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imsarah_moran 's review for:
The Case of the Body on the Orient Express
by Kelly Oliver
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Thank you to Boldwood Books and NetGalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review! All opinions and statements are my own. ☺
🚂 Blurb 🚂
“Paris, 1928: Agatha Christie and fellow writer Dorothy L Sayers board the Orient Express, bound for Constantinople. Christie in particular is looking forward to a break from recent dispiriting events in both her work and private life – the finalisation of her divorce from her philanderous husband Archie, and the miserly reception of her latest book.
But before the duo can settle in to enjoy the luxuries of their first-class journey, their journey is derailed when a fellow guest drops dead during the dinner service. And as the last person to speak to the victim, Dorothy finds herself a prime suspect in his murder.
As the train hurtles East, Sayers’ resourceful assistant Eliza and her friend Theo must navigate a maze of suspects. But with each passing mile, the stakes rise, and when another body is discovered, their search to find the killer before they reach their destination becomes increasingly complicated.
Can Eliza and Theo stay one step ahead, crack the mystery and clear Dorothy’s name? Or will this be one journey too far for the amateur sleuths?”
🔎 My Thoughts 🔎
Okay, this was not at all what I was expecting. It has nothing to do with the writing, the setting, or really the characters, although I did have some problems with that aspect of the book. But the plot confused me. Let me explain.
In the previous book, the story ended on a cliffhanger about Theo, which I loved because I want to be drawn into a series. So when I went into this book, I was expecting the plot to be about the little mystery with Theo and that being built off the story of Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Sounds good, right? Well, that’s not what happened. In fact, no one even mentioned the bit of suspicious information that left Theo on that cliffhanger at all. I’m sorry, what? I think that would have been a tremendous addition to the story because the whole adventure and case felt a bit flat for me. Theo would have been fleshed out more as a character, and Eliza would have had to stop seeing the world in the black-and-white, distrusting way she always has.
But no. Eliza was the same as always: the stubborn, girl boss I can’t stand. 🤦♀ Theo couldn’t stop thinking about and pining after Eliza, which made him quite annoying this time around. But he’s not so bad when you compare him to Eliza, since he has limitations that normal human beings have. Agatha and Dorothy were great, and I have nothing bad to say about them.
I think I’m being generous with my 3-star rating, but even though certain things didn’t add up or make sense, the main character disappointed me yet again, and the murder case was meh, I did enjoy it. I haven’t read any of Agatha Christie’s novels yet, but I’ve seen the movies based on Hercule Poirot’s cases, and those were super fun. I bet the books are better. 😉 But I do recommend the book to you because I think you might enjoy it. What I don’t find great, you might love. That is the beauty of the book world we live in. ❤
❗ Content Warnings ❗
Death, murder, blood, & violence
#TheCaseoftheBodyontheOrientExpress #NetGalley
🚂 Blurb 🚂
“Paris, 1928: Agatha Christie and fellow writer Dorothy L Sayers board the Orient Express, bound for Constantinople. Christie in particular is looking forward to a break from recent dispiriting events in both her work and private life – the finalisation of her divorce from her philanderous husband Archie, and the miserly reception of her latest book.
But before the duo can settle in to enjoy the luxuries of their first-class journey, their journey is derailed when a fellow guest drops dead during the dinner service. And as the last person to speak to the victim, Dorothy finds herself a prime suspect in his murder.
As the train hurtles East, Sayers’ resourceful assistant Eliza and her friend Theo must navigate a maze of suspects. But with each passing mile, the stakes rise, and when another body is discovered, their search to find the killer before they reach their destination becomes increasingly complicated.
Can Eliza and Theo stay one step ahead, crack the mystery and clear Dorothy’s name? Or will this be one journey too far for the amateur sleuths?”
🔎 My Thoughts 🔎
Okay, this was not at all what I was expecting. It has nothing to do with the writing, the setting, or really the characters, although I did have some problems with that aspect of the book. But the plot confused me. Let me explain.
In the previous book, the story ended on a cliffhanger about Theo, which I loved because I want to be drawn into a series. So when I went into this book, I was expecting the plot to be about the little mystery with Theo and that being built off the story of Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express. Sounds good, right? Well, that’s not what happened. In fact, no one even mentioned the bit of suspicious information that left Theo on that cliffhanger at all. I’m sorry, what? I think that would have been a tremendous addition to the story because the whole adventure and case felt a bit flat for me. Theo would have been fleshed out more as a character, and Eliza would have had to stop seeing the world in the black-and-white, distrusting way she always has.
But no. Eliza was the same as always: the stubborn, girl boss I can’t stand. 🤦♀ Theo couldn’t stop thinking about and pining after Eliza, which made him quite annoying this time around. But he’s not so bad when you compare him to Eliza, since he has limitations that normal human beings have. Agatha and Dorothy were great, and I have nothing bad to say about them.
I think I’m being generous with my 3-star rating, but even though certain things didn’t add up or make sense, the main character disappointed me yet again, and the murder case was meh, I did enjoy it. I haven’t read any of Agatha Christie’s novels yet, but I’ve seen the movies based on Hercule Poirot’s cases, and those were super fun. I bet the books are better. 😉 But I do recommend the book to you because I think you might enjoy it. What I don’t find great, you might love. That is the beauty of the book world we live in. ❤
❗ Content Warnings ❗
Death, murder, blood, & violence
#TheCaseoftheBodyontheOrientExpress #NetGalley