A review by what_heather_loves
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"'...And now, you come to add another complication. You tell me that there is a man in the Karnak who kills...I am afraid, my friend. I am afraid...Today I advised this lady, Madame Doyle, to go away with her husband to Khartoum, not to return on this boat. But they would not agree. I pray to Heaven that we may arrive at Shellal without catastrophe.'.'Aren't you taking rather a gloomy view?' Poirot shook his head. 'I am afraid,' he said simply. 'Yes, I Hercule Poirot, am afraid...'" 

1937 and a group of wealthy European and American travellers board the Karnak, a steamer cruising the River Nile in Egypt, Africa. One of those tourists is private detective Hercule Poirot and his friend Captain Race and other guests include honeymooners, Simon and his new wife, glamorous and wealthy Linette Doyle. In the dry heat the passengers get to know one another, but soon one of them is found dead, shot. Will Poirot find the culprit before the reach their next stop?

As Christie's introduction says, she wanted to capture the setting of a Nile Steamer, having travelled in them herself and this is the backdrop to this locked room mystery. It reminded my of Murder On The Orient Express, in terms of the mixture of characters unknown to one another and of course the inability to escape! As expected with a Christie novel, very few of the passengers are who they apear to be, there are plenty of red herrings and Poirot will always work it out. It perhaps starts slow, introducing the characters and their own settings before they travel, but once on board, and particularly after the murder (which is quite a way into the book), the pace picks up as Poirot and Race interview the suspects. Whilst I did guess the culprit early on, I am putting this down to having watched TV adaptations, because the complexity of the plot was definitely up to Christie's usual high standards. A thoroughly enjoyable, hot weather whodunit, which I read for #curiousaboutchristie22 
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