Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie

Submitted by starrynight179 t3_10kxrl5 in books

Reading my first Agatha Christie novel, Death on the Nile! It's really enjoyable, such a quick read for me. Wish I had read this before watching the recent movie, but Agatha Christie was a genius. Tiny details throughout the novel give hints about who the killer is. At the same time, the way she wrote characters makes us suspect different characters could be the killer(s). It's amazing how everything perfectly fits together like pieces of a puzzle. Brilliantly written! Looking forward to reading Agatha Christie's other novels! :)

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BuccoFever412 t1_j5td7ax wrote

'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd' might be her best, in terms of Poirot stories. Def put that on your list

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Kenobi_01 t1_j5tk9ti wrote

Can second that.

"And then there were none" is also the origin of the "Large group of people being whittled down one by one" trope, that - in my opinion - eventually led to the birth of the Slasher Movie. Which is interesting.

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brynnecognito t1_j5u4h3g wrote

We read ATTWN in grade 9 and it still haunts me, I loved it so much. That’s when I fell I love with mystery

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MatchGirl499 t1_j5x7ksu wrote

“And Then There Were None” is one of my favorites of all time. Even without a typical detective included, it’s one of the most interesting twists and absolutely a great read. Really interesting take about the slasher movie connection, I’d love to see someone research that!

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SonnyCalzone t1_j5txj6q wrote

LoL it certainly led to a fun film called THE CONDEMNED starring Stone Cold Steve Austin and Vinnie Jones.

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YCJamzy t1_j5ubed3 wrote

One of those films which is objectively pretty bad but just extremely fun to watch

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SonnyCalzone t1_j5ubq3z wrote

Certainly fun to watch, even if only to see all of the stars in that cast, I mean, just wow.

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dj_spanmaster t1_j5udrcc wrote

This one is my favorite, easily. "And Then There Were None" being another solid entry.

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cookerg t1_j5tlm4w wrote

Please read quite a few others first.

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Purdaddy t1_j5tmqur wrote

What is your recommended reading order? Haven't ready anything by her yet, this is the year!

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cookerg t1_j5tz1bj wrote

I don't have a firm recommendation. I just think the Roger Ackroyd book and Poirot's Last Case in particular, were written after she had amassed a following who were very familiar with her books, and she had honed her craft. So personally I would go roughly in chronological order even though each book is independent with no overarching story line.

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cas-fortuit t1_j5ulhd6 wrote

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is her 6th novel and her third with Poirot. I disagree. I think it should be read early but not first.

Edit: actually I don’t disagree. Read in chron order and you’ll read Ackroyd third or fourth depending on the list.

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cookerg t1_j5ve4iv wrote

Wow, I didn't realize it was so early, but I still think it helps to read a few others first

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cas-fortuit t1_j5vgooe wrote

I think the first two Mysterious Affair of Styles and Murder on the Links are good intros to Poirot to read before. I think it’s worth reading Ackroyd early because it’s so easy to get spoiled.

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Mrzimimena t1_j5xyl7f wrote

100% never thought she could trick me again after i read most of her books and she did it and i remember laying on beach and being so impressed how good that book was.

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PapaBear12 t1_j5tqmlf wrote

For Poirot, "Murder on the Orient Express" is also great. Not a Poirot novel, but "And Then There Were None" is still an all-time favorite.

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_PrincessOats t1_j5tzusf wrote

I just read And Then Were None as my first Christie book and I was absolutely blown away by it. Cannot recommend enough. I’ll be tackling Poirot novels next but wanted to start with a standalone.

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Smellynerfherder t1_j5tejto wrote

I have yet to read a bad Christie! She was just fantastic.

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risingsuncoc t1_j5tfja2 wrote

The Mysterious Affair at Styles was quite a drag, but understandable since it was her very first book.

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Purdaddy t1_j5tmowl wrote

I have this one on my shelf, is there a better place to start with Christie?

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UrMomsPornAlt t1_j5ugjcf wrote

And Then There Were None, Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile.

Any of the more famous ones

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Gabriel_Wolfen t1_j605hbm wrote

I actually think The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a good place to start. It is more spare than her later novels, but you can see all the elements that characterize her mysteries. I didn't find it boring at all, and she does cleverly trick the reader, which is essentially her signature style.

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Gigigirl52 t1_j5xvctl wrote

I love Mysterious Affair at Styles. It is such a nice, comfortable book. For me, it is perfect for a lazy read. It reminds me of a Barbara Pym novel.

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datalaughing t1_j5ws2gi wrote

I didn't much care for The Big Four

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themehboat t1_j5wwicm wrote

That one was written after she had bizarrely faked her death and (according to some people) had tried to frame her ex-husband for her murder. She basically lost it and became a murder mystery character. It’s believed that her brother-in-law (or son-in-law? Something like that) actually wrote most of The Big Four as it was really nothing like her style.

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EverybodyLovesHugo t1_j5v3egf wrote

Postern of Fate is terrible.

