Scan barcode
randomreader5's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
lauraklassen's review
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
adamskiboy528491's review
4.0
Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie is THE "Whodunit?" story. As a result of Christie's flat-out making, if not codifying so many tropes in this story, it is not surprising. The story also just….end. They solved it, and that's that. One reason many modern adaptations add so many extra plot elements is to make it more intriguing to a modern audience, the same reason modern Sherlock Holmes uses original material.
Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective, is ready to return from a case in Syria when he is snowbound on the Orient Express. He is disturbed in his sleep by dead quiet and a passing figure in a red kimono, and when he awakes, a male passenger named Samuel Ratchett is found dead, having been stabbed 12 times. Poirot discovers he was a notorious American gangster named Lanfranco Cassetti, who had kidnapped and murdered a three-year-old heiress. The mystery begins to unravel as he realises that 12 of the other 14 passengers and the train's conductor have connections to the dead man and the family of the child that man murdered.
It's a fascinating deconstruction of the "Everyone is a suspect" trope. The only characters who are not suspects are Poirot himself, who was hearing some of the critical events of the murder and was asleep through others, and M. Bouc and Dr Constantine, who were incapable of being in the place of the murder at the time of the murder. When Cassetti first speaks to Poirot, he claims that he has enemies. Poirot notes that a man in a position to have enemies is unlikely to have only one.
Unusually for Christie novels, this one and its well-known film adaptations cover less than two days - three if Poirot's travels on the Taurus Express from Syria to Istanbul are included. The book begins with Poirot seeking passage on the eponymous train. A passenger is murdered that night, and Poirot investigates the case the next day, solving it sometime in the afternoon or late morning.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was the book that propelled its author to fame and is still widely regarded as one of her finest and certainly among her most notable. Even the twist remains controversial as of today. The story could be easier to adapt, and who can blame them? The twist ending that is famous amongst mystery buffs relies heavily on several quirks of the first-person perspective narration.
Mrs Ferrars, a wealthy widow in a quiet English village, has taken her own life. Local industrialist Roger Ackroyd, who was romantically involved with Mrs Ferrars, confesses in private that his lover had admitted to him that she murdered her bullying, abusive, drunken husband with poison...and that someone had found this out, ruthlessly blackmailing her and driving her to suicide. Now, a letter in the post from Mrs Ferrars is about to reveal all—but before Ackroyd can learn and expose the culprit's identity, he is found dead in his study, stabbed viciously in the neck with his ornamental dagger. An open-and-shut case uncovers a likely suspect, but the village has, by chance, a new resident: Hercule Point, the noted detective, who has retired to the countryside to grow vegetables. His legendary "little grey cells" intrigued by the case, Poirot soon discovers that all is not as it seems...
The titular murder was committed almost entirely on the fly, as the murderer had hardly any time to plan it. It is a testament to the killer's intelligence that what plan there was was highly effective and would've worked if Poirot hadn't become involved. The killer's reveal wiped the floor of literary scholars as of this day. And without giving it away, it's a clever and unique take on how we view storytelling.
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case is, as the title suggests, the final story to feature the detective, Hercule Poirot. The novel was written by Christie in the 1940s and locked away, as she was unsure of her survival during WWII and wanted a proper conclusion for Poirot. She authorised its release shortly before her death.
Arthur Hastings, Poirot's "Watson" from the early days, is at loose ends, feeling adrift after the death of his beloved wife. He happily accepts an invitation from Hercule Poirot for a reunion and comes to Styles Court, which is now run as a hotel, only to find that Poirot is in feeble health and is confined to a wheelchair. The elderly and disabled Poirot tells his old friend Arthur Hastings that one of the guests at the house is a serial killer, whom he calls "X", and he must act quickly to thwart the killer of their prey before it is too late...
Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective, is ready to return from a case in Syria when he is snowbound on the Orient Express. He is disturbed in his sleep by dead quiet and a passing figure in a red kimono, and when he awakes, a male passenger named Samuel Ratchett is found dead, having been stabbed 12 times. Poirot discovers he was a notorious American gangster named Lanfranco Cassetti, who had kidnapped and murdered a three-year-old heiress. The mystery begins to unravel as he realises that 12 of the other 14 passengers and the train's conductor have connections to the dead man and the family of the child that man murdered.
