Common Sense Media Review
By Mary Eisenhart
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Classic detective tale with many remakes reflects its time.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 12+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
What's the Story?
Called back to England from a successful mission in the Middle East in the early 1930s, the noted Belgian detective Hercule Poirot must solve a MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS when the legendary train is halted in the wilderness by a snowdrift and a man is stabbed to death while apparently alone in his locked compartment. Drawn from various nationalities (British, American, Russian, Hungarian, Greek, etc.) and social classes (an exiled Russian princess, a Hungarian count and countess, an American detective, a British valet, etc.), Poirot's fellow passengers seem to have no connection to the dead man—who soon proves to have been a famous murderer and kidnapper who escaped justice in the United States for the death of a little girl. And, for the most part, they have no connection to each other, as they come from very different worlds. Poirot knows they're each hiding something, which may or may not have to do with the crime, and it's making his task difficult.
Is It Any Good?
First published in 1934, Agatha Christie's tale of luxe travel, an unlamented murder victim, passengers with a lot to hide, and detective Hercule Poirot is a legend of the genre. Since retold and reinterpreted in countless movies, PBS specials, and other media, Murder on the Orient Express is famed not only as a Poirot tour de force (characters speak a lot of French) but also for its plot twists and ethical dilemmas. It's not to be missed, but heads up: It's in the period between the two World Wars in the later years of British colonialism, and some of its elements are jarring by today's standards, especially those involving snobbery and prejudice—like a British character's remark that "Tonio may be a foreigner, sir, but he's a very gentle creature—not like those nasty murdering Italians one reads about."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about murder mysteries like Murder on the Orient Express, and why they've been hugely popular in books, movies, television, games, and more for many years. What's the appeal? Do you have any favorites, or is it just not your thing?
The Orient Express still runs. Would you like to take a trip on it? Would you go all the way between Paris and Istanbul, or stop somewhere along the way?
What do you think of Hercule Poirot's approach to crime solving? How is it like other detectives you follow—or not like them at all?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Mystery
- Topics : History , Transportation ( Trains )
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : William Morrow
- Publication date : October 24, 2017
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 18 - 18
- Number of pages : 272
- Available on : Paperback, Audiobook (unabridged), Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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