Friday, January 21, 2011

The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie



book cover

The Mystery of the Blue Train
by Agatha Christie


228 pages
First Released: 1928


Source: Checked out from the library.

Book Description from Amazon:
All aboard Le Train Bleu, bound for the Riviera. Among the passengers is heiress Ruth Kettering, bailing out of a doomed marriage and en route to see her former lover. Pity she's found murdered in her luxury compartment. All Hercule Poirot has for clues is the victim's secret life, and what unfolds is positively scandalous.


My Review:
The Mystery of the Blue Train is a puzzle-type "historical" mystery. The mystery was clever, but enough clues were given that the reader can figure out whodunit. In fact, I felt like this mystery was more solvable than most Poirot mysteries: each new clue made the picture fall more into place for me and only one of the false clues threw me. However, some loose ends (created by clues meant to throw the reader off) were never explained.

Some of the characters were complex, but we didn't get to know any of them very well. The details about the setting and time period were sketchy, as is typical of Agatha Christie. There was a very minor amount of bad language. There was no sex or gore. Overall, I'd recommend this enjoyable mystery to fans of Agatha Christie.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt:
Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

a nice book i must say but yes few characters are not defined well and as u said the plot not so tight.....but enjoyed it thoroughly.

Debbie said...

Thanks for taking the time to share your opinion of this book. :)

KemcolianPakistan said...

There ARE loose ends...Why was Ruth's face disfigured?? Not to confuse detectives about her identity,surely, because:
>Van Aldin KNEW that his daughter had boarded the train,he came to see her off.
>Ruth's identity would be pretty obvious ,she was murdered in her own berth, there would be a passport,train passes etc..


I can understand that there was obviously some OTHER reason for the act of disfigurement, but what IS it?
And mirelle..is she kitty kidd?That was my first,and vague, impression(no idea why :) )

Perhaps I've read the book in a hurry and missed a point here or there...

Debbie said...

KemcolianPakistan,

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about the book.

Pravin Rajendran said...

I never could understand why for a theft, it had to happen in the blue train. The maid always had access, and a much simpler theft would have been possible.