(Image from Barnes & Noble)

"Lies—and again lies—it amazes me, the amount of lies we had told to us this morning" (231).

By now, everyone probably knows the plot to Murder on the Orient Express, one of Agatha Christie's classic mysteries.  It's so simple, though, that I'll give you a refresher:

In the middle of a cold, winter's night, the Orient Express is forced to halt in its tracks because of a snowdrift in its path.  The train is full, with a variety of people from a number of different countries on board.  By morning, one of them—an American man named Mr. Ratchett—is dead.  He's been stabbed to death in his sleeping compartment, which was locked from within.  Although a window has been left open, that's the only apparent clue to the mystery.  Hercule Poirot, the famed Belgian detective, happens to be on the train and immediately begins an investigation.  As he interviews each person on the Orient Express, he comes up with more than one solution to the puzzling murder.  

Although Murder on the Orient Express is actually the tenth Poirot mystery, it's the only one I've read.  In fact, I've read only one other Christie novel—And Then There Were None—and that was a long time ago.  So, in a way, this is kind of my first introduction to her work.  For being such a reputed writer, I found her prose more business-like than beautiful.  It's very spare, very efficient.  She doesn't waste time on unnecessary details.  Because of this, I had a hard time keeping track of all the characters.  They tended to blend together.  Plot-wise, the novel takes some turns I didn't expect (as well as some I did).  Overall, it's an entertaining story that I liked, didn't love.  I've yet to see the film, but I'll definitely be interested to see how Hollywood's newest interpretation of the book plays out.

(Readalikes:  Probably other books by Christie?)

Grade:

If this were a movie (and it is—several times over), it would be rated:

for violence; brief, mild language (no F-bombs), and mild sexual innuendo

To the FTC, with love:  I bought a copy of Murder on the Orient Express from Amazon with a portion of the millions I make from my lucrative career as a book blogger.  Ha ha.

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

By helping families discover the fates of soldiers lost during World War I, 31-year-old Kate Shackleton has become known as a skilled people finder.  The only soldier she can't locate is her own husband, who is missing, presumed dead.  If she can't find closure for herself, at least Kate can use her detecting skills to help others.

Naturally, Kate is eager to help an old colleague who comes to her for aid.  Tabitha Braithwaite, who will soon be getting married, desperately wants her father to walk her down the aisle.  The only problem is he's been missing since 1916, almost a decade.  A wealthy mill owner, Joshua Braithwaite was devastated and suicidal after the loss of his soldier son.  Did his reduced mental state cause him to wander off to his death?  Did the ladies man simply run off with a lover?  Or did something more sinister happen?  It's up to Kate to find out what secrets lie beneath the prosaic veneer of Braithwaite's quiet Yorkshire village.  

I'm always up for a well-written traditional mystery.  Dying in the Wool, the first installment in Frances Brody's Kate Shackleton series, fits the bill quite nicely.  Kate is an admirable hero—she's smart, independent, and brave.  The mystery she's attempting to solve is intriguing, with enough twists to keep the reader guessing.  With an emphasis on the tiny village of Bridgestead, the novel brims with local color and personality, which adds a fun element to the story.  While the book gets slow in places, all in all I enjoyed it and will definitely continue on with the series.

(Readalikes:  Reminds me of the Maisie Dobbs series by Jacqueline Winspear, the Bess Crawford series by Charles Todd, and mysteries by Agatha Christie)

Grade:

If this were a movie, it would be rated:

for brief, mild language (no F-bombs), violence, and sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find