It has been 20 years since I last read Murder on the Orient Express (1934), Agatha Christie's classic tale of a death on a train wherein all the suspects are trapped together and detective Hercule Poirot must ascertain who committed the crime. I first read it in high school in the 1990s, read it again in 2006, and have seen the various film adaptations over the years. So when it was listed as the title for the 2026 Christie Challenge for March, in the category 'biggest impact on you as a young reader', I wasn't sure if I would bother to re-read it for the third time.
The story is simple. Poirot is returning from Istanbul to London on the famous railway line, the Orient Express. Other travellers include a Russian princess, a Hungarian Count and Countess, a British Colonel, an English Governess, a Swedish missionary, an American car salesman, and various secretaries, valets and maids. On the first night there is a commotion in sleeper 2, and Samuel Ratchett is found dead from a dozen stab wounds. Poirot investigates, working out loud to identify the killer or killers, and their possible motive for the crime.
We learn early on that Ratchett is an alias. He was an American gangster who was responsible for the kidnapping of a young girl, Daisy Armstrong. Before he died, he expressed fear that he may be attacked. But who did the killing and why?
Poirot sets himself up in the dining car and interviews the other occupants of the sleeper carriage. One-by-one they answer his questions, each giving tiny morsels of evidence which paint a picture of what may have transpired the previous night. Once he has all the details, Poirot gathers the travellers together and posits two theories as to what transpired. The first, a simple case that a stranger boarded the train, committed the crime, and alighted. The second is that the killer is still on the train, among the group gathered together.
Murder on the Orient Express is a great example of Christie's work and one I would recommend for someone new to her stories. It is short, fast-paced and humorous. It can be a bit confusing with so many characters, many of whom have aliases. There are also plenty of red herrings along the way, which Poirot deftly deals with as he investigates. Overall, a great revisit of this famous novel.
My reviews of other Christie novels are available on this blog:
- The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920)
- Murder on the Links (1923)
- The Body in the Library (1942)
- Mrs McGinty's Dead (1952)
For another great train caper, check out Murder on the Canadian (1976) by Eric Wilson.