Mini Review – Death on the Nile

From Goodreads:

Agatha Christie’s most exotic murder mystery, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers. The tranquillity of a cruise along the Nile is shattered by the discovery that Linnet Ridgeway has been shot through the head. She was young, stylish and beautiful, a girl who had everything – until she lost her life. Hercule Poirot recalls an earlier outburst by a fellow passenger: `I’d like to put my dear little pistol against her head and just press the trigger.’ Yet in this exotic setting’ nothing is ever quite what it seems…

This is just jam packed with murders, thefts, intrigue and romance. Poirot’s quiet holiday sail down the Nile is interrupted by a series of events included a fight between jilted lovers, thefts of jewels, money matters and more murders that are comfortable for such a luxury cruise. Of course Poirot’s avuncular nature wins through and we do see a romance or two blossom due to his meddling. We also have a cross over with Colonel Race who aids Poirot in his investigations, who is Christie’s Secret Service Agent who acts as a fantastic sounding board for Poirot’s theories when Japp and Hastings are not available.

All this action weaves a complex and detailed plot as Poirot and Race try to separate or connect the various events and crimes to try and figure out who is responsible for the murder of Linnet Ridgeway, what was their motive and how they managed to commit the crime. All these red herrings just keep the reader guessing and the reveal in the end is fantastically fun, pulling in lots of subtle clues and hints that are easily overlooked through out the book. Again, it is a twist that only Agatha Christie could pull off.

It should be said the text was written in 1937 so there are elements in the description of the Egyptian people that are encountered when the boat party goes on excursions that are distasteful to modern audiences. Christie’s dislike for Americans is also evident in this novel too.