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msales13 's review for:
The Mystery of the Blue Train
by Agatha Christie
Poirot must sort through the many hidden loves of the aristocracy to solve a robbery/murder on a train.
A fairly standard Poirot novel, in that Poirot sorts through a host of suspects to suss out the truth while outclassing the police and being his usual exuberant self. If you like his formula, you'll like this book (I do!). But it's not an all-time great mystery novel.
Maybe a bit more predictable, maybe I've just read too many Poirot novels at this point (I'm not going to stop though). I had noticed unresolved suspicions that helped me predict what actually happened. One chapter that was "hey remember this old actress? I wonder what happened to her, she seems to have disappeared..." was particularly heavy-handed, though I was initially wrong in who this person would end up being. Ultimately, one of the main clues was the fact that everyone else had been investigated. Poirot had mock-agreed with the police in a way that always means they're wrong. Poirot's explanation at the end explained more of how they did it than who did.
Poirot is helped in this book by Katherine Grey, who is a new entrant to the aristocracy and interacts with the murder victim just before her death. As usual, Poirot is the only man who interacts or respects women in any way besides sexually, but she is featured less than other partners in the past and doesn't often accompanying Poirot on his investigation. She does play the role of providing key pieces of information while thinking they're totally meaningless.
All in all an enjoyable read. I like to read Poirot novels when I travel (read the first half on the flight, have some time to think about what the solution is while I'm traveling, read the ending on the flight back/once I'm home) and this book was no different. This book certainly worked for that, though it was on the longer side. Can't wait to read the next one!
A fairly standard Poirot novel, in that Poirot sorts through a host of suspects to suss out the truth while outclassing the police and being his usual exuberant self. If you like his formula, you'll like this book (I do!). But it's not an all-time great mystery novel.
Maybe a bit more predictable, maybe I've just read too many Poirot novels at this point (I'm not going to stop though). I had noticed unresolved suspicions that helped me predict what actually happened. One chapter that was "hey remember this old actress? I wonder what happened to her, she seems to have disappeared..." was particularly heavy-handed, though I was initially wrong in who this person would end up being. Ultimately, one of the main clues was the fact that everyone else had been investigated. Poirot had mock-agreed with the police in a way that always means they're wrong. Poirot's explanation at the end explained more of how they did it than who did.
Poirot is helped in this book by Katherine Grey, who is a new entrant to the aristocracy and interacts with the murder victim just before her death. As usual, Poirot is the only man who interacts or respects women in any way besides sexually, but she is featured less than other partners in the past and doesn't often accompanying Poirot on his investigation. She does play the role of providing key pieces of information while thinking they're totally meaningless.
All in all an enjoyable read. I like to read Poirot novels when I travel (read the first half on the flight, have some time to think about what the solution is while I'm traveling, read the ending on the flight back/once I'm home) and this book was no different. This book certainly worked for that, though it was on the longer side. Can't wait to read the next one!