Murder on the Orient Express
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| Murder on the Orient Express Agatha Christie |
Hercule Poirot finds murder on the Orient Express
Detective Hercule Poirot was not
supposed to be on the train. An emergency forced his need to travel, which is
how he ended up on the surprisingly full Orient Express. The train ride is
already expected to be a long journey, but it becomes even longer when the
train gets stuck in a snowstorm. The snowstorm, however, is a minor
inconvenience compared to the murder Poirot must solve.
The victim is a man named
Ratchett. At least that is the name he has been going by. Cassetti is his true
name. It is a well-known name as he is the man who got away with kidnapping and
murdering a young girl: Daisy Armstrong. It is a tragic story that resulted in
the deaths of many in Daisy’s life. Justice was not done.
Now Ratchett is dead, and
everyone is a suspect. Poirot is called in to investigate. After searching for
clues, Poirot interviews everyone.
Poirot interviews the suspects
First to be interviewed is Pierre
Michel, a train conductor. He stepped away from his post for a while during the
night, creating a window of time where the murderer could have moved about the
train unseen.
Next is Hector MacQueen,
Ratchett’s personal secretary. He knew Ratchett was receiving threatening
letters. What he did not know was Ratchett’s true identity.
Edward Henry Masterman is
interviewed after MacQueen. He was Ratchett’s valet and knew the exact steps
Ratchett did every night before going to sleep.
Mrs. Caroline Hubbard does not
appear to have an obvious connection to Ratchett, nor do the other remaining
interviewees. Mrs. Hubbard is very loud and loves to talk. She is certain the
murderer came through her sleeping berth.
The Swedish nurse, Greta Ohlsson,
had an altercation with Ratchett not long before he was killed. Ratchett made
it very clear what he thought of Greta’s age and appearance.
Princess Natalia Dragomiroff is
an elderly woman. Despite it being known she was the godmother of Daisy
Armstrong’s mother, it is doubtful she could have killed Ratchett.
Countess Helena Andrenyi and Count
Rudolph Andrenyi claim the countess was asleep at the time of the murder. Her
passport is questionable, though, as there is a noticeable smudge. This draws
other parts of the Andrenyis' story into question.
Colonel John Arbuthnot uses
MacQueen as an alibi for the murder. He is also evasive about how well he knows
fellow passenger Mary Debenham.
Mr. Cyrus Hardman admits he is
not who he says he is. During his interview he states it was his job to look
after Ratchett during this trip. That clearly did not go well.
Antonio Foscarelli is the man
railway director Bouc believes should have been spoken to first. Bouc does not
trust Foscarelli because Foscarelli is Italian.
Mary Debenham has an answer for everything.
No matter what Poirot asks, she knows what to say, which makes Poirot
suspicious.
Poirot suspects Miss Debenham is
lying about something. He saw her and Colonel Arbuthnot together before Poirot
knew he would be on the train. Now they are denying their connection. Poirot
wants to know why.
Finally, there is Hildegarde
Schmidt, the princess’s maid. She is very protective of the princess.
With the help of Bouc and
passenger Dr. Stavros Constantine, Poirot puts all he has learned together.
Certain he knows what happened, Poirot gathers everyone to reveal the culprit.
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| Knowledge Kate Dorsey |
A well-known story
I was surprised at how slow and
scattered this book felt. It was sometimes hard to follow what was going on.
Part of this may be because I have seen different film versions and know the
ending so well. Maybe I had a hard time following because I was reading other
books at the same. It’s possible this book needs to be read on its own without
distractions. I really don’t know.
What I do know is I am ready to
watch the film versions again and compare them to the book. It will be
fascinating to find out which film follows the book the closest.
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