Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Death on the Nile

Another great "locked-room" whodunnit murder mystery from Christie. A bit slow in terms of getting to the actual murder, there's a lot of exposition before you get to the actual murder mystery... I enjoyed the colorful characters, though I do sometimes struggle to keep them all separate and remember who's who, but that might be a personal challenge. Poirot delivers as the over-the-top Belgian know-it-all who is the only one who can solve the murder, and the book is genuinely quite funny at times.

For negatives, it is very clear that the books were written during a different time, the way indiginous people are referred to, are absolutely problematic, and I personally found it took me completely out of the story.

Content Warnings

sugarglory's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Content Warnings

xphilphil's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Content Warnings

hanarama's review against another edition

Go to review page

mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

The Good:

Well constructed mystery
Plenty of twists

The Bad:

Racism (reflective of the period)
Sometimes clues are forgettable

You Might Like this if You Like:

Police procedurals
Detective fiction
True crime

Agatha Christie is one of my go-to authors when I need a break from world-building heavy fantasies and sci-fi. There's something so simple and enjoyable about just taking in clues and following a clever detective along in a murder mystery.

The mystery feels solvable, and by that, I mean that I feel as though the reader could solve it if they consider all of the clues. This might be hard though as some clues are breezed by in the narrative, so it can be hard to keep them all in mind. And the solution does still feel like a twist when Hercule Poirot explains it all at the end.

My biggest issue with Christie is the occasional racist depictions of characters of color. This is particularly notable with mysteries that take place outside of Europe. So unfortunately, this book has a couple of racist depictions of Egyptians and Nubians. The main characters are also all wealthy white people.

Content Warnings

bookscoffeehayley's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

CW: murder, death, suicide, blood

This was my fourth Agatha Christie book and third Hercule Poirot. I really enjoyed this classic murder mystery! This book has been on my list for a long time, as I’ve slowly been making my way through Christie’s Poirot series! I also read this for one of the June picks for @brokebitchxbookclub and to complete the “water on the cover” prompt for #BooksCoffeeBingo!

I have yet to read an Agatha Christie novel that I do not enjoy. There is a reason why she’s the Queen of Mystery! I love the Hercule Poirot series and find Poirot such a quirky, fun character!

Death on the Nile is one of the ‘staple’ Poirot cases, but for me, it started a little slow. There were also a lot of characters that are introduced and it was a bit overwhelming. I alternated between the audio and a physical copy of the story which made the many characters a bit difficult to keep track of.

I love Christie’s writing and I’m always left bamboozled by the whodunnit at the end! I pride myself in generally being able to guess the murderer in mysteries/thrillers, but have yet to figure out them in a Christie novel!

Definitely recommend Agatha Christie to any mystery lovers out there, and definitely starting with her Hercule Poirot series!

Content Warnings

hilarylouise's review

Go to review page

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

More...