Rating: 
Summary: Pros and Cons
Review: Agatha Cristie does it again, in her Hercule Poirot mystery, Murder on the Orient Express. Known as Mystery's #1 Best-selling Author Agatha Cristie writes the astonishing mystery about a detective, Hercule Poirot, on vacation when a snowstorm brings his train to a standstill a murder takes place in the cabin next to his own. Agatha Cristie has great talent when twisting plots and this is no exception.
In the beginning of the book, chapters two and three, Agatha Cristie leads you on to suspicious characters before the crime even takes place. In this specific case some of the members on the train are built even before Hercule gets on the Orient Express. He encounters a man and a women on his previous train of whom he is suspicious of and even the victim and his co workers, all of which he quickly decides to keep a close eye on. A few pros and cons with this technique are as follow. The con, at some points you feel as the story will never continue, that the whole time all you will know about is this persons paranoia. The pros, firstly, you feel as though you must continue to read because something is bound to happen. Another point is you began to think you know who are the bad guys and as mentioned early Agatha Cristie knows how to twist a plot.
Towards the middle of the book, chapter 63, another story is introduced. One of a crime that took place a few years back. The second story, is brought up from a piece of evidence, it is about a three year old girl who was kidnapped and turned up dead, weeks later. When it is first introduced it could tend to be a bit confusing and also a little frustrating because just when you think you know who the murderer is in a single chapter you know there's more to it then you originally thought. This does however add a bit of excitement to pick the book back up after a couple of informative yet on the boring side chapters. This gives the detective his hunch that this kidnapping case will lead him to the murder.
The next section in the book is labeled the Evidence. In which Agatha Cristie introduces you to every member in the coach. She goes through and gets to you to feel sorry for some and suspicious of others. This part is great, and is why the characters being built before the crime is no longer a necessity. This part leads up to some great discoveries made by the detective and evidently the unusual and surprising outcome.
Agatha Cristie is able to teach and put morals into the most unusual stories in this case she incorporates pay back, love, and the common never give up ideas. Though this is not my favorite mystery of all time I have no regrets in reading it and do plan on reading future Agatha Cristie novels.
Rating: 
Summary: One of the best murder mysteries ever written
Review: "Murder on the Orient Express" is probably one of Agatha Christie's best known mysteries, thanks largely to the excellent movie based closely on the book, but it's also one of her best mysteries on its own. Here is Hercule Poirot, the rotund Belgian detective, whom we meet in the restaurant car "trying to keep his mustaches out of the soup" as the Orient Express is about to begin its run across Central Europe. Also on board are an English governess, a British colonel, an American pseudo-philanthropist and his multilingual secretary, a Russian grande dame, a Hungarian count, a garrulous American matron of certain age, and others representing various countries and nationalities. During the night, one of the passengers is found murdered in his bed, and we learn the next morning that the victim was a vicious child kidnapper and murderer who richly deserved what he got. But who gave it to him is the mystery to be solved. It's the typical English parlor mystery transplanted to the exotic setting of the Orient Express, and it's a brilliant switch. Enter Poirot, sifting through the facts, half-facts and outright inventions, until the mystery is unraveled and we find out not only whodunit, but also who Poirot's fellow passengers really are. It's one of Christie's most satisfying novels, perfectly crafted, concisely written, and totally on target from first to last.
Rating:
Summary: Classic mystery
Review: An unusual crime takes place in a unique setting: a train car where no one can get on or off, yet the murderer remains a mystery. I listened to the audio version and the narrator was one of the best I have heard. He takes on the character of Poirot with total enthusiasm and convinving emotion. This is a classic that is anything but typical.
Rating:
Summary: Suspenseful from the word "Go"
Review: Having never read any Agatha Christie, I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. Being the most, or at least one of the most, revered of Christie's works, I chose to give Murder on the Orient Express a look-see. It did not, suffice to say, disappoint.
As the Orient Express train travels from Istanbul to Paris, there occurs(get this) a murder. Big shocker for Agatha Christie, right? Well, that's where the banality ends and the intricate guessing game begins. With 12 passengers from seemingly very diverse backgrounds traveling in the same railroad car, our intrepid protagonist, Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot, finds the mystery a most baffling and perplexing conundrum worth investigating. Undoubtedly an easy and fun read that is an absolute must for any fan of mystery works. Aussi, si vous pouvez parler un peu de francais, il est tres utile pour ce livre.
