A classic Christie mystery that proves her status as the mistress of misdirection. Don't worry, no spoilers. I'd hate to ruin an ending this good.
Summary:
Linnet Ridgeway, the young heiress, is the center of attention everywhere she goes. Friends praise her generosity. Strangers envy her beauty, wealth, and status. Society loves her, some a little too much. So upon her somewhat scandalous and sudden marriage, many circles are thrown into chaos. And where should they all happen to converge but on a cruise down the Nile. Several of whom are destined not to return. Luckily, who else should be on this Egyptian journey but the great detective Hercule Poirot! Will the sleuth solve yet another murder, full of twists as winding as the river, or be swept up in the current of confusion?
Verdict: 9/10
After my previous encounter with a Christie copycat, I was determined to experience the real Poirot and grabbed one of the author’s critically-acclaimed classics off the shelf. While most would point to Murder on the Orient Express, I chose one that I did not know the ending of yet (but that is sure to experience another revival as a new movie is in the works). I chose wisely.
So many mystery writers will set you on a false trail only to add a bunch of clues at the end that their audience either never saw or never had the opportunity to explore. It’s maddening to get to the end of one of those and find yourself saying, “now, how was I supposed to know that?!” On the other hand, some mysteries give you too many clues to the point that the reader finds the ending obvious or says “saw that coming” and ultimately becomes bored. Christie is the perfect balance of what all mystery writers should aspire to. She gives clues to a half dozen mysteries in one, and the reader must figure out which trails are false or are simply side plots and which will lead to the murderer. Just when you think you’ve figured it out, you discover that the crime you unearthed wasn’t the one you were looking for.
While you’re still able to play the detective and grab odds and ends, the reveal leaves you satisfied in wrapping all of the puzzle pieces into the full picture. It gives you just the right amount of previous insider knowledge and ‘ah-ha’ moments. After this book, I have nothing but respect for the weaver of the red herrings. While Christie does have a lot of characters and subplots to keep track of, she never leaves the reader at a loss.
Each character has their own story to play out. It can make the murder that you’re looking for harder to find (seriously, best keep a shortlist of characters to review), but it really rounds out the whole book and makes it more life-like. I found myself caught up in every passenger’s own plot and wanted to see how they would all end, criminal or purely innocent alike.
I have to say I was impressed as to how even the minor sidetracks showed major insight and juxtaposition against the main story. You see what happens when a situation goes terribly wrong (death, death and more death) but then are shown hope through the lens of others’ actions as to how things might end up differently for the rest. Even Hercule gives the minor villains a reprieve in the hopes that their own story might have a happier ending if given a chance than the current tragedy whose culprit he is left to find.
Also, for being written in the late 30s, the themes and subjects were far ahead of their time! I mean, Christie deals with stalkers, addicts, kleptomaniacs and a whole other host of characters. And in each case, she shows a real progressive attitude that would do her credit to this day. It just goes to show the truly timeless nature that this and all of her mysteries exhibit time and time again.
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