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

The Big Four - Book Review

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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 Big Four. 

1927  
A Poirot Mystery.


Shelfari Description

It is a few years after the First World War, Hercule Poirot is preparing for a voyage to South America at the behest of a wealthy American. Captain Hastings has returned from South America on business and his arrival causes Poirot to cancel his trip. Poirot has discovered the existence of four immensely powerful individuals who together plan world domination. A Chinaman, An American, A Frenchwoman and an Englishman. An investigation is in order. Fortunately, Poirot has the faithful Captain Hastings at his side as he plunges into a conspiracy of international scope -- one that would consolidate power in the deadly cabal known as "The Big Four". The book contains several chapters which are almost stand alone cases as the Big Four and Poirot, Hasting and various police forces progress towards the final outcome a year after the first contact Poirot has had with the Big Four.

My Thoughts

This is the 8th book by Agatha Christie and the 5th for her sleuth Hercule Poirot.

I read this in one day.  Started it at the hairdressers in the afternoon and then read again in the evening and then finished it in bed that night.   I really did want to read it quickly as it was holding my attention well and I kept wanting to know what was going to happen next and who Number Four was, but it also helped that I had been unwell for the four days before this and still not back to fighting fit form so I did not feel guilty about reading so much in one day.

A very different storyline to her last book The Murder of Roger Ackroyd  with this one not being about a specific murder and the household of suspects.  Instead we had different events in different locations and always the feeling of having to look over your shoulder no matter where we were.  Also the ever present threat to Poirot was part of the suspense.

Was the fact that Hastings had returned and was the narrator a great addition to this book?  For me I believe yes and for others who have not read any Poirot novels and met his friend Captain Hastings I still think yes, as I believe the narration comments he makes just endear his character to any reader.  One thing that I feel is misleading about the Shelfari description above is that Hastings did not cause Poirot to change his mind about his trip at the start of the book.

I really did not remember this book even though I know I have read it many many years ago and even though I had seen the TV adaptation about a year ago there was such a difference from the original story that I felt I was reading something completely new as I went through it.

Some parts of this book may seem a bit dated nowadays but as with all Christie mysteries the main storyline can be ageless.  But maybe we could also say that some of this book seemed even more suited to this day and age because of our world powers, wealth and prestige.

So even though it is not a straightforward murder mystery that I love from Agatha Christie you can tell by how quickly I read it that I really did enjoy it.

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




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If buying through Amazon via the link above I get a little commission but that does not mean any extra expense to you.

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - 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 Murder of Roger Ackroyd. 

1926  

A Poirot Mystery.



Shelfari Description


He knew the woman he loved had poisoned her first husband. He knew someone was blackmailing her - and now he knew she had taken her own life with a drug overdose.
Soon the evening post would let him know who the mystery blackmailer was. But Ackroyd was dead before he'd finished reading it - stabbed through the neck where he sat in his study...
Agatha Christie mysteries seem quaint today, relics of a bygone day. But when her books were new, she was a trailblazer, and never more so than in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Her twist ending shocked and even angered her readers -- I won't tell you why -- and even today may still have the power to startle.
Hercule Poirot is retired to the country, but when his wealthy neighbour is found murdered, he can't resist stepping in to help the police. The local doctor takes the place of usual loyal sidekick Hastings, helping Poirot investigate and recording all the facts of the case, like Dr. Watson recording Holmes' adventures. The mystery winds through estranged stepsons, secret marriages, and blackmailers, and even now still has a whiff of controversy over the resolution.

My Thoughts

This is the seventh book by Agatha Christie and the fourth for her sleuth Hercule Poirot.

I read this over a week while travelling. A few chapters at a time and each time looking forward to picking it up again for the next session.

Such a difference from the last one The Secret of Chimneys when I found it hard to remember the characters - here this was never a problem and I think there were more characters to actually remember in this one.

Was it the fact that Poirot was the detective again - am I so biased towards him? I don't think so. I think this book is so cleverly written and of course from having read it years ago I did remember who the murderer was simply because it was rather unique (not quite a spoiler but getting there!) but I really did enjoy the way it was written.

