Appointment with Death - Book Review

I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.

Appointment with Death

1938

Description

The unstoppable Hercule Poirot finds himself in the Middle East with only one day to solve a murder in the classic Agatha Christie mystery, Appointment with Death

Among the towering red cliffs of Petra, like some monstrous swollen Buddha, sits the corpse of Mrs. Boynton. A tiny puncture mark on her wrist is the only sign of the fatal injection that killed her.

My Thoughts

This is the 31st book by Agatha Christie and the 18th Poirot Mystery

The actual murder takes place on an Archaeological Dig in the Middle East but the preamble to it is set in a travelling atmosphere so it has the added mix of having people of various nationalities intertwined more than those of her novels which are set in the United Kingdom.


The usual family members of course are involved and then the people involved in the dig plus some other visitors.

Many servants and manual workers but is there a red herring in this one?

Who are we meant to like and to dislike?

Does Miss Christie try to lead us up the wrong path?

Yes of course she does but which path is the wrong one and which is the right one.

Not one of my favourites partly because I'm not so fond of that type of location but she does present us with what looks like an impossible murder and of course that is Christie at her finest.

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Disclaimer:
I did not receive a free copy of this book or any other incentive to review this book.

I have owned all the Christie novels for many years.

Death on the Nile - Book Review

I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.

Death on The Nile

1937

Description

Agatha Christie’s most exotic murder mystery, reissued with a striking cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.

The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile is shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway has been shot through the head. She was young, stylish and beautiful, a girl who had everything – until she lost her life.

Hercule Poirot recalls an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: ‘I’d like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.’ Yet in this exotic setting’ nothing is ever quite what it seems…

My Thoughts

This is the 29th book by Agatha Christie and the 16th Poirot Mystery

It is one of the best known Christie books and possibly because of that and the number of adaptations that have been produced it is not among my top Christie stories.  

As with most of her books it is very cleverly written but at one stage I do feel that I can not quite get round the intricate plot because I feel that just one strategic action is not properly explained even having read it a couple of times and having seen all the adaptations, so I do know the full details of it.

She loves villains and heroines and so do I and here you definitely have a special villain and heroine.   I do love the way we are allowed to see the concern and the disdain for them both emanating from Poirot.

We also see several other storylines running through the book some of which have no bearing on the solution of the murder and some which do, not exactly red herrings though.

It has to be noted that this is one of her books that even if it was not one of the most wellknown it still would be one that once read the victim and murderer will not be forgotten. 

There is one thing missing in this one - no Captain Hastings!

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Dumb Witness - Book Review

I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.

Dumb Witness

1937

Description

An elderly spinster has been poisoned in her country home…

Everyone blamed Emily’s accident on a rubber ball left on the stairs by her frisky terrier. But the more she thought about her fall, the more convinced she became that one of her relatives was trying to kill her.

On April 17th she wrote her suspicions in a letter to Hercule Poirot. Mysteriously he didn’t receive the letter until June 28th… by which time Emily was already dead…

My Thoughts

This is the 28th book by Agatha Christie and the 15th Poirot Mystery

Okay I don't like cats, I do like dogs but not enough to be a dog owner.  So I would not particularly be drawn to a story which seems to be written about a dog.

However I love this book.

I have read it a few times and always enjoy how she has carefully written certain aspects to each of the suspects' character.  I like the way they are each not how we expect them to be and actually in the end nearly all of them are displaying different feelings and actions than before.  It is as if we have an aquaintance with them to start with but then get to know them and they have relaxed in front of us by the end.

Of course the dog Bob cannot speak but by getting to know his character as well the mystery is solved.

I would almost guarantee that the first person you think is the murderer will not be the one you think of half way through the book and certainly not the one who is revealed at the end.

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Murder in Mesopotamia - Book Review

I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.

Murder in Mesopotamia

1936

Description

An archaeologist’s wife is murdered on the shores of the River Tigris in Iraq…

It was clear to Amy Leatheran that something sinister was going on at the Hassanieh dig in Iraq; something associated with the presence of ‘Lovely Louise’, wife of celebrated archaeologist Dr Leidner.

