"The sort of
little man one could never take seriously."
So one of the chief
characters of 'Murder on the Orient Express' describes Hercule Poirot, one of Agatha Christies' most famous characters. But of course we
know he should be taken very
seriously and if you do not know this now then you will be convinced before you are even half-way through the book.
Poirot is travelling back across Europe on the famous train and is surprised to note how busy his carriage (the Istanbul-Calais coach) is, and the diversity of characters aboard. These characters are wonderfully brought to
life by Christies' vivid imagination and she weaves together humour and deceipt skillfully. Poirot is particularly fascinated by a large, evil-looking American man, Ratchett, who later approaches the Belgian detective asking for protection. His life has been threatened, he says. Poirot refuses the man, distrusting him. Later the next day, Ratchett is found dead in his compartment with no less than twelve stab wounds.
A puzzling case ensues where Poirot enlists the aid of a Dr Constantine from the next
coach and his old friend M Bouc, an official of the Express. Together they exercise the little grey cells to try and understand the confusing abundance of clues.
This is a gripping story with a satisfying twist to the end. Todays crime writers could learn a lot from Ms Christie.
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