Book Review: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (New York City, Dodd, Mead & Company, Inc., 1935)
a review by Amanda Fink
Death on the Nile is one of the many mysteries that Agatha Christie has written. In Death on the Nile, Hercule Poirot, an aging yet extremely intelligent detective is on the case of a murdered young heiress, whose father’s dealings may have come back to haunt her.
Many of the characters have affluent backgrounds, explaining how they all end up on a boat traveling through Egypt, which becomes a closed crime scene when several of the passengers are murdered. The mystery thickens when a jewel heist is uncovered, adding more suspense. After several false starts, misleading information, and the silencing of passengers, Hercule Poirot finally puts together the steps the murderer had taken and surprises all when he tells who did it. The ending of the book is bittersweet, showing that two lovers will be together even when they are convicted.
All in all, Death on the Nile is a slightly predictable book. From the beginning it is quite obvious to the reader that the young heiress will be killed, especially when she has an angry ex-friend following her, and the amount of society’s pleasantries in the book will drag the reading on for the reader who doesn’t particularly find 20th century society in any way fascinating. That said, it can be a slow read, but it does have a spattering of interesting points, such as the before mentioned jewel heist. Some of the characters themselves are intriguing, such as Jacqueline de Bellefort, who has taken to haunting the steps of her former friend, Linnett Ridgeway Doyle, and her former lover, Simon Doyle; and Linnett Doyle herself, a rich heiress who becomes more and more frustrated with her inability to escape Jackie. Though the book is slow, that’s not to say that there are no humorous parts in it. Fanthorp, who has a very angry temperament, pursues a woman who rejects him. With all these characters and more, Agatha Christie has given the reader many potential murderers, but eventually the sleuthing of Hercule Poirot winds the book down to the end.
Death on the Nile is more a book for those who finds the past century’s people and their society interesting. It’s full of the pleasures of their society, namely sitting down and discussing the happenings of the case politely. It may not appeal to a reader who wants to read a fast paced mystery; Death on the Nile clearly may be past its prime.
So did you not like it very much cause it was slower-paced and stuff? And have you read any other Agatha Christie books, I’ve heard other ones were pretty good.