Title: The Mystery of the Blue Train
Author: Agatha Chrisite
Published: 1928
Challenges: Women’s Classic Literature
Synopsis:
Ruth Kettering’s marriage is in trouble. Her husband has been spotted with a dancer of dubious reputation and Ruth has had enough. Her millionaire father is pushing her towards a divorce, even though Ruth has been far from perfect herself. Ruth needs a break and so she sets off for the continent on The Blue Train, taking with her some rare, precious and HUGE rubies that her father has bought her to cheer her up. It is no great surprise that Ruth is later found bludgeoned to death in her train carriage and the rubies are missing. Enter Hercule Poirot.
My Thoughts:
I always harp on about my love for Agatha Chrisite and I have a mini mission to read all of the Poirot novels and I am slowly making my way through them. As with most novels, it takes a while for Poirot to actually appear; first we are treated to some background information on the rubies (it is clear lots of people are eager to own them) and information about the marriage of our main character. We meet Miss Katherine Grey, who has recently come into money and meets Ruth on the train before her death. Katherine becomes like a mini sidekick to Poirot and helps him to solve this crime and provides a different focus for the story as we see how she feels about her recent money and the family who are so eager to be her friends now she is rich. I liked that she came from the village of St Mary’s Mead, which if I am right is where Miss Marple lives.
As with most Poirot novels there are many potential suspect: the bitter husband (who gains £2million upon his wife’s death); her old flame; the maid and maybe just plain, old train robbers. I was convinced I had figured it out, but as usual I was wrong and the real criminal was revealed with me thinking ‘oh yeah…’ But this is what I love about crime fiction and Christie in general, it’s easy reading, but I still have to use my brain.
Challenges:
The Women’s Classic Literature Event was recently announced by The Classics Club and it is an event that celebrates women writer’s dating pre 1960. The event runs from now right until 31st December 2016 and although I have no set list, I am keen to see how many books I naturally choose to read in that time. I don’t know if Agatha Chrisite would qualify for the event in everyone’s eyes but she certainly does for me and therefore she is the first book on /author on my list and I doubt this will be the last time she appears. I am going to keep a track of the books for this event on a separate page at the top of my blog and I am sure the list will begin to grow fairly quickly.
LindyLit 