Murder on Orient Express

by Agatha Christie

Reviewed by Charmaine (Pui) Sze

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Murder on Orient Express by Agatha Christie

ISBN #: 9780062073501

THE STORY:

Hercule Poirot, a private detective from London, receives a telegram asking him to return immediately. This book was set in the 1930s when the author wrote it, portraying upper to middle class British people. Poirot makes a late arrangement to travel in the first-class compartments in the Simplon Orient Express. During his stay at the hotel, he meets his friend, M. Bouc. Later, when Poirot boards the express, the conductor tells him that all first-class compartments have been taken, but there is an open second-class compartment. A

man named Ratchett appears to Poirot and asks him to investigate the threat against his life. Poirot declines. During the night Ratchett, who is revealed to be Daisy Armstrong’s kidnapper and killer and whose name is actually Cassetti, is murdered. Poirot works with M. Bouc and Dr. Constantine to collect evidence to come up with theories. Everyone on the train is a suspect. As there is an snow avalanche outside causing a delay, Poirot uses that as an advantage to interrogate all of the passengers. Evidence accumulates throughout the entire investigation, making the case more confusing to solve, since none of the clues seemed to fit together and each person provided a substantial cover story for another passenger. Poirot begins to believe there are multiple people involved in the murder, as more truth is uncovered and the lies ruled out, more and more of the passengers have a motive related to the death of Daisy Armstrong. Poirot points out that the passengers on the train included people from all classes, nationalities, and ages, but have a connection to the Armstrong family. Eventually, after questioning some of the passengers more than once, Poirot narrows down the conclusion to two possibilities, each still with unanswered questions and explanations for certain pieces of evidence. (298)

MY OPINION:

When I first chose this book to read, I had high expectations since I had already read Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. As I continued to read, I realized that Agatha Christie had a sophisticated style in writing mysteries, not completely indulging in the grotesque details of the murder and also providing carefully concealed clues for the reader to solve the mystery on their own. Many of those concealed clues are included in the dialogue for the reader to thoroughly read through to understand. Another strength that this book had was how it was divided into three sections, the facts, the evidence, and the conclusion. The only weakness that I found in this was the repeated use in which the investigator has some sort of less smart companion, in this case companions, to help him solve the case. The author uses a sophisticated word choice both in the dialogue of the upper class British men and women and also in the other parts of the book. I would recommend this book to older middle school students and younger high school students because the analysis of the book is quite difficult to understand, and the reader must be a mature enough to handle multiple character deaths, including those of little children, and also parts explaining the reasons behind the murder. Overall, I would rate this book a nine out of ten stars and would definitely read this book again if I had the chance to. (241)

STUDY QUESTIONS AND VOCABULARY:

FIRST SECTION

1. Why must Hercule Poirot return to London immediately?

1a. He must return to London because there was an unexpected development in the Kassner case as he had predicted. (pg 16)

2. Why did Ratchett ask Poirot for help?

2a. He believed that his life has been threatened. (pg 35)

3. How were the stabbings delivered on the body?

3a. The stabbings were delivered haphazardly and randomly. (pg 54)

4. How many blows were delivered and how many could cause death?

4a. There were twelve blows in total and three were fatal. (pg 70)

5. What language did Ratchett, or Cassetti, call out in at about 12:40 pm and what did he say?

5a. He called that he had made a mistake in French. (pg 92)

surreptitious (pg 5)

valise (pg 37)

jovially (pg 67)

acquitted (pg 84)

unduly (pg 99)

MIDDLE SECTION

6. What new piece of evidence did Mrs. Hubbard introduce that was found near her window on the magazine and why isn’t there a natural explanation for it?

6a. Mrs. Hubbard introduced a button from a tunic of a Wagon Lit attendant which was surely not dropped from the conductor’s because he never searched near the window. (pg 117-118)

7. What two types do the Colonel Arbuthnot and MacQueen smoke with?

7a. Colonel Arbuthnot smokes a pipe and MacQueen smokes a cigarette. (pg 153)

8.  Who did Mary Debenham see at about five o’clock and what was he/she wearing?

8a. Mary Debenham saw a person wearing a scarlet kimono embroidered with dragons and had a shingle cap on her head. (pg 177-178)

9. What did the conductor that Hildegarde Schmidt saw look like and what type of voice did he have?

9a. The conductor was small and dark, had a little moustache, and spoke in a weak, woman’s voice. (pg 188)

10. What kind of dagger was found?

10a. In Mrs. Hubbard’s sponge bag, a cheap, straight-bladed dagger that was sham Oriental with an embossed hilt and a tapering blade was found. (pg 201)

fluctuated (pg 113)

amiable (pg 136)

flamboyant (pg 159)

eminently (pg 182)

rotundity (pg 200)

LAST SECTION

11. Where did Poirot find the scarlet kimono embroidered with dragons?

11a. Poirot found the kimono neatly folded in one of his valises. (pg 228)

12. Why did the doctor rule out Princess Dragomiroff to have inflicted the left-handed blow, even she was the only one that was not proven right-handed?

12a. According to the doctor, Princess Dragomiroff couldn’t have inflicted the left-handed blow to create a fatal wound because it would have been a considerable amount of force behind it, which she couldn’t display, being a frail, elderly woman. (pg 246)

13. What is the Countess’s real Christian name and what relation does she have with the Armstrong family?

13a. The Countess’s real Christian name was Helena Goldenberg, the youngest daughter of Linda Arden and the sister of Mrs. Armstrong. (pg 261)

14. What relation did Greta Ohlsson have with the Armstrong family and how did she feel about them?

14a. Greta Ohlsson was Daisy Armstrong’s nurse and felt that it was a terrible tragedy that Daisy was kidnapped and killed. (pg 290-291)

15. What did Linda Arden ask Poirot, Bouc, and Dr. Constantine to do?

15a. Linda asked them to change the evidence so that it would appear that it was only her fault. (pg 314-315)

coquettish (pg 211)

deprecating (pg 233)

ingenuity (pg 265)

spontaneously (pg 288)

elucidated (pg 301)