Murder on the Orient Express

by Agatha Christie

paperback, 96 pages

Published Jan. 1, 2018 by HarperCollins UK.

ISBN:: 978-0-00-824967-0

(126 reviews)

While en route from Syria to Paris, in the middle of a freezing winter's night, the Orient Express is stopped dead in its tracks by a snowdrift. Passengers awake to find the train still stranded and to discover that a wealthy American has been brutally stabbed to death in his private compartment. Incredibly, that compartment is locked from the inside. With no escape into the wintery landscape the killer must still be on board. Fortunately, the brilliant Belgian inspector Hercule Poirot is also on board, having booked the last available berth.

Murder on the Orient Express is one of Agatha Christie’s most famous novels, owing no doubt to a combination of its romantic setting and the ingeniousness of its plot; its non-exploitative reference to the sensational kidnapping and murder of the infant son of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh only two years prior; and a popular 1974 film adaptation, …

46 editions

Johnny reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Neat puzzle

4 stars

Murder on the Orient Express is certainly a decent "whodunnit", although at this point the conclusion of the story is so well-known that I can't really judge how well it was executed from the viewpoint of a reader without that prior knowledge. It's a quick, fluent read once you get used to Christie's vocabulary and style of writing, which is (unsurprisingly) rather antiquated in some passages. I was a little surprised at the untranslated French interjections and phrases; people who don't know at least a little French might stumble upon them.

All in all I found it to be a great book to read for fun in 2 days. Some of the details and the general way the pieces of the puzzle fit together ended up being pretty satisfying and less one-dimensional than I remembered from whatever movie adaptation I watched ages ago.

Sergio reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I'm glad to have filled in this gap in my "household names of literature" knowledge, even if it didn't make much of an impact, maybe partially due to me already knowing the answer to the core mystery from cultural osmosis. It feels very "structured" and somewhat dry, but ultimately it's a lean read with some clever ideas. It has some iffy statements regarding the temperament of people from some or other nations, but then again I suppose only an Anglo Saxon brain could truly understand /s

Sissas reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Masterpiece

5 stars

Even having read this book before, watched movies and TV shows, it strikes me how absolutely masterful of a mystery this is

madklowns reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

We had a small pool betting who was the culprit. When we found out the murderer was actually NAME_REACTED, it was quite the upset. Monocles were dropped, and at least one person uttered a "good heavens".

m9p909 reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Very fun mystery book. I kept trying to figure it out but I was stumped until the big reveal.

zhliu0124 reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I was a little disappointed while reading the book because I reached to the right conclusion at the very beginning of the story based only on three pieces of information:

1) The train was unusually packed. “It is incredible, Monsieur. All the world elects to travel tonight!” And the author told us some possibilities through M. Bouc, “Ah, without doubt there is some party of journalists–of politicians–?” This told us that it was not a coincidence that all the travelers gathered on the train.

2) Multiple people stabbed the body. Some blows were struck with the left hand, while the others obviously right-handed. Some blows were struck in such a great force that they must be delivered by men, while others were so light and likely by feeble women. This matches the fact that there were all kinds of travelers on the train at the same time.

3) The Armstrong kidnapping case. It was such a tragedy, especially when the guy behind all the abhorrer was escaped by bribing. This gave a good reason that many people wanted him to die.

Based on these three reasons, it was not so difficult to guess that several, if not all, of the travelers are involved in the murder.

I guess this is a common issue while reading the classic mystery thrillers. These stories are so well-known and their plots are wildly borrowed by many other books and movies. So I often have the feeling that these classic stories are “familiar”.

A. Rivera reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie (A Hercule Poirot mystery)

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Quick impressions: Listening to the book worked really well. Branagh has a good reading voice, and he performs the different parts well. This unabridged edition is 6 hours and 13 minutes, so it is not long. You can do it in a few sittings or while you are doing work or other task. Overall, this was a very good reading experience.

(Full review on my blog later)

V171 reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

A classic that I honestly knew I'd enjoy. I don't read murder mysteries as often as I should since I tend to enjoy them so much. This was a great, well paced story with a wide cast of interesting characters. There wasn't really any character development, but that's to be expected. While entertaining, the story did have the same misses as many murder mysteries of the era do, which is drawing the correct conclusion from little data for entertainment value. This made it feel a tad ridiculous at times, I enjoyed it.

ManyRoads reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

If you have not read this novel, it is unique. I recommend it highly. The plot is quite unique (within the genre). I can't say much more about the plot without 'spilling' the beans. What I can say is that this is an excellent Hercule Poirot mystery; and, he is in 'rare' form.

anicetus reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Take a ride on the orient express and experience a brilliant story.

Rick Rupp reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The Audible version is excellent.

MBybee reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Such a disappointment. I love Hercule Poirot books, but this one was sloppily edited, poorly written, and relies on the unbelievably unlikely trope that "simply accusing someone of something will make them confess".
Not her best work by any stretch.

Gossamerchild reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Storygraph'

3 stars

I loved this book the first time I read it. It...doesn't hold up much with a reread. It's so very...dated. So much xenophobia. It's a little cringe-worthy, based on that, but I still (mostly) enjoyed it.

flashy_dragon reviewed Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Murder on the Orient Express' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

The first time I tried this book, I found it a bore. And I put it aside, until my wife convinced me to give it another try.

I'm glad that I did. Hercule Poirot is a fascinating character, and listening to David Suchet play not just the detective but all of the characters was a delight. I found that I enjoyed this story, and I kept guessing at who the killer was, and when I was sure who it was, I'd find myself guessing again.

I was surprised by the ending. I was conflicted by it, but also found that it made sense, and provided insight into the character of Poirot himself.