Yes I remembered the murderer, but the reason and part of the means of the crime had long since escaped from my mind.

I would say that this one could stand up against any of the more modern murder mysteries and is based on a motive that could be found in this day and age too, so anyone saying that Dame Agatha was for a different age is in my opinion completely incorrect.

This is one of those books that everyone should read even if they are not Christie fans because it's probably her most famously clever one.

The Secret of Chimneys - 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 Secret of Chimneys. 

1925.  
A Novel involving Inspector Battle.

Shelfari Description

A bit of adventure and quick cash is all that good-natured drifter Anthony Cade is looking for when he accepts a messenger job from an old friend. It sounds so simple: deliver the provocative memoirs of a recently deceased European count to a London publisher. But the parcel holds more than scandalous royal secrets. It contains a stash of letters that suggest blackmail--and lead to the murder of a stranger who's been shadowing Anthony's every move. Discovering the dead man's identity means retracing his steps--to the rambling estate of Chimneys where darker secrets, and deadlier threats, await anyone who dares to enter.

My Thoughts

This is the sixth book by Agatha Christie.

I read this over a period of weeks and not days so I think that this gives you an immediate indication of how this one did not hook me in quickly.

Overall I found that there seemed to be too many characters for me to keep track of, yet in another way there weren't that many but some seemed too similar or well just confusing me so that when some were mentioned I had to think hard about who it actually was.

Normally I almost visualize the characters I am reading about but in this one this was not the case and having immediately got mixed up between the two guys at the start of the book I think I continued to get mixed up the whole way through.  
Perhaps however a good deal of this was due to not reading this book in consecutive ssessions but picking it up every 3/4 days and not reading too much in each sitting.
Then again maybe this was the way I read it because I was not so interested - not sure which way to fall on this.

The story was a bit far fetched for me, too many leaders/politicians and upperclass talk.

I would liken myself to Lord Catheral who is the owner of the grand house the book is named after when he expressed the desire to get away from all these people because they were not interesting to him and were more of an intrusion in his home, but then to each of them he would be the ever congenial host and friendly Lord.  Yes I was quite happy for the book to be finished and not have to read all the conversations.

Question I have to ask myself is:

Did the fact that it did not have Poirot or Miss Marple affect my enjoyment?

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

The Mysterious Affair at Styles - Book Review

Synopsis

Injured and sent back to England from the First World War, Lieutenant Hastings finds himself in a convalescent home very much to his disliking.  Thankfully his old friend John Cavendish invites him to spend the rest of his sick leave at the beautiful Styles Court.  Here, Hastings meets John’s step-mother, Mrs Inglethorpe, and her new husband Alfred.  Despite the tranquil surroundings Hastings begins to realise that all is not right.  When Mrs Inglethorpe is found poisoned, suspicion falls on the family, and who better to investigate than Belgian war refugee Hercule Poirot, another old friend and a retired police detective.

This was the first Agatha Christie novel and apparently publishers were not interested in publishing it. 

         Why?

Of course once one publisher did decide to give it a go then Mrs Christie had lots of interest from many publishers due no doubt to the great interest everyone had in reading and buying this book.

 The following and other great reviews of the time will also have helped.

                       "Though this may be the first published book of Miss Agatha Christie,
                                            she betrays the cunning of an old hand..."

                                                                    The New York Times Book Review, 1920

My View

I had read it years ago and I did remember who the murderer was but did not remember all the fine details so perhaps because of this I have realized now just how good this book is and especially just how good it was for a first book.  All the clues were there, so those who say that she hides some clues are mistaken here. We really just have to read the books carefully to see it all.  

I was even taken with the structure of some of the sentences, very carefully done so that things are not given away immediately but written so that it can get us thinking.  I normally refer to Agatha Christie novels as light reading but if we take it too lightly we will miss the clues, the background info which can often be very important and of course the subtlety in Poirot's musings. 

Written so well in the voice of Hastings, it was no wonder she kept him in many of the Poirot novels and if I had to give my view she should have kept him even later too.

You will find many other BOOK REVIEWS on Sandra's Ark

Book Review - The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

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

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