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The Mystery of the Blue Train (Poirot) [Paperback]

Agatha Christie (Author)
3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Publication Date: 3 Mar 2008 | Series: Poirot

The daughter of an American millionaire dies on a train en route for Nice…

When the luxurious Blue Train arrives at Nice, a guard attempts to wake serene Ruth Kettering from her slumbers. But she will never wake again – for a heavy blow has killed her, disfiguring her features almost beyond recognition. What is more, her precious rubies are missing.

The prime suspect is Ruth’s estranged husband, Derek. Yet Poirot is not convinced, so he stages an eerie re-enactment of the journey, complete with the murderer on board…

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The Mystery of the Blue Train (Poirot) + The Big Four (Poirot) + The Murder on the Links (Poirot)
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Product details

  • Paperback: 240 pages
  • Publisher: HarperCollins; Masterpiece edition edition (3 Mar 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0007120761
  • ISBN-13: 978-0007120765
  • Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 17.7 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 101,385 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Authors

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Marc Piskic
Agatha Christie

Product Description

Review

“The Empress of the crime novel.”
Sunday Express

From the Back Cover

THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN

When the luxurious Blue Train arrives at Nice, a guard attempts to wake serene Ruth Kettering from her slumbers. But she will never wake again – for a heavy blow has killed her, disfiguring her features almost beyond recognition. What is more, her priceless rubies are missing.

The prime suspect is Ruth estranged husband, Derek. Yet Poirot is not convinced, so he stages an eerie re-enactment of the journey, complete with the murderer…

'Agatha Christie' was born in Torquay 1890 and became, quite simply, the best-selling novelist in history. She wrote 79 crime mysteries and collections, and saw her work translated into more languages than Shakespeare. Her enduring success, enhanced by many film and TV adaptations, is attribute to the timeless appeal of her characters and the unequalled ingenuity of her plots.

A TRIP BIT AS COMPELLING AS AGATHA CHRISTIE’S RIDE ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Train Travel with Agatha Christie. 10 May 2005
By John Austin HALL OF FAME TOP 1000 REVIEWER VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Luxury trains travelling to holiday resorts provided an irresistible setting for novelists and filmmakers in the decades between the two world wars. Agatha Christie's 1928 murder mystery features the Blue Train, travelling across France to the Riviera, and a cast of travellers that includes Hercule Poirot.

There has to be motivation for the murder that occurs, and so expect a lot of business concerning precious jewels, international intrigues and complicated human relationships. There is also a former lady's companion who has lived for several years at that famous Christie location, St Mary Mead. She is not Miss Marple.

Agatha Christie considered this her worst novel. Colouring her judgment were recollections of several unhappy events in her own life that occurred during the time she wrote it: the breakdown of her Christie marriage and the death of her mother. I think its best quality is the considerable exposure it gives to Hercule Poirot. Seldom is he seen in the pages of an Agatha Christie novel as much as in "The Mystery of the Blue Train".

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Nothing special 6 Jun 2010
By J. R. Johnson-Rollings
Format:Paperback
In this adventure, Poirot investigates a murder that takes place on the 'Blue Train' - en route to the south of France. A surprising number of people who knew the victim are also aboard, and it's down to Poirot to work out who dunit.

This novel starts off a little differently to a lot of Poirot stories, with the focus on a diverse group of other characters and the great detective himself not putting in an appearance until fairly late. Almost the entire story is told from the points of view of the guest characters, with Poirot flitting in and out of their daily lives throughout. I thought it became obvious quite early in the story who the murderer was, but maybe that's just me getting better at this sort of thing.

The mystery was fairly standard fare. Poirot didn't seem to be particularly bothered about solving it, which was awkward. There was an interesting tie-in with the world of Miss Marple, and quite a collection of comic moments, particularly with a young female laughing at the outdated ideas of the elderly. Really it's a bit frustrating though as there is not a lot of action and the events don't really seem to advance the plot.

Most irritating of all is the blurb on the back of my copy, which as good as gives away the ending, and refers to a rather minor event as if it's the entire plot. Overall, it was an okay read, but nothing special, and still not nearing the best of Christie's work that I've read.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Rather camp and highly enjoyable 25 Feb 2010
By Iain C. Davidson
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
No-one could pretend that 'Blue Train' is one of Agatha Christie's best novels. It's quite an early work and it is said that Christie herself was dissatisfied with it. It is full of stereotypes and doggedly cardboard characters who refuse to come to life and is a curious mix of murder mystery and the kind of high spirited adventure tale that the author seemed to favour around this time (usually with a spunky young heroine in a leading role). There are famous and fabulous jewels, wealthy heiresses, attractive cads, bright young things on the Cote d'Azur, a mysterious villain known only as 'The Marquis', an exotic dancer and, of course, Hercule Poirot. It is a far cry from the rather more down-to-earth later novels - no-one from 'A Murder Is Announced' or 'Mrs McGinty's Dead' would have a hope of fitting in here!

