Death on the Nile

I quite liked this one, one of the rare Poirot stories where I was able to figure out how it happened and why, probably due to the generous amount of clues. The setting and the cast made this more fun than the usual fare, it takes its time introducing you to everyone and there's a nice slow build up before the murder actually happens. There's a nice little web of relationships here and almost every character gets their own slice of development which gives this one a more intimate feel and a nice helping of character drama throughout. There's a lot of tension in this one partially because of the setting but also because there are a lot of potential suspects - though I do feel it's a bit more easy to deduce what's going on here compared to a lot of other Poirot stories. It was nice seeing Poirot's inner matchmaker at work again, perhaps he should've dabbled in that trade a bit more.

This was my first foray into both Agatha Christie and Hercule Poirot, and I must say, it did not disappoint. The story aged much better than I anticipated; I kind of went in assuming the book would be terribly racist based on the publication year and setting, but it wasn't. Instead, it was a fantastic romp through one of my favorite worlds, that of Rich People Being Messy. The obscenely wealthy Linnet Ridgeway marries the former fiancé of her best friend, Jacqueline de Bellefort, and the two of them plus the man in question wind up all together on a boat on the Nile, alongside a motley crew of other travelers. Linnet Ridgeway, of course, ends up dead, but evidence shows that Jacqueline could not have done it. So who did?

I will admit, I was surprised how long it took for Linnet to die. It's something like halfway through the book that she's finally killed, which felt very different from contemporary mysteries I've read where there's a death practically if not literally on the first page. This made the first half of the book a little less interesting, as it was all setup and no crime solving, although I enjoyed the gossip-y feel of reading about all the Drama(TM) between the characters. The second half of the
book really had me in its clutches; the stakes continue to get higher as Poirot works, and it definitely kept me flipping the pages. The ending genuinely surprised me, although to be fair, I am pretty terrible at solving mysteries. I also think Poirot himself is hilarious and very fun, and I am definitely interested in reading more about him and more Christie in general. I hear And Then There Were None is pretty excellent; perhaps I'll read that one next.