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Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition
Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition
Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition
Audiobook6 hours

Murder on the Orient Express: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition

Written by Agatha Christie

Narrated by Dan Stevens

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

4.5/5

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About this audiobook

THE MOST WIDELY READ MYSTERY OF ALL TIMENOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE DIRECTED BY KENNETH BRANAGH AND PRODUCED BY RIDLEY SCOTT!

 

“The murderer is with us—on the train now . . .”

 

Just after midnight, the famous Orient Express is stopped in its tracks by a snowdrift. By morning, the millionaire Samuel Edward Ratchett lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside. Without a shred of doubt, one of his fellow passengers is the murderer.

 

Isolated by the storm, detective Hercule Poirot must find the killer among a dozen of the dead man's enemies, before the murderer decides to strike again.

 

“What more . . . can a mystery addict desire?”—New York Times

 

Editor's Note

Luxurious classic…

When a luxury train is derailed by a snowdrift, a murder is discovered and no passenger escapes suspicion. Hercule Poirot, Christie’s infamous fictional detective, happens to be a passenger and takes the reigns of the investigation. Grab some popcorn and immerse yourself in Christie’s classic before seeing the star-studded movie version.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherHarperAudio
Release dateSep 10, 2013
ISBN9780062265883
Author

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in English with another billion in over 70 foreign languages. She is the most widely published author of all time and in any language, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 20 plays, and six novels written under the name of Mary Westmacott.

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Reviews for Murder on the Orient Express

Rating: 4.473829201101928 out of 5 stars
4.5/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is one of those rare books where I wasn't sure I was fully enjoying it because I thought the circumstances of the mystery were silly, but the ending brought it all together and it really worked. This was my first Agatha Christie book as an adult and the format was new to me. It was basically separated into three parts. The first part introduces things and the murder. The second part is literally a series of interviews with each of the potential suspects. The third part is the explanation of the crime. It was vey formulaic, but I enjoyed the simplicity of it. I look forward to reading other books by Christie.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Really enjoyed this one. Ready to see the movie now.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I simply cannot remember how many times I have read this mystery, but I do remember that it is one of my most favorites! Hercule Poirot is never better than when he is solving the murder on the Orient Express. This is a perfect mystery and a bookly wonderful read.....one I shall keep reading over and over again.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5


    AKA: "Murder in the Calais Coach"

    Although I remembered "who done it"...... I still enjoyed reading this story again, mostly because I didn't remember much of anything else.

    A man on the train to France asks Poirot for his help. He has received a threatening letter and is much afraid for his life.... Although the man is impeccable in speech, manner, & presentation, he has evil in his eyes and there is something deep reflected that causes M. Poirot to turn him down.

    Although is is late in the season, for some reason the train is unusually full (even the stand-by compartment saved for the railway company) and for the first few stops M. Poirot has to share a berth..... When another coach has been added, M. Poirot is moved to the number 1 compartment, directly next to the man who had unsuccessfully solicited M. Poirot's help.

    Along in the third night, M. Poirot hears voices, sees a mysterious woman, hears much commotion.... and finds that the man with the evil in his eyes has been murdered... Stabbed 12 times... with several of the wounds not made by the same hand.

    Everyone has an alibi, no one seems to have a motive.... until M. Poirot ascertains the murdered man's true identity.....

    Oh good old Bigoted Agatha.... she sure hated Italians.... and once again goes off on a rant about them.... Amazing, really; and for this reason, I cut off a star!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This was a great audiobook. I really enjoyed the narrator and while this was my first time with an Agatha Christie novel I was really pleasantly surprised.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is a very clever plot, well thought out and—if you never watched the movie—with a startling end. I never thought I’d catch a mistake in a book written by Agatha Christie! Yet, I did catch two… The first one was in a dialogue between Hercule Poirot, Dr. Constantine, and Monsieur Bouc (which, by the way, means “goat” in French). Poirot was describing three possibilities that explained the crime. The last and third possibility was that evidence had been faked “for the same reason as above”… Obviously the word should have been “already mentioned” or something like that, never “above,” which does not accord with a spoken, but a dialogue. The second was the American characters using the word “frontier” instead of border. It was surprising that her editors never caught these two simple mistakes.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I do not like to write reviews of whodunits: you can't do justice to the analysis without explaining what happened in detail, but then it spoils the story for whoever has not read it. So, for those mystery lovers who have not read The Murder on the Orient Express so far, I will post a single line review: Go and read it! This one rocks! What are you waiting for?

