The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie: Book Review

The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie is her 6th book to feature Hercule Poirot. The second book I read in April 2021 was also set on a train, but this one went from London, England to Nice, France.

Christie first published The Mystery of the Blue Train in the Spring of 1928. The book is one of Christie’s least favorite that she wrote, saying it is full of clichés.

Synopsis

Ruth Kettering is unhappy in her marriage. She decides to take a trip to Paris to see meet her lover. Something changes her mind, and she is to continue to Nice. Before her trip, her father presents her with a gift of rare jewels. When the train arrives in Nice, Ruth is dead, and her jewels are missing. Who is responsible?

Positives

Beautiful descriptions of both the scenery and the characters. The opulence of the time was evident in the locale used for most of the book, the Riviera and the casino of Monte Carlo.

The mystery was not easy to figure out. I always hate when you read a mystery and know who the culprit is within the first 50-100 pages, especially when the book is just over 200 pages long.

Negatives

The first 50 pages or so were quite slow. I was actually tempted to put the book down. And that is not something I find myself doing with Agatha Christie’s books.

The resolution of the book seemed a bit off. Not the answer to the crime, but the romance part. I’m not sure I can agree with that part.

My Opinions

I am participating in a reading challenge this year called Read Christie 2021. Each month has a different theme of a Christie book. The theme for April is a story set before World War II. That’s a pretty easy theme, find a book published before 1939, and Christie has plenty to choose from.

This was a good read. Once I got past the first 50 pages, or maybe 100, I found it hard to put the book down. I believe I read the last half of the book in an afternoon. I can understand, though while Christie may consider this her worst book, but I’m afraid I have to disagree with her. It was a fun journey, and one I wouldn’t mind taking again.

Looking for some more books to read? Check out my other book reviews and my monthly reading wrap-ups.