Murder on the Orient Express was originally published in 1934 by famous writer Agatha Christie. It is a crime fiction with a mystery that is brilliantly solved at the end. The book was so popular that it was adapted into a movie with stars such as Johnny Depp, Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Josh Gad, and many more. Murder on the Orient Express has many twists and turns that throw you off and many clues so that you may attempt to solve the mystery alongside main character Hercule Poirot.

The story begins with famous French private detective Hercule Poirot attempting to board the Orient Express back to London. Although the train is fully booked, Monsieur Bouc, Poirot’s Bulgarian friend, lands him an empty seat in first class. The train is filled with people from all around the world, Samuel Ratchett, his assistant Hector McQueen,  Mrs. Hubbard all from America, Mary Debenahm, Colonel Arbuthnot, Dr. Constantine, Count and Countess Andrenyi from England, Princess Dragomiroff a Russia women, Pilar Estravados from Spain, and Antonio Foscarelli from Italy. There are many other minor characters in the story, but Poirot investigates 12 of them.

Samuel Ratchett, a rich American man, approaches Poirot and asks him to work for him. Ratchett believes someone is plotting to kill him. Poirot denies because he senses that something is off with Ratchett. One night while all the passengers are asleep, an avalanche stops the train in its tracks.  Ratchett is murdered and Poirot must interrogate all of the passengers on the train that night. He has to race against time before the killer can strike again. He finds clues in Ratchett’s compartment: 12 stab wounds, a handkerchief, and a small piece of paper with the name “Armstrong” scribbled on it. Hercule Poirot must interpret these clues and piece them together to solve the mystery.

This book is a 5/5 personally. It is slightly hard to get into at first because some of the dialogue is in French, but once you get past that it is one of those books that is hard to put down. It leads you in multiple directions and steers you toward the solution of the mystery. Murder on the Orient Express is a must read for those who enjoy murder mysteries.