    Now, the review for fellow mystery and Christie lovers who have read the book(or like me, re-read umpteen number of times till the pages came out of the binding!).

    Whodunits are like magic tricks. The writer shows you everything: the clues are all before your eyes: you rack your brains, trying to fit a solution on the jigsaw, but are unable to do so: then, in the last chapter, the author reveals that one bit of detail which you overlooked, but which was actually crucial to the solution. You kick yourself for being such an idiot, then bask in the afterglow of having been fooled by a master.

    A conventional whodunit has certain rules. First, there is a murder. There are a fixed number of people who could have done the murder, who are equal in terms of motive and opportunity. As the story progresses through its twists and turns, the reader keeps on guessing, shifting his suspicion from one suspect to another. If the novel is well-written, the author will succeed in totally removing suspicion from the actual murderer before the final revelation.

    Very rarely does an author break the basic rules and get away with it smoothly, as Agatha Christie does in this novel. It shows what a master of the craft she is.

    The Murder on the Orient Express is a classic locked room mystery: in the snowed-in train, one of the twelve passengers have to be guilty. And as the past history of Ratchett (the victim) as the mastermind behind the kidnapping and murder of little Daisy Armstrong comes to light, we know that we are in for a real humdinger: because there are so many people wishing him out of the way, and many of them are likely to be on the Calais coach. But when Poirot unearths the fact that each and every one of the passengers is connected to the Armstrong family in some way, we feel that Dame Agatha has stretched coincidence to the limit, even if it is in the interest of a good detective yarn.

    But then all is revealed: There is no coincidence. They are all there as part of a plan, and they are all guilty! In fact, Poirot is the coincidence, the joker in the pack.

    I have not read another mystery where all the likely suspects are guilty! This is such a grand flouting of convention that would have fallen flat on its face, had not the story been carefully structured to make it possible. The American household is possibly the only one in the world where you can find all nationalities. If such had not been the case, the connection of the occupants of the coach to the Armstrong family would have been evident much before Christie wanted to reveal it. And the snowed-in train is the only possible setting where all the suspects could be cloistered without the possibility of outside interference, as the plotters thought the train would move on, and that the murder would be attributed to a person or persons unknown. It all fits in the end.

    Also, this one story where the ending is just perfect.

    (On rereading the story, I noticed certain incidents and snippets of dialogue (especially the one between Colonel Arbuthnot and Mary Debenham) which seemed to point in one direction but on hindsight, were crystal-clear in their meaning. This is why I love rereading Christie's books... it gives valuable insights into the author's technique.)




    Dame Agatha Christie might not be a great writer: there are more "literary" mystery writers out there, like Dorothy L. Sayers and P. D. James. But as the spinner of a classical mystery, it is my humble opinion that there is none to touch her... and that there is no sleuth to match the little Belgian with the magnificent moustaches and the egg-shaped head.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I had already seen both film adaptations when I decided to read the famous novel upon which they are based. And, this was one of those rare instances where I think the film was better (Branagh's version, that is). The main reason is that the film gives the characters life. The cast of suspects is quirky, but ultimately nothing more than a bunch of names - people the great detective interviews. Poirot is the only character who has any development. Now, the mystery and the great twist at the end deserve all the praise garnered over the years. Christie crafted an excellent locked room mystery with a resolution that few would have guessed if not for years in the public consciousness.Though the book lost some magic because I knew the conclusion before beginning, it was still worth reading and I look forward to reading more of her work - before I see any more adaptations! Recommended.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Okay--I lied. This is another Christie that I enjoyed. Sue me.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    The passengers on the Calais Coach wake to find themselves trapped by a snowdrift… and something far worse.

