The Mystery of the Blue
Train (1928)
Blurb:
My review:
Although Christie's least favourite work, this, a reworking of "The
Plymouth Express," is very far from being a bad work. While the
plot is rather dated--concerning, as it does, a fabulous jewel, a super
criminal, elegant (i.e., titled) adultery with two unpleasant
foreigners, the Riviera and more than a touch of snobbery--it is done
with the author's usual style, sophistication and ability to
convince. Poirot is in good form, although perhaps a shade too
omniscient, shrewd and avuncular (shades of Mr. Satterthwaite)--he
needs a foil to humanise him, and such remarks as, 'There are two
people who know... One is le
bon Dieu...and the other is Hercule Poirot' seem rather
megalomanic. The solution is very clever, involving the guilt of
the most unlikely person and an ingenious alibi relying on
impersonation (the ancestor of Evil
under the Sun), anticipating the master-works of the 1930s.
Note that throughout the 1930s, reviewers thought that this, Roger Ackroyd, Clouds and Orient Express were her best works.