REVIEWS

Rayne Williams

What an unexpected pleasure reading this book was. Yes, I’ve seen the films etc and I already knew ‘whodunnit’ but I still really enjoyed this perfectly crafted, well balanced tale of romance, money and murder. One of Christie’s best and a personal favourite. Definitely need to book that Nile cruise, if only to read the book again.

David Bunyan

This is the first book I have read by this acclaimed author. I enjoyed this book and its twists & turns & correctly adduced who were the perpetrators early on. Hercule Poirot, the master himself, collects information & untangles truth from victims out of a tangled web of lies, deceit, truth & half-truths to draw matters to a conclusion.

Jane Williams

I have seen 3 film/tv versions of Death on the Nile but realised have never read the book. Well now I have and a very good read it is too. Don’t let having seen a screen version put you off; Agatha Christie is undoubtedly the true Queen of Crime and the plot line and well rounded characters come to life (or death for some). Everyone has an interesting back story and the plot flows with plenty of red herrings to confuse and place doubt. Hercule Poirot is front and centre guiding us to the final solution with little hints along the way. Even though death is in the title I think a cruise along the Nile whets the appetite after reading this story. One can imagine the heat, the history and yes, the glamour of cruising down such an iconic river on a beautiful river boat.

Deborah Dean

Confession – I have watched many Agatha Christies, seen both films of Death on the Nile and watched the TV adaptation but I had never read one until now. As expected, it is a wonderfully complicated tale, perfectly constructed, with lots of red herrings and numerous characters. A really enjoyable read, and definitely a good book to take on holiday, it is not one to put down, otherwise you’ll forget who some of the people are! The characters are well written and this it seems is what Christie is best at, apart of course from her great skill with the detective genre. Although set on a river steamer going down the Nile it could equally well have been set in a hotel, or the classic country house, apart perhaps from ‘the splash’ heard by some witnesses. There is little description of the scenery or the ship, and little sense of being in Egypt, other than the ‘bothersome’ children and the street vendors. What struck me most was Poirot’s self-awareness, and in particular his great empathy with his fellow passengers. We know he has great skill and insight but I had not expected such compassion. I am definitely going to read some more.

Sheila Ballard

It’s been a while since I last read an Agatha Christie novel. I really enjoyed reading Death on the Nile even though I have seen various film and TV adaptations of the book. The book went into great detail setting the scene of what would happen on board the ship and this added to my enjoyment of the story even though I knew what would happen in the end. Agatha Christie’s descriptive writing transports you, both to the places referred to in Part One where she introduces the reader to the various characters who would either appear on the cruise down the Nile or have relevant connections to one or more of those characters, and Part Two which concentrates on what took place in Egypt before and after they boarded the steamship Karnak. Had one not already known “whodunnit” Poirot and Race’s piecing together of the various clues (and some red herrings) which led to the ultimate solving of the crimes took you through various possibilities as to who was involved in the series of murders and why each subsequent one had to be committed (because the victim knew who was responsible for the one before)! A very enjoyable read!