The Mystery Of The Blue Train by Agatha Christie

The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie.

This special edition published 1st November 2018 by Harper Collins.

From the cover of the book:

‘You could, perhaps, love a thief, mademoiselle, but not a murderer!’

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 luxurious Blue Train takes its wealthy passengers from London to the French Riviera, and this trip finds an interesting group of travellers aboard - including the heiress Ruth Kettering with a jewel case containing some very famous rubies.

But Ruth never makes it to Nice alive, as she is murdered during the journey, and her precious jewels go missing. Who can have committed this heinous crime? Her husband, the lover she was on her way to meet. or the notorious thieves that prey upon the well-to-do on the trains travelling through France? Fortunately, Poirot is also travelling on the train and he will not rest until Ruth's murderer is identified...

This is one Christie's stories that seems slow to get going, as we don't meet Poirot until some way into the tale, after Ruth Kettering is murdered. However, the section of the story that leads up to the crime is very important in establishing who all the characters are and exactly what their motives may have been to want Ruth Kettering out of the way. 

We meet the doting father Rufus Van Aldin in an exciting introduction in the streets of Paris when he acquires the famous Heart of Fire ruby he gives to his daughter, building in a lovely bit of intrigue from the outset and establishing a delicious thread of infamous precious stones and international jewel thieves. Christie then introduces us the the rest of the central cast - Rufus Van Aldin's competent secretary, Major Knighton; the philandering husband Derek, who is desperate to change his wife's mind about divorce to avoid bankruptcy; Derek's lover, the exotic dancer Mirelle, who would very much like to see Derek inherit his wife's money, and have the rubies for herself; the sensible former lady's companion Katherine Grey from St. Mary Mead, who has inherited a fortune and is off for an adventure on the Riviera; Katherine's incorrigible relations Lady Tamplin, her young husband Chubby, and her obtuse daughter Lenox, hoping for a share of Katherine's fortune; Ruth's lover and total scoundrel the Comte de la Roche; and Ruth's maid Ada Mason - as well as a rather large and diverse set of bit part players who all have a hand in moving the story along.

This is definitely one of Christies more twisty tales, with elements of locked-room mystery and her more expansive foreign travel adventures. There are lots of red herrings and multiple potential suspects, and it's all glorious fun as Poirot goes about solving the case against some very glamorous backdrops. He even finds time for a bit of matchmaking too! Of course, the case is solved in true Poirot style at the end, as he explains exactly who did what to who, and why, and we are yet again astounded by the power of his little grey cells. I loved it!

The Mystery of the Blue Train is available to buy now - and the special edition version is an absolute beauty.

About the author:

Born in Torquay in 1890, Agatha Christie began writing during the First World War and wrote over 100 novels, plays and short story collections. She was still writing to great acclaim until her death, and her books have now sold over a billion copies in English and another billion in over 100 foreign languages. Yet Agatha Christie was always a very private person, and though Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple became household names, the Queen of Crime was a complete enigma to all but her closest friends.