All Aboard for... Muuuuurder.

I have a confession to make.  For all my years of reading, and the vast collection of books I have in my private collection, Murder on the Orient Express is the very first book I've read penned by the Queen of Crime.  But, since I finished it (hmm, a month ago, maybe?) I've read four others.  Agatha. Christie. Is. Brilliant.  She has such a way with words, with making the solution to the mystery so simple one wonders how on earth one could have missed deducing who the killer was.

I like mysteries.  Not particularly bloody, gory, gross mysteries, but ones especially that are period-set and feature a colorful cast of characters are on top of my "to be enjoyed" list.  And MotOE fit in with my interests perfectly.  It is set in the 1930s, takes place in an interesting, foreign location, and contains many interesting characters, including Christie's famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot.

For the sake of time and space, and to curb my clumsy attempts at characterizing such an intricate plot, here is the blurb from Goodreads:

  Just after midnight, a snowdrift stopped the Orient Express in its tracks. The luxurious train         was surprisingly full for the time of the year. But by the morning there was one passenger fewer.  

A passenger lay dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.

Sounds great, right?  IT IS!  Locked door mysteries are always interesting, and the dickens to solve, if the author does it right.  Which, of course, Christie does.  

One interesting thing about this book is that it takes place (mostly) in a static setting.  It is tricky business to pull off a book that takes place all in one location, but here, it works.  There are enough characters, and the writing is snappy enough that the location doesn't really matter.  Additionally, there is a lot of mental motion in this book, and Christie assumes her readers are intelligent enough to follow the movement. 

I do not particularly care for Poirot as a character.  He's stuffy and patronizing, and I find him too hoity-toity for my taste.  (Incidentally, it's rumored that Christie herself felt the same way.)  However, I can't argue with his brilliant powers of reason.  (I can't say his powers of deduction, because, well, you know...)  The mystery in this book is one that could only be solved by someone with an excellent memory and ability to connect faded dots - which Poirot has.  One must appreciate a little man who can "No, no, cherie" his way through an interview while actually listing all the reasons the dear lady could be the murderer.  

Overall, this way a very satisfying book.  The mystery itself was compelling, the suspect list varied and colorful, and the resolution surprising.  This read was enough to, as I said, make me want to delve deeply into the pool of other Christie offerings.  Mystery fans won't be disappointed.