Death on the Nile: A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition

by Agatha Christie

Book Overview

"A top-notch literary brainteaser." -New York Times

Soon to be a major motion picture sequel to Murder on the Orient Express with a screenplay by Michael Green, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh alongside Gal Gadot--coming Feb 11, 2022!

Beloved detective Hercule Poirot embarks on...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0062073559
• ISBN13: 9780062073556
• Release Date: February 2011
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.2" x 7.9"

Customer Reviews

Great whodunnit

Major travel vibes

Peaceful Holiday

Hercule Poirot plans a case free holiday voyage down the Nile, but the shooting death of a beautiful young heiress on her honeymoon calls him from relaxation to work. The appearance of his friend Inspector Race who is following another case is an unexpected pleasure as the two men work well together. Agatha Christie once refers to her work with her husband in archaeology during the course of the investigation. The boat is loaded with suspects who would gain from the girl's death, but her arch enemy could not have committed the murder. Two other passengers who saw a killer are killed before Poirot can concluded his investigation. Several subplots play around in the shadows and are resolved before the final climax. I've never known why Hollywood must rewrite Christie, but the movie by the same name only uses the names of characters with a tiny thread of the story. The book is much richer. Nash Black, author whose books are available as Kindle editions. Writing as a Small BusinessSins of the Fathers: A Brewster County Novel

Mystery surrounding a great Romance

I'd read this book once in primary school, and re-read it again last night (in a single sitting, that is!). I enjoyed it much more thoroughly than I remember enjoying it earlier, and I must say as an Agatha Christie fan that this is her BEST novel. The plot around the death in this novel is flawless and there's no question left in the minds of the reader once the mystery is unfolded. The author, as usual, kept me waiting till the very end to find out the solution to the mystery - and I experienced extreme pleasure and the 'aha' effect on reading the end. Wow, this is definitely a masterpiece, and one of Christie's best works. Highly recommended.

The Thrill of Being Teased

I picked up this book a few days ago and it is the first Agatha Christie novel I have read. On the back cover, there is a commentary that reads, "She [Agatha] places her characters face downwards like playing cards, shuffles them with cunning hands, and time after time we point to the wrong card." I didn't realize how true this was until every one of my stabs at identifying the murderer in the novel proved to be untrue. The character development in the novel is splendid, and the plethora of suspects makes the "guessing game" quite intriguing. The first half of the book sets the stage for the murder of Linnet Ridgeway, heir to a multi-millionaire's estate. Linnet marries her best friend's fiance, Simon Doyle, and pays the price as her old friend shows up on her honeymoon cruise to exact her revenge. From this troubled friend to various other passengers aboard the ship, Poirot has to pick the murderer. This is the point in the novel when you start to develop your own theories, and find yourself in awe as Poirot investigates each and every possible theory, makes you almost certain of your initial guess, and then taunts you by telling you your guess is wrong. The search for the culprit becomes increasingly fascinating as several other sub-plots serve to complicate the events on the night of the murder; a fellow investigator, for instance, joins Poirot in search of a serial killer aboard the ship. Various anomalies in the description of the events preceding and following the murder of Linnet, as given by the passengers on board, prompts Poirot to probe into their secret lives, and leave you thirsty for the ultimate answer as you find yourself helpless in putting the book down. All in all, this is one enjoyable read.

One of Christie's Most Memorable Mysteries

Like MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS and DEATH IN THE CLOUDS, Christie's DEATH ON THE NILE finds Poriot en route--this time on vacation in Egypt, where he encounters a romantic triangle that seems destined for lethal results. Linnet Ridgeway has everything: beauty, brains, unspeakable wealth... and Jacquline de Bellefort's boyfriend, a handsome but simple man that Linnet stole away from her friend and married. And now Jacquiline is in hot pursuit, unexpectedly appearing to embarrass the newlyweds at various points along their journey. Linnet and her husband attempt to escape by secretly booking passage on a tourist ship traveling the Nile--but Jacquiline is one step ahead... and murder is not far behind.This is Christie writing near the peak of her skills, offering us a complex tale of emotional fury, considerable atmosphere, and endless intrigue played out by a truly eccentric cast of characters that include society snobs, underhanded servants, neurotic writers, unsavory businessmen, a communist, and just possibly one or two jewel thieves for good measure. Unlike the more famous ORIENT EXPRESS, which offers us a meticulous and extremely cool crime, DEATH ON THE NILE veers into considerable emotional melodrama--and although Christie walks a very fine line here, she succeeds in bringing it off with tremendous flair. And when it comes, the solution to the crime is one of her most memorable and successful, combining the logic and startle-factor that have made Christie legendary in the genre. A brilliant piece of work from start to finish.

A Sinister Shipboard Slaying

Agatha Christie wrote "Death on the Nile" in 1937, one year after "Murder in Mesopotamia", and to all appearances "Death on the Nile" was intended as a prequel to "Murder in Mesopotamia", which itself was a prequel to the 1934 classic "Murder in the Orient Express". The three stories make up a satisfying trilogy of mysteries as Poirot tours the Near East finding murder everywhere he goes. All three of the stories follow Christie's tried-and-true formula: She introduces the cast of suspects, gives each of them a dark secret and a motive to lie, and piles up the circumstances in such a way that the flying fickle finger of suspicion points to every one of them at some time or another. She compounds the confusion by supplying false leads and deliberatly glossing over hot clues. In each case Poirot holds his cards close to his vest, tantalizes the reader/listener with cryptic comments, and finds the most inconsequential-appearing facts to be highly significant. Eventually Poirot airs everyone's dirty laundry, explains his chain of deductive reasoning, reconstructs the crime in all its improbable complexity, and gets a confession. Of the three stories, however, "Death on the Nile" presents the most feasible modus operandi for the murder, as well as the most likely motivation for murder. This is a roudabout way of saying that "Death on the Nile" is the most realistic of the three.I listened to the BBC production of "Death on the Nile" and found it the easiest of the three stories for the listener to follow. For "Orient Express" and "Mesopotamia" you need a flow chart to keep up with all the twists, turns, and complexities of the plot. All in all, "Death on the Nile" provides the listener with an entertaining, satisfying story of murder and mayhem.