Rating:
Summary: Christie dazzles again!
Review: I have not yet read a Christie novel I did not like; even after getting through 40 or so of her books (I have almost all of them) -- each one still pleasantly surprises me -- every time.
This time around Poirot, the famous funky looking Belgian private detective, boards an overnight train that (gasp!) is stalled in the mountains by grave weather/snow. Of course, there is a murder on the train -- and the murderer is one of the passengers! which one? The young, beautiful Countess and her husband? The loud American sales guy? The prim and proper British governess? Murder on the Orient sports a cast of believable characters*, works within a plausibly 'mysterious' environment (closed quarters! not so untraditionally 'murder mystery' I supposse), and offers a yet surprising, unique solution.
*Though Christie's casts might seem much the same for all her books, one must remember she works with 'types' -- with psychology -- she tries to answer 'what type of person would commit murder and under what types of circumstances'. So there is always a prim and proper maid and butler, a kindly large cook, a distinguished war veteran, and an inevitable stranger to the parts. It's not a question of uniqueness of character, it is one of circumstance.
Rating: 
Summary: Sleeper Car
Review: I read about 60 Agatha Christie mysteries in my teens. It took me about a year to realize that she's a mediocre writer. It seems like she owes her fame to the lower demands placed on escapism in a different era. I can't imagine that if she started her career today the results would be the same. She's not real challenging. I don't remember much about them, except that she averaged one good book for every 15 I read. The 4 that still distinguish themselves in my memory are Crooked House, Towards Zero, Roger Aykroyd and this.
This generally reads like an outline. I mentally checked out after about three pages. That's how I recall her, years later; an author that "checks out" once she gave the formula a crank. The middle of this book has been described as "inert." Each page offers slim reasons to continue on. A crime occurs followed by a long sequence of interviews. That's just not very engaging and probably causes the books main problem; It doesn't build. Only in the last three chapters does Poirot get things moving again. Her writing doesn't draw you in. It doesn't offer much to envision. Her characterization is not strong. She avoids writing in which characters aren't speaking.
(Spoiler)
You actually do have a better chance of guessing the solution here than in the 1974 movie (which is enjoyable for other reasons). Remember until the last few pages of the book the red herrings are all a reader has, and it's a long trip though those phoned-in middle chapters. The apparent mystery is just not interesting and it's solved with about ten seconds of thought, so why waste 23 chapters on it? It would have been a better book if she had constructed those middle chapters with more complexity.
People probably don't admire this book for the writing. Ignoring the fact that these characters probably would not have been able to assemble anonymously, the book is a clever solution that deserves a better lead-up
Side note: It seems like you'd have to have some very poor taste, to include the Lindbergh kidnapping (`32) as a major plot point just two years after it occurred.
Rating:
Summary: Murder on The Orient Express
Review: In this wonderfully written book, Murder on the Orient Express, Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot is given a confusing and almost impossible mission. He must find the murderer of Mr. Ratchett, a wealthy American.
As the story begins Hercule Poirot is on his way to Istanbul, Turkey. Traveling with him, by train, are two other passengers; Mary Debenham and Colonel Arubthnot. When they finally arrive Hercule Poirot drives straight to the Tokatlian Hotel. There he receives an urgent telegram for him to travel back to London. He tells the hotel to book a compartment on the first train back to London, which was at nine o'clock. He eats dinner and meets a friend, Mr. Bouc, the director of the Campagnie Internationale des wagons lits. When it is time to board the train the conductor tells Mr. Poirot that the train is full. "It is incredible, Mounsier. All the world elects to travel tonight" he says. But there is one passenger who hasn't arrived yet, so the conductor tells Hercule that he may take his place.
As the train starts off on its three day journey across Europe every thing is going well, or so it seems. Hercule notices that Mary Debenham and Colonel Arubthnot are traveling with him again. After dinner Mr. Ratchett offers Hercule a highly paid job. Mr. Ratchett, a wealthy man, has an enemy and he requires safety, but Hercule only takes cases that interest him, so he rejects. Later that day the train arrives at Belgrade. Mr. Poirot is moved into the compartment No. 1, the compartment of Mr. Bouc. Mr. Bouc was moved into the Athens coach, which was put on at the Belgrade station.
