Audiobook Review: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Death on the Nile is one of Agatha Christie's more popular mysteries, and it has been adapted into a radio play and also to several movies. My favorite movie adaption is the 1978 film starring Mia Farrow.

Hercule Poirot is on holidays in Egypt and taking a cruise down the infamous Nile river. On board with him is a cast of people from all walks of life, and among them is one person with murderous intent. Linnet Ridgway, the wealthy heiress, is there with her new husband, Simon Doyle. Also on board is Simon Doyle's jilted fiance and friend to Linnet,Jacqueline de Bellefort. Or we should say ex-friend. Jacqueline was devastated when Simon left her for Linnet, and is determined to make their honeymoon as wretched as possible. When Linnet is found dead, it looks like a clear case that Jacqueline was the murderer, but the clues do not add up and luckily Poirot is on the case.

There are only a handful of Agatha Christie's that I remember the final denouement. While I've read Death on the Nile a couple of times and seen the movie several times as well, I couldn't remember who the killer was. As such it was perfect timing to experience the book again.

This time I chose to listen to the radio play, produced by the BBC. It provides a condensed, but accurate version, of Agatha Christie's novel and tells of crime most foul aboard the high seas.

Death on the Nile is such a classic Agatha Christie novel. You don't need any prior history reading a Hercule Poirot adventure and it would be the perfect spot to start if you were new to Agatha Christie. We meet the infamous detective, Hercule Poirot, who is famous for using his "little grey cells" to solve mysteries. However in this mystery, where none of the suspects can escape, will he solve the crime before they dock?

I like this one for a number of reasons, but what struck a chord with me when I first read it was the exotic local. It's no sleepy town but it is still a cozy mystery and it's a mystery of love and mayhem. If you love so deeply would you be willing to kill to recover that love? With all the modern contemporary mysteries, Agatha Christie still stands the test of time, and it's particularly evident in this one.

I've been listening to a lot of the short stories with Hugh Fraser narrating as Hercule Poirot, but I did enjoy John Moffat's interpretation here. He provides a good voice to the famous detective and the cast kept me interested in this shorter version of Agatha Christie's book.

The radio play adaptions would be perfect for a new fan to Agatha Christie's novels. They are full of high adventure and suspense and only a little over 2 hours long. I'm looking forward to listening to more in this series.

Book Review: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Death on the Nile is a short story featuring Parker Pyne. Parker is on holidays and even though his holiday has been previously interrupted by clients, he's hoping that it won't be interrupted even further. However the other occupants on his cruise have other ideas. One Lady Grayle asks him to find out if she is being slowly poisoned by her husband. He sets out to investigate but before he can uncover the truth Lady Grayle ends up dead.

I find the title of this short story amusing because Agatha Christie has a full length novel under the same title. The full-length Death on the Nile is of course widely popular, having been made into several movies, featuring Hercule Poirot. This short story was unknown to me until I picked it up. The short story was published three years before the novel. I do wonder if perhaps the short story was inspiration for the novel.

In any case it was a good, little story. Parker Pyne doesn't usually solve murders, so it was interesting watching him try his hand at this one. With limited suspects and evidence aplenty, Parker managed to solve it in time.

Another good Parker Pyne mystery.