    Returning home from the Middle East, Hercule Poirot – by sheer coincidence and his connections – manages to get the last berth on the Calais Coach of the Orient Express, wherein he is quickly approached by a wealthy passenger, Mr. Ratchett who wants Poirot to keep watch for people who may be trying to kill him. Poirot refuses the commission and, to his dismay, learns the next morning that Ratchett has been killed in cold blood. With the train trapped due to a snowblock, Poirot and his assistants, Monsieur Bouc and Dr. Constantine, must gather the clues and untangle a web of deceit which has ensnared the thirteen suspects on board the train.

    Murder on the Orient Express is quintessential Christie, make no mistake. The closed-off location, the multitude of suspects, the straightforward analytical way in which Poirot is able to handle the matter. (Indeed, due to the circumstances of the crime, he must surely have relished this, as rarely does he get to be so methodical). Within this format, Christie has the perfect outlet for her contrivances, for the red herrings and mistaken identities, for the lies and suspicions and paranoia that flow from the initial murder. In fact, Murder on the Orient Express reads somewhat like an amalgam of other great Christies. Like Death in the Clouds, we have a limited number of suspects, and a crime which somehow was not witnessed. Like Ordeal by Innocence, we’re aware of the increasing paranoia and the shortened length of time in which the crime must be solved. And structurally, the novel couldn’t be better: the set-up is clean and simple, the murder endlessly complex, and the interviews methodical yet fascinating. And it all leads up to a devastating denouement in which Poirot gathers the passengers to give them not one, but two solutions, and must make a moral decision unique in the books – at least until he made a far greater one in his final case, Curtain.

    There isn’t a line out of place in this novel. The endless array of clues – smudges on passports, mysterious handkerchiefs, disappearing women in kimonos and buttons belonging to nobody – are all perfectly explained, and each raises a question: legitimate clue, accidental red herring or deliberate red herring? Not everyone will enjoy the way that Dame Agatha twists and tailors the plot to her needs, but helpless Poirot fans like myself are rendered inert by the sheer technical perfection of the way things are carried out. All plotting, after all, is contrivance, by its very nature. What makes some work better than others is in not letting the strings show. And just when you’re about to complain about one plot element ringing false, Christie goes and makes it part of the plot all along!

    Okay, to be honest, there may be one tiny niggling weakness: a couple of the suspects are very sketchily drawn, appearing mainly to shore up the numbers in the train (which has to be full for one element of the story to work). This becomes equally notable in both the major film adaptations, but – given how many of the characters do come across strongly – I’ll let it slide. Miraculously, every character comes across as more than just an archetype; there are no stodgy vicars, cruel matriarchs or the like here. Instead, even the most stereotypical characters transcend their tropes, with backgrounds and motivations far beyond what we expect, given how common the ‘stock characters stuck together become suspects of murder’ formula is.

    Orient Express is a lovely example of a book that fully deserves its notoriety. It is the finest of Christie’s detective stories, taking a basic plot device that was already hoary in 1934, and somehow being both classical and innovative. There’s just no wonder that Poirot’s investigative methods are the stuff of legend, and that nearly any murder mystery is now compared to this novel. It’s a quintessential piece of the ‘Golden Age’: in that the plan comes together perfectly and only Poirot’s presence can reveal the murderers’ devious scheme (the 2010 film’s greatest strength is how it does a modern spin on this, by making the scheme much more haphazard, and allowing Poirot to come off as something far more human).