It's a fascinating deconstruction of the "Everyone is a suspect" trope. The only characters who are not suspects are Poirot himself, who was hearing some of the critical events of the murder and was asleep through others, and M. Bouc and Dr Constantine, who were incapable of being in the place of the murder at the time of the murder. When Cassetti first speaks to Poirot, he claims that he has enemies. Poirot notes that a man in a position to have enemies is unlikely to have only one.
Unusually for Christie novels, this one and its well-known film adaptations cover less than two days - three if Poirot's travels on the Taurus Express from Syria to Istanbul are included. The book begins with Poirot seeking passage on the eponymous train. A passenger is murdered that night, and Poirot investigates the case the next day, solving it sometime in the afternoon or late morning.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd was the book that propelled its author to fame and is still widely regarded as one of her finest and certainly among her most notable. Even the twist remains controversial as of today. The story could be easier to adapt, and who can blame them? The twist ending that is famous amongst mystery buffs relies heavily on several quirks of the first-person perspective narration.
Mrs Ferrars, a wealthy widow in a quiet English village, has taken her own life. Local industrialist Roger Ackroyd, who was romantically involved with Mrs Ferrars, confesses in private that his lover had admitted to him that she murdered her bullying, abusive, drunken husband with poison...and that someone had found this out, ruthlessly blackmailing her and driving her to suicide. Now, a letter in the post from Mrs Ferrars is about to reveal all—but before Ackroyd can learn and expose the culprit's identity, he is found dead in his study, stabbed viciously in the neck with his ornamental dagger. An open-and-shut case uncovers a likely suspect, but the village has, by chance, a new resident: Hercule Point, the noted detective, who has retired to the countryside to grow vegetables. His legendary "little grey cells" intrigued by the case, Poirot soon discovers that all is not as it seems...
The titular murder was committed almost entirely on the fly, as the murderer had hardly any time to plan it. It is a testament to the killer's intelligence that what plan there was was highly effective and would've worked if Poirot hadn't become involved. The killer's reveal wiped the floor of literary scholars as of this day. And without giving it away, it's a clever and unique take on how we view storytelling.
Curtain: Poirot's Last Case is, as the title suggests, the final story to feature the detective, Hercule Poirot. The novel was written by Christie in the 1940s and locked away, as she was unsure of her survival during WWII and wanted a proper conclusion for Poirot. She authorised its release shortly before her death.
Arthur Hastings, Poirot's "Watson" from the early days, is at loose ends, feeling adrift after the death of his beloved wife. He happily accepts an invitation from Hercule Poirot for a reunion and comes to Styles Court, which is now run as a hotel, only to find that Poirot is in feeble health and is confined to a wheelchair. The elderly and disabled Poirot tells his old friend Arthur Hastings that one of the guests at the house is a serial killer, whom he calls "X", and he must act quickly to thwart the killer of their prey before it is too late...
rheaalley's review
4.0
i wanna put hercule poirot and Phoenix Wright in a room to see who walks out unscathed
halberdbooks's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
While I have not read every book in the series, I have to assume that the three mysteries in this volume -- Murder on the Orient Express, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, and Curtain: Poirot's Last Case -- have the most shocking and unexpected solutions of them all. Having read the first two books in this volume in high school, returning as an adult has brought a new appreciation for the craft. Here are no shortage of twists and turns and hints and misdirections that reveal themselves in brand new light upon rereading. The third book, new to me, was similarly full of these, and the end took me by as much surprise as the others did on first reading. Honestly, these are tragic stories, and their solutions still leave me with a feeling of loss. It is not as acute now as it was when I was a teenager. But it is there. Kenneth Branagh's current film adaptation is the only version that treats these mysteries with the same mood in which I read the books. There's a reason why Agatha Christie is considered one of the greatest mystery writers of all time. The story structures here are nothing short of genius.
emmaisbored's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pilchardsmimi's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5