Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
poirot genius November 12, 2008 This is my favourite poirot novel so far. Very glam ad great fun! My only advice is to read 'cards on the table' first as you get a build up on one of the characters first which is much more helpful. I find Poirot books are more enjoyable than the tv series which is good but drags on a bit. I wonder if it's the same way with Miss Marple.
utterly unpredictable February 2, 2008 any one who says anything else is lying
and they know it...
great ending, almost impossible to guess the murderer
no doubt *****
Definitely One Of Her Best September 12, 2007 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is one of Agatha Christie's best novels. There is nothing bad that I can say about it, because it is practically perfect. The character's ( as the previous reviewer pointed out ) were very clear to me and Linnet, Jacqueline and Simon were all particularly clear and when the book was finished, I felt like I knew them.
Linnet stole Jacqueline's fiance, Simon, and they end up getting married. On their honeymoon they go to Egypt, but Jacqueline followed them, to get revenge. In a desperate attempt to escape from Jacqueline, Linnet and Simon go on a cruise along the Nile but Jacqueline quickly finds them. A while later Linnet gets murdered. Jacqueline is the prime suspect but she has an alibi for the night of the murder. Could it possibly of been that simple, or does somebody else on the boat have a connection with Linnet, that gives them a motive to kill her?
Poirot has a tough job of making sense out of a brilliantly well constructed case. It is fillled with clues, such as the attempt to frame Jacqueline and the theft of her gun to use for the murder, a splash heard in the water, the reason for the second and third murders, and the theft of Linnets pearls.
I can't see how anyone wouldn't enjoy this book because it is great. If you want to read other books by Agatha Christie, that also have great plots and interesting characters, read And Then There Were None, Crooked House, Murder On The Orient Express and A Pocket Full Of Rye. There are lots more, aswell.
Christie's best September 6, 2007 2 out of 5 found this review helpful
My personal favourite of all of Christie's novels, for a detective novel that keeps you guessing right until the very end, "Death on the Nile" is hard to beat. The plot is absolutely ingenious, the setting is *perfect* (when you think of the glamorous twenties and thirties, you invariably think of Egypt), and the characters are - for a Christie novel - surprisingly well-crafted. As other reviews have said, it's a real page-turner, and even though I have known the ending for years, I found that it still managed to interest upon a reread.
Flaws? Well, perhaps. There is a Hastings-sized hole in the novel (and in my heart), and I wish that Christie had contrived an excuse to bring him back from South America for this novel, as he really would have flourished here. I'd go so far as to say that "Death on the Nile" is a classic in every respect *except* for the sidekick. I admit that Race makes a good confidante for Poirot, but there's no denying that Hastings trumps him every time. I also felt that Christie could have afforded to have cut down the number of characters, as many of them - particularly the seemingly-numerous young ladies - were hard to keep track of.
That being said, it's absolutely wonderful in all other respects. If you dislike it, you probably hate fun!
Slow and steady trip up The Nile August 7, 2007 0 out of 2 found this review helpful
Its been a while since I'd read an Agatha Christie and remembering how brilliant Murder on the Orient Express was I thought I would give Death on the Nile a go especially as it is often claimed to be one of her best works.
Unfortunately I found the book did not live up to this hype. Other reviews called it 'a real page turner' but I wasn't until the last 50 pages when Poirot, in his trademark fashion, reveals all that I wasnt just reading it to get through it.
The book got off to a slow start with a lot of characters introduced all at once, the murder was predictable from page one but the reader is left tiringly waiting for it to happen and for Poirot's skills to kick in until almost halfway through. Like most of Christie's work there are a number of red herrings along the way but Death on the Nile's seemed to be particularly ridiculous and pointless.
In all not one of Christie's best works but the final concluding pages earns it the ***.
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