All that said, I think BBC Radio have done a terrific job of dramatising the novel. This was one of their earliest adaptations and Poirot is performed by veteran British actor Maurice Denham. I enjoyed his turn as the Belgian sleuth but I do much prefer John Moffat who went on to star in most of the other plays. The rest of the cast are really very good and all seem to throw themselves into the spirit of the piece which, as another reviewer has stated, does not take itself at all seriously. It's all wonderfully 'jolly hockeysticks'. I particularly enjoyed Judy Buxton's performance as a gloriously over the top Mirelle (the exotic dancer) complete with 'Allo Allo' French accent and ever-jangling bracelets and also Pauline Letts as the 'aiver so polite' lady's maid Mason. Avril Clark is also fun, sounding like Joan Crawford, as Ruth Kettering.

I thoroughly enjoyed this and found that the 2hrs 35mins fairly whizzed by.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Daft, Charming And Gorgeous Fun! 12 Sep 2000
By A Customer
Format:Audio Cassette
I do love this magnificently spirited dramatisation of one of the novels from Agatha Christie's Early Loopy Period (such novels as The Mystery Of The Blue Train and The Secret Of Chimneys, and to be distinguished from her Late Loopy Period by its high level of joie de vivre... Christie's later loopiness seems to stem from a feeling that the world has gone so crazy she can write about *anything* and get away with it, see Destination Unknown or Passenger To Frankfurt for evidence...) which is enlivened by a superior performace by Janet Maw as the Poor-But-Honest-Companion-Turned-Fabulously-Wealthy-Heiress-Off-To-Seek-Adventure. (Look, if you don't like stereotypes, stay away from Agatha Christie. She was the *Shakespeare* of the stereotype.)

The Radio 4 team have made the sensible decision to avoid taking the book seriously, and what we have here is an immensely enjoyable hams' holiday with utterly hilarious Rich-Vulgar-Americans, Sly-French-Minxes, Noble-Long-Suffering-Brits, Not-Quite-So-Noble-Not-Very-Long-Suffering-Brits (Can you tell which is which? It's important!) and of course the elegantly presposterous Hercule Poirot all chasing the legendary rubies of Catherine The Great. Which are acted by their very own sound effect. Oh, I tell you it's just delicious... Bravo to the Beeb for this one, and I do hope they decide to to give the High NRG treatment to some other worthy examples of Agatha Christie at her goofiest. The Secret Of Chimneys or The Seven Dials Mystery would respond especially well to the camp treatment used here!

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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars Good
Very good used book, added to my collection, to be read but can be sure it will be a good read
Published 2 months ago by O
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read
These Poirot books are timeless with strong characters and interesting storyline s and plots that keep you guessing to the end.
Published 3 months ago by CHRISTIAN HEARD
4.0 out of 5 stars Blue train
Another Poirot classic. Well drawn characters, with, as usual, enough suspense to keep you turning the e-pages into the night.
Published 7 months ago by MFitz
5.0 out of 5 stars The Mystery of the Blue Train........A Poirot Mystery
Oh this was so so good!! The Heart of Fire, a precious gem is at the centre of this puzzle and murder most foul takes us from London to Paris then on to the South of France for... Read more
Published 8 months ago by wendy
3.0 out of 5 stars Rather slow, yet a good story.
I am shocked that someone gave this 4 stars and said it's main strength was the exposure it gave Poirot due to him being seen more in these pages than any other novel. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Aaron
3.0 out of 5 stars not one of the best
Not one of Agatha Christie's best; a fairly good story plot but not particularly well written. The dramatisation is again, nothing special, with the French accents becoming a... Read more
Published 13 months ago by sophiegod
3.0 out of 5 stars Not the best by a long way
Ive read a few Agatha Christie's now, and I struggled to get into this one.I didnt really connect with the characters, and as has been said here, it was too long. Read more
Published 21 months ago by Mr. Gary R. Smith
3.0 out of 5 stars Slightly disappointing
Ruth Kettering is an American heiress who receives a set of valuable rubies as a gift from her father. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Helen
5.0 out of 5 stars BBC Full Cast version is excellent.
I have recently discovered this series of BBC Radio shows and am enjoying all of the Agatha Christie stories. A full cast of stellar actors read from Christie's original works. Read more
Published on 7 April 2011 by V. Holloway
5.0 out of 5 stars Agatha Christie's "The Mystery of the Blue Train"
As ever, I really enjoyed this. I'm really delighted with the opportunity to purchase these facsimile hardbacks - they're brilliant value and will last for years, providing... Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2010 by Hugh
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