In the middle of the night Hercule Poirot is awaken from a load groan. Hercule notices that the train is at a stand still. He presumes it's at a station. He hears Mr. Ratchett talking to the conductor in the next compartment. Hercule glances at his watch; it is just 23 minutes to one. Relieved, he goes back to his bed. He finds it hard to fall asleep since the train is stationary. He notices that he forgot to ask for his usual bottle of mineral water so he rings the conductor bell. The conductor comes and Hercule asks for a bottle of mineral water. As the conductor gets the bottle Hercule asks why it is so quiet in the station outside. The conductor tells him that they aren't in a station but stuck in a snowdrift.
The next day Mr. Ratchett is found dead of multiple stab wounds in his compartment. The murderer is still on the train. Hercule Poirot must find out who murdered Mr. Ratchett. The evidence shows that the murderer must have been from the Calais coach. There are 13 suspects, but who did it?
Was it the calm Mary Debenham, or the dramatic Mrs. Hubbard? Could it have been Hector Macqueen, Mr. Ratchett's secretary? Or could Princess Dragomiroff have been the murderer? To find out - read this wonderful book, Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie!
Agatha Christie's many fans will live this suspenseful mystery that will keep you guessing to the end. If you're looking for a wonderful mystery or just a nice book to read, this book is the book for you!
Rating:
Summary: Famous classic whodunit aboard train -- many suspects !!
Review: Possibly one of the most famous (possibly due to the fine movie of the same title) in the Hercule Poirot series, this classic little mystery has survived since its first publication in 1933 -- maybe that says it all! The plot is fairly familiar -- during the night on a several day train trip across lower Europe, Poirot's seemingly unpopular sleeping car neighbor is murdered. Rather than little or no clues or suspects, almost everybody aboard the train is a suspect; plenty of clues float around besides. Since the train is totally stalled due to a heavy snow, no resources other than sheer brainpower are available to our intellectual Belgian sleuth. Poirot gets by without his familiar sidekick, Capt. Hastings, but "adopts" a railroad executive and the traveling doctor as foils upon which to foist his evolving theories. After Poirot very cleverly determines that the victim is a hated child kidnapper/killer from America, the plot thickens as the interrogations proceed -- first one and then another and then another of the passengers seem to be related somehow to that long ago famous case. Could it be a conspiracy? You'll be turning the 200 pages rapidly to find out!
As usual, Christie's "economy" of words dwells on little but the straightforward story telling, but we're soon cast under her spell. Like most of her stories, there are more than ample pointers for we readers to take a decent stab at the solution ourselves, but we suspect it will be a rare person who beats Poirot to the task! The book concludes with an unexpected conspiracy of another sort -- will a murderer be tried and convicted or will justice prevail through some other method? Try this entertaining story for a wonderful, perplexing, and charming whodunit !!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best mysteries ever written--seriously!
Review: This beautifully crafted murder mystery ranks among Agatha Christie's finest. The dapper Belgian detective finds himself investigating the murder of an American businessman on board the Simplon Orient Express. The death occurs in a a manner that implicates one of the twelve passengers in the Stamboul-Calais coach. Poirot carefully interviews the suspects, all of whom have cast-iron alibis. The case appears impossible to solve, until Poirot, using nothing but his wits and a few tiny, seemingly insignificant clues (including a monogrammed handkerchief, a pipe-cleaner, and a Hungarian passport), assembles one of his most brilliant explanations.MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is not just another Agatha Christie book. The plotting is as skillful and ingenious as her best, filled with even more baffling twists and turns than usual. This novel has even more to offer, however: a delightful international cast of characters, an entertaining train setting, and gripping suspense. This is edge-of-your-seat reading from the world's foremost mystery writer.
Rating: 
Summary: A Let Down
Review: This book just didn't do it for me and I believe it was because of the writing style, which can best be described as "no-frills." There was little to no description in this book, it used as few words as possible. I needed more elaboration in order to see the scene, the characters, etc. I also thought that the structure of the book was too "fill in the blank." By this I mean that the book lacked transitions and it was as if the various parts of the book were written independently of one another and then were strung together at the end.
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