Laura’s Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
This is a mystery novel featuring the famous fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It has been adapted into a radio show, tv episode, stage play, and graphic novel. The latest adaptation is a theatrical film originally set to be released in October 2020, with a new release date of September 2021 at the time of this post.
The Analysis:
The book centers on a group of characters taking a cruise along the exotic Nile River in Egypt. There are already tensions between some guests, including a problematic love triangle. Hercule Poirot is there to enjoy the river and the sights along the way, but when one of the passengers is murdered, he must use his ultra sharp perception and critical thinking to solve the case before anyone else gets hurt.
The setting of a travel vessel with a group of eccentric passengers reminded me a lot of Murder on the Orient Express. The controlled environment in both books allows Poirot to systematically question each passenger and dissect the evidence without outside interference. I enjoyed the numerous twists and turns of the story. Agatha Christie does a good job of throwing suspicion on many people to keep the reader guessing. As I was reading, I had some idea who was guilty, but was never sure and didn’t figure out all the details until the end.
I did have trouble keeping some of the 20+ characters straight. While there are a couple of pages describing the passengers early on, these did not paint a clear enough picture for me to know who was who later on. One thing that especially bothered me was similar names for similar characters. Three different men, all traveling alone, were named Ferguson, Fanthrop, and Fleetwood. Not exactly helpful to differentiate characters. I wish I had a character list to refer to while reading (more on that later).
I appreciate Christie for her consistency of writing. I find most of her books to be fairly straightforward and somewhat formulaic, but with a new twist each time to keep it interesting. There is sometimes a comfort in knowing what to expect from a book and Christie novels are a reliable go-to if you want to get cozy with a classic mystery. Once again, Christie presents an entertaining but very readable detective novel in Death on the Nile.
**As I mentioned earlier, a character list would be helpful to reference while reading this book so I created an Official Lit and Flicks Reading Guide with a brief setup, character list, and some themes to focus on. Find it here**
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