The Mystery of the Blue Train

I can't tell you a darn thing that happened here that isn't in the synopsis. This was a miss for me, boring boring boring

Not the strongest Poirot adventure, but still an enjoyable read. I found there to be a few too many characters, many lacking in development to the point of being easily forgotten. Furthermore, the victim is not particularly sympathetic which makes this less of a page-turner. On a more positive note, the setting of a train is an excellent backdrop for a murder mystery and there is some intrigue around different compartments and who left the train at what time. All in all, a weak Poirot novel but still one I am glad to have read.

Depois de algumas obras lidas da Agatha Christie, algum dia tinha de ler uma que me desapontasse. Este livro não segue a trajetória comum a que me tanto acostumei: ocorrência de um crime, inquéritos a cada personagem, deduções dos acontecimentos, questionamentos sobre a índole de cada indivíduo e a resolução do mistério. Conhecemos um Poirot apressado e menos astuto que se demonstra empenhado a derrubar uma organização criminosa internacional.
Espero, futuramente, encontrar o detetive belga que admiro na perspetiva clássica que me habituei.

I enjoyed the various perspectives on this one, and I did have a good guess as to the culprit, but it was still twisty enough to be satisfying! An interesting early Poirot.

Great book. Interesting plot. Agatha at its finest.

I think my enjoyment of this book wasn't high solely because I did it as an audiobook. I think I prefer Christie books read. Also the fact that one girl helped solve the murder because she knew who the killer was, solely because she thought a ghosts told her who was so silly, it drags the rating down.

Not my favourite Agatha Christie book, unfortunately.

This book was okay, I found it a bit boring and lost interest whenever Poirot is not the focus of the story because I like him and his interactions with the characters...

It is funny, I don't usually feel bad about the people dying in murder mysteries. And I don't really feel bad for Ruth, because she's really a bitch, but I feel really bad for Rufus Van Aldin. He really loved his daughter, and her death was so unnecessary and unnecessary ugly.
Also, I don't feel the characters were as developed in this as they usually are. The side characters are more interesting, really :-D Like Lenox Tamplin, or the old lady with whom Katherine spends time in St Mary Mead. or Kitty Kidd.

Impending divorce
extramarital affairs
big juicy rubies.

So I am currently attempting to read the Poirot series in order. Ambitious I know... even though they don't actually connect and in some they reference work done by Poirot that has not actually been mentioned prior, but anyway that's how I'm doing it.

So for me I really enjoyed this story not being in the perspective of someone working with Poirot—as much as I enjoy Hastings and disliked the doctor from Roger Ackroyd. This was a refreshing take from so many of the others feeling the same. The story changes perspectives from random characters/suspects and Poirot is almost in the background. This way, when it gets to the explanation at the end, you don't really understand or know what he's thinking because you haven't been attached to him the entire time. It gets to a point where it's almost frustrating how Hastings is used as a tool to blind you, so this approach was nice for me.

A very enjoyable one, I would certainly read it again.

This one was a fun read! It had a unique feel among her books - more of an international crime novel - but the characters were quite fleshed out and there were several different people's perspectives in the book. Poirot felt a little caricaturized (of course he always does, but more so here, maybe because it was an early book?) so I missed some of his more pointed reflections on human nature, but Katherine Grey made up for it.

Все-таки Агата Кристи была великим писателем, даром что в таком, казалось бы, простом жанре, как детектив. Тем не менее, все что написано ее рукой неизменно великолепно, интересно и увлекательно. Эркюлю Пуаро достается сложнейшее испытание - распутать козни мировой преступной группировки, цели которой неясны, и оттого еще более страшны. Они безжалостно убивают, подставляют и морочат голову Пуаро, и кажется будто они всегда на шаг впереди. Однако маленький бельгиец не так прост, а череда легких побед так кружит голову преступникам, что они теряют бдительность и сдают свои позиции.

Очень удивило, как леди Агата изображает Росиию - просто средоточие зла какое-то. Очень странно читать такие выпады, осознавая что вот ты в России и как бы нормально. Никто с револьверами под окнами не ходит и мышьяком никого не травит. Ну, в глобальном смысле, конечно.

С самого начала перед Пуаро стоит непростая задача - выяснить кто есть кто в "Большой четверке". Китаец Ли Чанг Йен - мозг всей группировки, руководит всеми их злодеяниями, просчитывает ходы и пути отхода.Номер второй - американский миллионер Роб Ройланд, занимающийся финансовыми делами организации.Третий номер - француженка мадам Оливер, гений от науки, рядом с которой мадам Кюри кажется ребенком. На ее совести научные открытия и страшные изобретения, грозящие гибелью всему миру. Больше всего хлопот доставил Эркюлю Пуаро номер Четвертый - Истребитель - актер с уникальным талантом перевоплощения и исключительной жестокостью. Истребитель неоднократно пытался вывести из игры Пуаро, угрожал семье Гастингса и даже пытался убить героев, так что в итоге Пуаро пришлось инсценировать собственную смерть, чтобы получить возможность беспрепятственно наблюдать за действиями Большой четверки и в итоге разрушить этот опасный синдикат.Все закончилось хорошо и Пуаро вознамерился отойти от дел и выращивать тыквы, - посмотрим, как получится.

Un roman d'Agatha Christie que j'ai lu quand j'étais adolescent, et dont je me souviens qu'il était un peu atypique par rapport aux autres romans de la Reine du Crime que j'avais lus auparavant. Une ambiance différente, je crois.

I didn't like this Christie book as much as some of the others I've read, but it is still a good, worthwhile read. The characters are all well-developed, and there's even some romance.