In a few days’ time Hercule Poirot was due to drop in at the excavation site. But with Louise suffering from terrifying hallucinations, and tension within the group becoming almost unbearable, Poirot might just be too late…

My Thoughts

This is the 26th book by Agatha Christie and the 13th Poirot Mystery


Is it awful of me to say that I was happy about who was the victim in this murder mystery?

I do like this book and feel for many of the characters in it.  Miss Christie wrote it well giving us positions and timings to consider carefully for alibis and has carefully portrayed relationships between many different characters.

As usual if we read it carefully we will see the clues but as is the case in the best books there are many facets to the characters here which mean that we do have quite a few suspects to dwell on.

How long does it take to wear down someone before they snap?

How long ago can an incident have happened but still have repercussions now?

Can we recognise people years later?

How long can someone wait to take revenge?

Which types of people can plan for a long time before acting?

Which types of people can act on the spur of the moment?

These are all questions to be considered in this one. 

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The ABC Murders - Book Review

I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.

The ABC Murders

1936

Description

Agatha Christie’s world-famous serial killer mystery, reissued with a striking cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.

There’s a serial killer on the loose, bent on working his way through the alphabet. And as a macabre calling card he leaves beside each victim’s corpse the ABC Railway Guide open at the name of the town where the murder has taken place.

Having begun with Andover, Bexhill and then Churston, there seems little chance of the murderer being caught – until he makes the crucial and vain mistake of challenging Hercule Poirot to frustrate his plans…

My Thoughts

This is the 25th book by Agatha Christie and the 12th Poirot Mystery


It is one of my least favourites even though Hastings is involved with Poirot for the solving of this mystery.

Miss Christie used a similar method by the murderer in this story as is Curtain and that is almost a spoiler which is unusual for me to write.
Perhaps that is why both those books are among my least favourites because I particularly do not like that kind of evil. 

Then there is another trait of the murderer that is also very evil so when the culprit is unmasked the reader has no sympathy for them at all.

She writes it full of red herrings but yet even among these all the clues are there waiting to be picked out and pieced together.  

This is one of the books that I would definitely recommend to be read before seeing the TV adaptation of it.  In fact I am a believer in any book being the real source of the story and so should always be read first but in this case I feel it really matters.

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Murder on the Orient Express - Book Review

I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.

Murder on the Orient Express 

1934

Description

Agatha Christie’s most famous murder mystery.

Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train is surprisingly full for the time of the year, but by the morning it is one passenger fewer. An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.

Isolated and with a killer in their midst, detective Hercule Poirot must identify the murderer – in case he or she decides to strike again.

My Thoughts

This is the 19th book by Agatha Christie and the 9th Poirot Mystery

One of the best known of her mysteries and perhaps even the best known especially because it had already had 3 TV/Movie adaptations (with 3 different actors playing Hercule Poirot) before they brought out the latest one with Kenneth Brannagh.

It can't be easy to confine your story to one location and also the confines of a train.

Yes you have the characters and the location but having them all in such close proximity must have added constraints to the setting of clues and the movement of the characters just showing how good our famous author is at her craft.

Is there anyone left who does not know the perpetrator of this crime?
This is the second most well-known of Miss Christie's books (first being "And Then There Were None"

Many people who haven't even read the book or seen any of the adaptations already know the outcome of this story but if you do not then you definitely should read it as it is a very well-written book and brings out compassion and hatred together.

I always thought it was so famous that everyone must know but more recently there was a new adaptation of the story and I had to realise that there is a different generation of people who are being introduced to Agatha Christie's works just now.  I suppose that is the joy of books that they can go on for generations being enjoyed by more and more people.

If you do know the outcome and have not read it you still should to see how she links everything together.

 Here is a link to a list of her novels on Amazon
Books by Agatha Christie



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Lord Edgeware Dies - Book Review

I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.

