Just after midnight, a snowdrift stops the famous Orient Express in its tracks as it travels through the mountainous Balkans. 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 time, his door locked from the inside. One of the passengers is none other than detective Hercule Poirot. Isolated and with a killer on board, Poirot must identify the murderer- in case he or she decides to strike again.
Loved- The mystery! After reading And Then There Were None, I completely understand why Agatha Christie is called the "Queen of Mystery." Here I thought I was decent at putting together clues and making predictions, but twice now she has utterly stumped me and taken my feet out from under me-- and I love it!!! Agatha possesses the talent of creating mysteries with surprisingly simple plots out of details and characters that are complex and intricately thought out. The clues and tiny details of this story were so seamlessly woven throughout the book that they were barely discernible, but then completely obvious after knowing the explanation. There's a reason she was knighted for being such an incredible author!
- The ending. It's difficult to talk about this book without spoiling the ending, which I will NOT do ;) But wow- what a reveal at the end! This is one of those stories where you realize you read a completely different book than what you thought you were reading, until your mind is blown at the end of the book and you realize you were deceived the whole time. I would never have guessed this ending, and it's so refreshing and exciting that Agatha can write stories that cause you to question, reread, predict, and feel certain you know the answer-- and then undo all that work by blowing your mind with something more genius than you could ever have imagined.
- The characters. We have quite the diverse cast in this story- people from all different countries, backgrounds, and reasons for being on the Orient Express. Since there isn't much plot going on (the murder happens at the very beginning) besides interviewing, it seems like the story would be boring and slow. But the unique and vibrant characters keep the story fast-paced and engaging, while stringing together clues of who the murderer could be.
- The audiobook. This is a fabulous narration by Dan Stevens, who also did the narration for And Then There Were None (also the Beast in Beauty and the Beast!). He does hilarious voices for each character and flawless accents from the different countries. I actually googled him to see where he was from because all of his accents were perfect and sounded legitimate. (He's from England in case you were wondering). This is definitely a story to be listened to because the characters completely come to life, and I think we get more personality than if we were just reading off the page.
- The mystery! After reading And Then There Were None, I completely understand why Agatha Christie is called the "Queen of Mystery." Here I thought I was decent at putting together clues and making predictions, but twice now she has utterly stumped me and taken my feet out from under me-- and I love it!!! Agatha possesses the talent of creating mysteries with surprisingly simple plots out of details and characters that are complex and intricately thought out. The clues and tiny details of this story were so seamlessly woven throughout the book that they were barely discernible, but then completely obvious after knowing the explanation. There's a reason she was knighted for being such an incredible author!
- The ending. It's difficult to talk about this book without spoiling the ending, which I will NOT do ;) But wow- what a reveal at the end! This is one of those stories where you realize you read a completely different book than what you thought you were reading, until your mind is blown at the end of the book and you realize you were deceived the whole time. I would never have guessed this ending, and it's so refreshing and exciting that Agatha can write stories that cause you to question, reread, predict, and feel certain you know the answer-- and then undo all that work by blowing your mind with something more genius than you could ever have imagined.
- The characters. We have quite the diverse cast in this story- people from all different countries, backgrounds, and reasons for being on the Orient Express. Since there isn't much plot going on (the murder happens at the very beginning) besides interviewing, it seems like the story would be boring and slow. But the unique and vibrant characters keep the story fast-paced and engaging, while stringing together clues of who the murderer could be.
- The audiobook. This is a fabulous narration by Dan Stevens, who also did the narration for And Then There Were None (also the Beast in Beauty and the Beast!). He does hilarious voices for each character and flawless accents from the different countries. I actually googled him to see where he was from because all of his accents were perfect and sounded legitimate. (He's from England in case you were wondering). This is definitely a story to be listened to because the characters completely come to life, and I think we get more personality than if we were just reading off the page.
Didn't Love
- I thought this was executed (pun intended) perfectly and I wouldn't change anything!
Content
Content
- Language:
- A few uses of "damn" and "hell."
- Sexual content:
- A few instances of impropriety, i.e. a woman accidentally opening a man's room at night and him saying "you're too young for me."
- Violence
- A man is stabbed many times and killed. Talk of his injuries and the entire book is speculation about who killed him.
- Much talk about something that happened before the book begins- a child is kidnapped and murdered, and the mother dies of a broken heart, and the father kills himself. Much talk and speculation about this "case."
- A few uses of "damn" and "hell."
- A few instances of impropriety, i.e. a woman accidentally opening a man's room at night and him saying "you're too young for me."
- A man is stabbed many times and killed. Talk of his injuries and the entire book is speculation about who killed him.
- Much talk about something that happened before the book begins- a child is kidnapped and murdered, and the mother dies of a broken heart, and the father kills himself. Much talk and speculation about this "case."
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