PUBLISHED: 1934GENRE: Fiction/Suspense
PURCHASE: link
MY GRADE: C
FROM PUBLISHER: What more can a mystery addict desire than a much-loathed murder victim found aboard the luxurious Orient Express with multiple stab wounds, thirteen likely suspects, an incomparably brilliant detective in Hercule Poirot, and the most ingenious crime ever conceived?
MY THOUGHTS: I didn't like this at all despite the great sounding premise. It was such an incredible letdown. There were far too many characters to keep up with, most with last names I couldn't pronounce and Poirot's French that I couldn't understand. The first 200 pages were an absolute bore. The story got interesting at the start of the last 100 pages when Poirot began investigating the passengers. My interest soon died when Poirot's interviews with them went on for too long and they seemed to lead nowhere.
There was absolutely no suspense in this. The passengers didn't seem scared or concerned that there was a corpse among them. There was an unnatural calmness all around.
I had no sense at all of who could have committed the murder so I didn't guess the ending and don't see how anyone could have. I should have been impressed with it because it was different but I just didn't care. Once the murderer was revealed, I was unhappy with what was done about it and though I'm not too familiar with Poirot, having only read two that feature him, I don't think a detective would have done what he did.
Thank you to Jason for sending this to me.