Lord Edgeware Dies 

1933

Description

Agatha Christie’s famous murder mystery, reissued with a striking cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.

Poirot had been present when Jane bragged of her plan to ‘get rid of’ her estranged husband. Now the monstrous man was dead. And yet the great Belgian detective couldn’t help feeling that he was being taken for a ride.

After all, how could Jane have stabbed Lord Edgware to death in his library at exactly the same time she was seen dining with friends? And what could be her motive now that the aristocrat had finally granted her a divorce?

My Thoughts

This is the 17th book by Agatha Christie and the 8th Poirot Mystery.

One that once read should not be forgotten because of the uniqueness of the solution but yet I had forgotten it in full from my previous reading of it and hence really enjoyed it again.   

Looks like an unsolvable mystery: how can someone be in two places at the same time?  Are witnesses mistaken, or which witness/witnesses are mistaken?  But when the behind the scenes facts are known it seems to be such a simplistic but intricate plan by a clever murderer.

I have to admit it is hard to talk about this one without giving too much away.

One of the best known of Christie's books and certainly deserves to the up there in the top 10.

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Peril at End House - Book Review

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I am reading through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and writing a review on each one.

Peril at End House 

1932

Description

Nick Buckley was an unusual name for a pretty young woman. But then she had led an unusual life. First, on a treacherous Cornish hillside, the brakes on her car failed. Then, on a coastal path, a falling boulder missed her by inches. Later, an oil painting fell and almost crushed her in bed.

Upon discovering a bullet-hole in Nick’s sun hat, Hercule Poirot decides the girl needs his protection. At the same time, he begins to unravel the mystery of a murder that hasn’t been committed. Yet.

My Thoughts

This is the 15th book by Agatha Christie and the 7th Poirot Mystery

The clues are always there.  No matter what they say - the clues are always there.

That is exactly how it is with this book which means that once you have read it (and no doubt missed some clues) you will enjoy reading it again later even though it is one of those books that you will remember who the murderer is.

But would anyone other than Poirot have solved this one?   In fact I actually think Miss Marple would also have spotted the very deviousness of this murderer.

A clever thought out murder mystery with a clever and vile murderer.

Great read.  Great deduction.

If you would like to know more about this book then click on the title or picture above.

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The Mystery of the Blue Train - Book Review

I am trying to read through the novels of Agatha Christie in the order in which they were written and write a review on each one.

  

The Mystery of The Blue Train.

1928

A Poirot Mystery.


Shelfari Description


Le Train Bleu is an elegant, leisurely means of travel, and one certainly free of intrigue.

Poirot boards Le Train Bleu, bound for the French Riviera. So does Katherine Grey, who is having her first winter out of England, after having inherited a huge sum in a most romantic manner.

While on board she meets Ruth Kettering, an American heiress bailing out from a marriage to meet her lover. The next morning, though, Ruth is found dead in her compartment, a victim of strangulation and bludgeoned almost beyond recognition. The theft of her priceless rubies, and rumors of a strange man loitering near her compartment, send Poirot on a quest to find her murderer.

My Thoughts

This is the 9th book by Agatha Christie and the 6th for her sleuth Hercule Poirot.

I must say there is a large Red Herring here in this story for avid murder mystery readers but I do not believe in plot spoilers so you will have to read the book for yourself to see what it is.


This story involves characters you think you will not like but you then may be surprised that you do like them. There are also characters that we think we will like but may not.

I did of course miss "my friend" Hastings as the confidant of Poirot in this one but Poirot did have someone to help in a different way.

I enjoyed the book, having my attention drawn to different possibilities and always the constant "but why" in my mind regarding part of the form of the murder.

The train as a venue for this murder does open up certain possibilities more unique to this story which may not be obvious at the start of our sleuth's investigation. Still remembering that Miss Christie may have Poirot as the revealer of the solution at the end of these novels but she herself does indeed slip in all the clues throughout.

 Here is a link to a list of her novels on Shelfari
Books by Agatha Christie