The Mystery of the Blue Train

Overshadowed by Murder on the Orient Express, Agatha’s Christie’s sixth Hercule Poirot novel is a satisfying mystery which depictions of European upper-crust life in 1928 offers a glimpse into a world before the Great Depression that has passed into history. The book’s mystery revolves around the murder of a U.S. millionaire’s daughter on a luxury train bound for southern France. Suspects include the daughter’s estranged husband and a sophisticated con-man. Adding additional motivation for the murder is the disappearance of a priceless set of gems that was given to the daughter immediately before the fateful train trip. Hercule Poirot’s brain works as well as always – always focusing on minor details that prove instrumental in solving the case. The resolution makes sense and caps an thoroughly enjoyable novel. Recommended The Good – While writing Mystery of the Blue Train, Agatha Christie was still experimenting and experiencing writer’s block. She overcome the writer’s block by basing the novel on one of the her short stories. The style of her early novels are unique. Mystery of the Blue Train focuses on the suspects with Hercule Poirot arriving at the half-way point. The novel is better for it – it illuminates an illustration of an era is nearly 100-years in the past. While not the Great Gatsby, it is a fascinating era which Christie describes in a manner-of-fact style that grounds the novel. The Bad – One of the things that Christie did not like about the novel were the characters – they are almost all unlikeable. Even the ostensive heroine of the story seems odd. While probably realistic, it does make the resolution of the mystery a little anti-climatic.

I heartily disliked Agatha Christie\’s 1928 Poirot novel, \” The Mystery of the Blue Train: Hercule Poirot Investigates (Hercule Poirot series Book 6) .\” Poirot, himself, doesn\’t make an appearance until after the first 25% of the book, and, in general, most of the story revolves around the petty, crass, self-centered lives of the hoity-toity aristocrats making up the cast. To make things even worse, Poirot has absolutely no evidence to back up his \”solution\” at the end. Heck, he doesn\’t even get a confession. He could have just as well said space aliens beamed down from outer space and committed the murder and it would have been just as plausible. So, I\’m rating the book at a Pretty Bad 2 stars out of 5.

Miss Katherine Grey was on the way to the Riviera after her circumstances changed when she came into money. A lady’s maid, she felt the need to see more of the world now that she had the means so her journey on The Blue Train was an experience she hadn’t wanted to miss. When she had dinner with Mrs Ruth Kettering, she had little idea that her encounter would change the direction of her life in more ways than one. M. Hercule Poirot was also travelling on The Blue Train and when a body was discovered, brutally murdered, he was right on the spot to assist the French police. He interviewed Katherine whose skills as a witness were second to none. But with several suspects, would Poirot identify the killer? Or would the wrong man be imprisoned? And what was the story about the rubies? The Mystery of the Blue Train is #6 in the Hercule Poirot series by Agatha Christie and although it took the first quarter of the book to get to the journey on the Blue Train, once that level was passed, the pace picked up and Poirot started using his grey cells. Smart, intriguing and clever, Hercule Poirot would have to be my favourite detective! He always gets results – “he’s the best detective in the world”. Just ask him, he’ll tell you ? Recommended.

Agatha Christie made no bones about it. \”I have always hated _The Mystery of the Blue Train_.\” (_An Autobiography_, 429). \”I had no joy in writing, no elan… and the people would not come alive… I cannot say that I have ever been proud of it\” (429). _The Mystery of the Blue Train_ (1928) was her sixth Hercule Poirot mystery– it was immediately preceeded by _The Big Four_ (1927)– and was written when she was suffering from a writer\’s slump. She was also being interrupted during the writing of the novel. But I am in agreement with Robert Barnard. Christie may have disliked the novel, but it is far from her worst piece of writing. _The Big Four_ was a rather dismal spy melodrama. _The Mystery of the Blue Train_ is a return to what Christie does best– the formal detective story. This time, a plot is set in motion around a set of dazzling rubies on the black market. They come into the hands of a tough, hard-boiled American millionaire but are wanted by a ruthless, continental jewel thief. His first attempt to hijack them in Paris goes askew. We also meet the millionaire\’s spoiled, iron-willed daughter (for whom the jewels are intended), her estranged and indolent husband, his troublemaking dancer mistress, and the daughter\’s oily Old Flame with whom she plans to elope. Other characters include the efficient male secretary to the millionaire, the maid to the millionaire\’s daughter, a saintly companion who has recently come into money, her conniving distant cousin, and her cousin\’s honest and sharp-tongued daughter. Some of these characters board the luxurious Blue Train from Paris to Nice– along with M. Hercule Poirot. There is a particularly brutal murder _en route_ that turns out to be more complicated to solve than it first appeared. Clues are misleading, stories shift about, and prime suspects change over time. Poirot enlists the aid of one of the passengers to help him solve the mystery. I don\’t think that it is giving too much away to say that in this novel, appearances can be deceiving. Sometimes what we _think_ we are witnessing is not what is actually happening. But I am betting that even armed with this information, the author will still fool the reader. Incidently, while this is purely a Poirot mystery, it is the first novel that introduces the village of St. Mary Mead– Miss Marple\’s home town.

There\’s a long wait until Hercule shows up. The first ten chapters are scene-setters which, at fist glance, seem unconnected. Some characters are introduced and disappear (the stereotypical Russians \’Boris and Olga\’), whilst others are key players including the \”Heart of Fire\” ruby. Without Hastings to act as narrator, Ms Christie seems to struggle with the structure of the tale. The eponymous \’Train\’ itself plays only a passing role in the story. The enlistment of one character as a \’roman policier a nous\’ seemed artificial. At least the solution didn\’t rely on fortuitous eavesdropping but the visit from the spirit world was just as unconvincing. Once our hero with the ego the size of the planet does arrive, the book at last picks up. There is a bit of \’out of thin air\’ to the solution. Much of the writing is basic with odd visits to the Thesaurus thrown in, for example, \’ jocosely\’, \’seraphically\’ and \’vouchsafed laconically\’ all stick out like sore thumbs! Definitely lower quartile in the Poirot portfolio.

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