    Poirot ranking: 2nd of 38

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Reread it while working - it hasn't lost any of its charm (although there are some old-fashioned ideas about race that were jarring)

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It was a great book! I was sucked right in and could see how people are continuing to read this after all these years. What made it a 4 star instead of the 5 was all the stereotypes that were mentioned and reinforced throughout the book.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A wonderful Agatha Christie novel. Tons of twists and turns throughout the plot. I love the unexpected ending. Christie usually does that to me. One of my favorite Christie novels and I enjoyed rereading it--again.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Hercule Poirot boarded the Taurus Express in Aleppo, Syria, having successfully solved the crime that brought him there, bound for Istanbul. On the train, he met two people who seemed to know each other acting suspiciously. Upon arrival, the famous investigator discovered that he also needed to take the Orient Express (the Simplon Orient Express). An old friend who was an official of the train company appeared and helped Poirot secure a berth after the train appeared to be fully booked, which was surprising in itself.On board the train, a gruesome murder occurs. There are 12 people connected to the carriage or the deceased. Poirot is asked to undertake the investigation. He proceeds to interview all of these folks and sift through the evidence that occurs. The solution to the crime is clever and surprising.Agatha Christie is, of course, famous for her peerless mystery writing. It is an educational experience to review the book and think through the structure that she used to tell the story. Her approach is straightforward. Ms. Christie begins with the crime in simple terms, reviews the suspects in an orderly manner, frames the questions to be addressed, then addresses them to come to a conclusion that is different than the reader anticipated.The spare writing style reflects the times in which the stories were written. There is none of the sex and violence that are so common today, though the excitement of the story is certainly not diminished. It is actually refreshing to read the spare style.There is much to be learned from studying the masters!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Hercule Poirot can almost always put it all together in time. But sometimes he gets a bit confused by morals. And so the fun begins. A snow storm and a crowded train - and everyone a suspect.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I had not read this book and did not know "who done it" so this was an enjoyable one day read.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    If you read one Hercule Poirot novel make it this one. This was one of Christie's favorites and mine too. The story is based loosely on the real life Lindberg kidnapping case. I think knowledge of that event enhances the reading of this book. Hercule Poirot finds himself on the famed Orient Express. A murder takes place and the identity of the murder victim sheds a whole new light on the case. The conclusion is nothing short of brilliant. I did see the PBS Masterpiece version of this movie before reading this book which blunted the ending for me. I wish I had read the book first to have gotten the full impact of those last pages. This is one of my all time favorites and a highly recommended read.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I actually saw the BBC production of this on PBS before reading the book. It was my first brush with Hercule Poirot and his "little grey cells". He will always remain one of my favorite detectives. If you don't know who did it, I won't spoil the ending, but I always thought it was extrememly interesting.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    My first Agatha Christie novel, and oh what fun! It was great to step back in time, traveling aboard such a famous piece of history. Christie was masterful at creating twists and turns, keeping the reader just ahead of the solution to the crim. Msr. Poiroit was such a character, but using his clever deductions skills, helped solve an intriguing mystery.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the classic Christie story about a murder that occurs while the Orient Express train is stuck in a snowbank; a place where it would have been impossible for anyone from the outside to enter the train. Someone on the train must be the murderer – but the passengers have conflicting stories, and the physical evidence leads in circles. I haven't read many of [[Agatha Christie]]'s works. I can see how much I've missed out by not doing so. Sometimes there is this little contrary voice in my head that says if works are popular, they can't be good. Wrong, wrong, wrong! - Or at least not always right. I thoroughly enjoyed this classic mystery.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This is one of Christie's finest books where she creates a complex plot that hinges on a simple idea, but where the writing of the characters and setting makes it hold together. On the snowbound Orient Express, a man named Ratchett is murdered and Poirot working with the director of the company and a doctor work to figure out what happened. The joy of this story is in all the small details and how cunningly Christie puts things together and how Poirot does his reveal.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This was great! My first experience with Christie's work. I like Poirot and his subtle sense of humor. Is it weird to describe a murder mystery as cute? Because that's how this felt (much like the Wells & Wong MG series by Robin Stevens). I flew through this over the course of a couple days and now I want to start at the beginning so I can learn more about Poirot. The ending was surprising too! I don't try hard to solve the mystery because I enjoy being surprised, but it wasn't until he began explaining everything that I started to piece it together - I never would have guessed!

