn't new to me. It was one that I wanted to read to say that I'd done it.  I am a major fan of Kenneth Branagh as he is a fantastic actor and brings so much more to each character he portrays (whether it is Hercule, Professor Lockhart, or King Henry IV), so to hear him give this presentation for all the many nationalities here was a treat. 

I enjoyed all the characters that were present here. There were many and at times could have been hard to keep track of, but Agatha Christie was able to keep them all fairly well clear. And while there were many clues and twists and turns throughout the story, she gave them to us in ways the kept it concise clear though we had to use our "little gray cells" to get the other ending like Poirot did--if people are that awesome to be able to actually do that anyway. 

I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the games and movies that came out of this series. Well done Agatha. Well done. 

Third Girl

The only other Agatha Christie book I've read was And Then There Were None, which was fantastic and I've recently dived into most of the BBC from 1989-2013 tv series and loved it very much. So, here we are at trying the novels. 

 

This novel is about a girl who comes to Hercule Poirot's office and says that she thinks she's killed someone, but then before any real investigation can happen she vanishes. Who is she, who's been murdered, and why did it happen? With the help of a mystery writer friend who is a notorious socialite, he finds out that she is the daughter of a rich man who's just returned from Africa with his new wife and that Nora, the young woman, is living as a "third girl" at a small flat in London to help with boarding expensive. But for as far as Poirot can figure, no murder has occurred that is connected to young Nora. 

This book wasn't particularly my favorite, though I don't have much to compare it too. The mystery was good and I enjoy Poirot as a character, but I do feel there were some problems. 

The reader of this audiobook was awesome, which is why I give it a generous 4 stars, because Hugh Fraser is the Hercule Poirot's friend and sometimes assistant in the BBC Tv series, Captain Hastings. It was a treat to listen to him voice the narrations and Poirot himself. 

I think I struggled with this one because it seemed so redundant. Different characters repeated so  much of the same things about Nora or her father or other situations that it kind of bogged me down. If I was reading it myself I probably would have put it down or had a far harder time getting through it. I don't know if this is the case of other of Hercule Poirot books or others of her books in general--it sure wasn't the case in And Then There Were None. It made it kind of hard to get through all the information, because it kept being repeated, relentlessly. So in trying to find out for myself what was going on and who was actually murdered, was more difficult than it should have been. 

I will listen to another or two, especially if it is by Hugh Fraser, but it might be some time before that actually happens. 

And Then There Were None

And Then There Were None is one of the most well known books to date. It is probably Agatha Christie's crowning jewel of her career and for very good reason.

For those who didn't have to read it in your eighth grade class, it is about ten people who get coerced onto an island. They believe it is for a simple party for the weekend, a little vacation. But then they hear a strange voice condemning them all for murders they've committed in the past. At first they are all astounded, flabbergasted, and shocked, but that is just the beginning. People start dying. At the beginning, a simple poisoning, but as the night closes and a new day begins, it becomes more and more gruesome. Who is killing them? Someone else on this small, remote island? One of the guests? They all begin killed off. Paranoia sets in. Everyone is on edge. Who is the murderer?!

I read this in eighth grade in my English class. I was engulfed in the novel so much that when I saw the computer game in the store (with the novel attached) I bought it up so fast. The game and the book have different murderers, but the story is remarkably the same. They have made many movies and mini series about this books and I can't wait to see more than just the 1945 version.

Even if you don't care for mysteries, much like myself, you'll enjoy this one. It isn't the "Detective Novel" that consists of a fair amount (if not most) of the mystery novels out there. It is different and a good intro to Christie and mysteries in general. Everyone should read this book.