🟩 Murder on the Orient Express (1934) Review - Some Gay Doin' a Murder | Book Waffle
Murder on the Orient Express (1934) written by Agatha Christie
The victim prior to their death warns of a "small dark man with a womanish voice".Hey! That's me! :D
Didn't know I was on the Orient Express in 1934, but you discover new things about yourself every day.
This is my first mystery read of the year, but my previous dabbles in the genre have left me decidedly unimpressed. So when I picked this up as my first Agatha Christie, I was not expecting much.
But I was pleasantly surprised!
We follow Christie's hallmark Belgian detective Hercule Poirot on a train journey from French Syria up through the Turkey and the Balkans. Stopped by a violent snowstorm, the train descends into panic as a rich American sleazebag is found dead in his cabin.
Sacré Bleu!
The opening is a slog as Christie slowly acquaints us with the dozen or so suspects. It was hard keeping all their intricacies and stories in my head. But, after the first ~15k words, I found myself engrossed. The theory crafting! The waxed moustaches! I was locked-in.
Maybe my distaste for mysteries wouldn't be so keen if I reached for more old school whodunnits! Because I thoroughly enjoyed this rising action.
Don't have much to say about specific characters as they are pieces of the puzzle. In that respect, I think that they were done well. There were no stand-outs, but I imagine that's hard to do when writing these types of mysteries. Everyone is a suspect, after all.
That said, the wrap-up was outrageous. Bordering absurd. It explained lingering questions, sure. But how the good detective arrived at his conclusions is an utter mystery to me.
At one point Poirot outright admits to guessing about the suspect's pasts. And he's correct in every case, of course, with a couple spontaneously breaking down and confirming his rando suspicions. There's something rushed and unsatisfying when major plot points come out of left field like that. Poirot could choose violence one day and accuse a maid of farting up a storm during dinner, and the woman would probably crumple to the floor.
"It's true! It's true! All of it!"
I want to emphasize that I don't disagree with the identity of the murderer, but I do believe the series of events leading to Poirot's conclusions are bizarre and contrived. To me, Christie was working with a unique end result but failed to reverse-engineer a plausible map on how to arrive there.
Overall I had enjoyable ride on the Orient Express. The rising action was superb and drew me in. The resolution was a letdown after that hype. But the work taken as a whole was a fun read. I will definitely be picking up another Agatha Christie in the future.
Don't have much to say about specific characters as they are pieces of the puzzle. In that respect, I think that they were done well. There were no stand-outs, but I imagine that's hard to do when writing these types of mysteries. Everyone is a suspect, after all.
That said, the wrap-up was outrageous. Bordering absurd. It explained lingering questions, sure. But how the good detective arrived at his conclusions is an utter mystery to me.
At one point Poirot outright admits to guessing about the suspect's pasts. And he's correct in every case, of course, with a couple spontaneously breaking down and confirming his rando suspicions. There's something rushed and unsatisfying when major plot points come out of left field like that. Poirot could choose violence one day and accuse a maid of farting up a storm during dinner, and the woman would probably crumple to the floor.
"It's true! It's true! All of it!"
I want to emphasize that I don't disagree with the identity of the murderer, but I do believe the series of events leading to Poirot's conclusions are bizarre and contrived. To me, Christie was working with a unique end result but failed to reverse-engineer a plausible map on how to arrive there.
Overall I had enjoyable ride on the Orient Express. The rising action was superb and drew me in. The resolution was a letdown after that hype. But the work taken as a whole was a fun read. I will definitely be picking up another Agatha Christie in the future.
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