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Quite simply, one of the best mystery books ever written. A true picture of the age, fantastic characters, and a surprise ending that dazzles. If you read no other Agatha Christie novel (though you should), read this one. Forever in my top ten of all-time favorites.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    When a train passenger is stabbed in the night, Hercule Poirot must sort through the evidence to identify the killer.Possibly Christie's most iconic work, this is a must-read for mystery buffs, and the book I'd suggest if you're looking for an entry point into the author's work. This was a reread for me -- I needed an audiobook, and I do so enjoy the way Dan Stevens pronounces the word "murder."

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A good mystery novel. I think my expectations were too high because it is one of the classics that everyone talks about and I expected it to be even better. In my opinion it was just a good mystery novel, not one of the best I've ever read.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This has to be one of my favorite Hercule Poirot novels, because this one was really complicated, and perhaps should have an award for use of most red herrings in a mystery novel (or at least in the ones I've spent many years reading). I can't really say anything about the plot so as not to give it away, but picture this: a man dies on the Orient Express, which has become stuck in the snow somewhere in Yugoslavia. His room is locked from the inside. Had it not been that Poirot was traveling on the same train, I swear, this would have been the ultimate perfect murder. That's the most plot review I can supply, but I can recommend this to anyone who likes good British crime fiction, or to people who have read Agatha Christie but maybe not this one, or to those who want to be there when Poirot unravels a most ingenious crime. It may be a bit far fetched, but it's really really good! Highly recommended.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have them all but this Murder on the Orient Express is stealing my heart each time... what a writer Agatha Christie was.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Middle school readers interested in the mystery genre will be fascinated with Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express. Easy to read and high on entertainment value, Murder on the Orient Express is a masterfully crafted suspenseful mystery. Christie's plot revolves around her super sleuth Hercule Poirot and a murder on the fabled train, the Orient Express, a popular long distance train which traveled from Istanbul to Calais. Set during a winter snowdrift somewhere in "JugoSlavia", Christie establishes a frosty and convincing atmosphere around the delayed train and in the compartments and dining car where Poirot interviews an international cast of passengers / suspects: an American matron and businessman, and the victim's secretary, an English colonel and governess, a Russian princess, a swarthy Italian, a German lady-in-waiting, and a French train conductor. Based partly on the Charles Lindbergh baby kidnapping, murder case, the varying nationalities riding on the train play on the theme of America as a "melting pot".

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It's amazing how blatant the clues indicating the true nature of the crime are in this Poirot classic from Agatha Christie. But you still won't guess it . . . .

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I am an Agatha Christie fan. I started reading her in high school and she frequently reappears in my reading choices. However, I had never read one of her better known works until a few weeks ago. My husband is just starting to read her work, and I suggested this title, knowing that it is much loved, and decided to read it along with him.Poirot is traveling home and takes the train, the Orient Express; at the behest of an old friend, he rides in the first-class carriage. They both remark on the oddness of the full carriage, since the time of year is not usually busy, and enjoy themselves watching and speculating about the other passengers. The good times end when one of the passengers is murdered in his cabin at night, and the train is stuck in a snowdrift and no police are forthcoming. Poirot's friend, who happens to be the train conductor, urges him to help them solve the matter, so that by the time the police arrive they can present them the villain and avoid as much scandal as possible. Poirot readily agrees, and they set up an interview room in the dining car so he can speak to each passenger on the train. He also searches through the evidence in every room, with the assistance of his friend and the doctor who examined the body. Since the fun of a Christie mystery is in the gathering of clues and collecting of suspects, that's as much of the plot as I will write in this review. Of course, Poirot does figure it all out, in the end.As I suspected, I had a pleasant time reading this mystery. It has been a long while since I've read a Poirot mystery, and I missed the plucky detective. I love how everyone dismisses Poirot, unless they know his reputation. Actually, in this book they did know, and were the opposite of taking him for granted, and that was fun, too. Christie mysteries are wonderful in that she clearly presents the readers with all of the clues, and yet I still never figure them out. To be fair, she throws in a lot of red herrings, too. I read through this book quickly, and was wholly surprised by the actual killer. I understand why so many people laud the story. I am definitely ready to read some more by one of my favorite mystery writers.

    1 person found this helpful