Murder on the Orient Express
by Agatha Christie · first published 1933
45% recommend45% neutral9% critical
Why HN recommends it
Classic whodunit with a slow build to a famous twist. It is a top pick for newcomers to Agatha Christie and for fans of the detective-puzzle genre.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
While en route from Syria to Paris, in the middle of a freezing winter's night, the Orient Express is stopped dead in its tracks by a snowdrift. Passengers awake to find the train still stranded and to discover that a wealthy American has been brutally stabbed to death in his private compartment. Incredibly, that compartment is locked from the inside. With no escape into the wintery landscape the killer must still be on board. Fortunately, the brilliant Belgian inspector Hercule Poirot is also on board, having booked the last available berth. Murder on the Orient Express is o
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For anyone who has never read Agatha Christie, I highly recommend the following: - And Then There Were None - The Murder of Roger Ackroyd - Murder on the Orient Express - The A.B.C. Murders The books are usually "slow burns", meaning they slowly build up to the big reveal at the end of the book. Agatha Christie is the master of making great payoffs though, so despite…
on “Killing time with Agatha Christie” ↗…Christie novels you'll never think about mysteries, in any form, the same way again. I recommend this order: The Murder of Rodger Ackroyd And Then There Were None (also titled Ten Little Indians) Murder on the Orient Express
on “Ask HN: Mind bending books to read and never be the same as before?” ↗The essential Agatha (IMHO): The Murder of Roger Ackroyd Murder on the Orient Express Curtain Can't tell you why without spoiling it though. You have to read them.
on “Agatha Christie’s life rivaled the mysteries she created” ↗I hope you at least read her books with the biggest payoffs: And Then There Were None Murder of Roger Ackroyd Murder on the Orient Express The ABC Murders
on “The Case of Agatha Christie” ↗…If you want fiction that is grounded in reality with little to no fantasy elements then the murder mystery genre has quite a few gems that are fun to try and guess the twist of when you are reading. Murder on the Orient Express is great if you havn't experienced the story yet.
on “Good Books for a Lousy Year” ↗I think I've read every single Poirot, my favorites are: Murder on the Orient Express Death on the Nile Appointment with Death Cat Among Pigeons
on “Agatha Christie’s life rivaled the mysteries she created” ↗…finally got around to reading it... I didn't care for it. I started the lord of the rings but i don't think i'm going to finish it. Michael Chriton - Jurassic Park. The movie was better. Agatha Christie - Murder on the Orient Express. I think i just don't like fiction. The few years before this I tried reading more fancy literature and i didn't like that, so this year I tried more popular literature... Recently i heard someone say…
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗Just finished reading Murder on the Orient Express yesterday and made a (naive) mental note to travel the route sometime. This shattered that dream for sure. The book was somewhat uplifting, portraying the age where the entire world was accessible and…
on “Railway lines once connected the Middle East” ↗Then they'll have to get Hercule Poirot to investigate. (For those of you who don't read classic mysteries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_on_the_Orient_Express)
on “In a Town of 11 People, Mysterious Disappearance Turns Neighbor Against Neighbor” ↗>Do you feel that The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is not telling a complete story unless you also read Murder on the Orient Express? That's completely irrelevant. Everyone is entitled to feel however they feel and think whatever they think and should not be precluded from voicing their opinions. Why should your opinion of the relative…
on “Entitlement issues (2009)” ↗…horrible quirks). I came away wondering if I would have been better off buying the $10 paperbacks, just so that I can physically distribute these books. (Aside: US copyright law is not helping here: "Murder on The Orient Express" will not leave copyright protection until 2046, 112 years after initial publication.) As others in this thread have mentioned, you don't have to buy books through Amazon. That lets you potentially sidestep…
on “Marco's eReader Roundup (Kindle 4, Kindle Touch, Nook Simple Touch, Kobo Touch)” ↗…like that. One thing I did notice about strangeness in English articles is how British English seems to use definite articles in places where American English uses indefinite ones. Back when reading Murder on the Orient Express in school, I remember finding it amusing how one character mentioned that he had "the toothache", which as an American to me sounded like he was saying there's only one toothache in the world that just…
on “English: A vs. An” ↗