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Volcano_Tequila t1_j60zs51 wrote

To me, it was Passenger to Frankfurt that was perfectly awful. A late novel, for sure, but it should never have been published.

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MajorBedhead t1_j5uh9xu wrote

I'm an outlier because I prefer the Miss Marple books over Poirot. Some of my suggestions are 4:50 From Paddington, At Bertram's Hotel, and Murder At The Vicarage.

I also enjoyed her Tommy and Tuppence series a lot.

I'm a big fan of that golden age of detective novels. Christie, Dorothy Sayers, Josephine Tey, they're all so good.

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RagsTTiger t1_j5vf2te wrote

4:50 from Paddington was my first Christie novel and it inspired me to devour her entire oeuvre

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No-Response3675 t1_j5vxix1 wrote

I loveee poirot and David Suchet who plays him, but I agree with you that Marple stories are more complex, more so coz she isn’t always present there like Poirot is? I absolutely love Mirror Cracked, Nemesis, 4:50 from Paddington, Sleeping beauty to name a few

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MajorBedhead t1_j5wf4ko wrote

Have you watched the Marple adaptations with Joan Hickson? She IS Miss Marple for me.

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No-Response3675 t1_j5wiak9 wrote

Yup! I have watched and rewatched all Marple episodes too. I like her, but she seems a bit too uptight for Miss Marple, if you compare her with the one in books, also more intelligent. Don’t they expect everyone to ignore Ms Marple, she can’t be ignored is what I mean 😅

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FranticPonE t1_j5xxi2y wrote

Yes to Miss Marple! Poirot as a series gets kind of out there from her personal, intimate murder mystery style because of the character's (apparently somewhat unwanted by Christie) own fame, which was put back into the books themselves.

Marple on the other hand continues on as a character in relative obscurity, and feels like what Christie wanted to write rather than what she felt obliged to (an opinion she apparently shared).

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dumbdotcom t1_j5tjx96 wrote

I just read my first Agatha Christie last week! I read And Then There Were None. I really enjoyed it. It's so interesting to read a book and see where some mystery troupes literally originated.

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Bagpuss45 t1_j5u4f8y wrote

And then there was none and Murder on the Orient Express are the 2 greatest pieces of crime fiction ever written.. followed closely by the ABC murders...

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SonnyCalzone t1_j5u0dxg wrote

During my late teens and early twenties, I was easily a bigger fan of Agatha Christie's works than any of my so-called peers who also fancied themselves as readers-for-pleasure (very different from the readers-for-academia, I might add.)

Death On The Nile was a book I always refrained from reading because I had already seen the 1978 film adaptation (incredible cast including Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot) and the film had always been satisfying enough for me. I really ought to just pick up that damn book already. I think it's been long enough. Evil Under The Sun falls into that same category for me, for the same reasons. I ought to read that too.

And Then There Were None remains my favorite of her books, and I also greatly enjoyed Cards On The Table. Highly recommended.

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GraniteGeekNH t1_j5tg51e wrote

She had a few klunkers, especially early (The Big Four) and late (Elephants can Remember) in her career, but most of them are cracking good yarns, as they say.

My two favorites: The Mirror Crack'd and Crooked House

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Kenobi_01 t1_j5tk09z wrote

When they finally adapted The Big Four, for the David Suchet version... Well, it's one of the most interesting adaptations of a book to screen I've seen. Very different, but imo, very good changes.

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thanx_it_has_pockets t1_j5tgusm wrote

I absolutely love Elephants can Remember! But I completely agree about The Big Four. My two favorites are Crooked House and Towards Zero. :)

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Fabulous-Wolf-4401 t1_j5vpxr9 wrote

I love Towards Zero and Crooked House. I also love Nemesis, Sleeping Murder and 5 Little Pigs. She's endlessly inventive and quite remorseless.

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Volcano_Tequila t1_j61097k wrote

Five Little Pigs is my all time favorite. It does not scream out at you the way And Then There Were None and Orient Express and others do, but it its own quiet way, it is its own masterpiece.

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oishster t1_j5xbu35 wrote

Crooked House is an underrated gem. One of those books where if you reread it, it seems so obvious but on the first read there’s no way

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prss79513 t1_j5u5iux wrote

ABC murders is still my favorite

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saintjimmy43 t1_j5uykwd wrote

The death on the nile film with gal gadot is a fucking crime against humanity.

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christofolos t1_j5ucj6d wrote

And Then There Were None is a good read.

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thecaledonianrose t1_j5uf4tn wrote

This is probably my favorite Christie novel - if you like this one, try Murder on The Blue Train too.

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schaefer3 t1_j5umjl5 wrote

There is a new book out called “Agatha Christie - Marple” in which 12 women writers write Miss Marple short stories in a combination of their style and Agatha Christie’s style. If you like Miss Marple, or Agatha Christie, you will really enjoy this book.

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Ernbrave t1_j5v76e6 wrote

Murder on the links for a little romance, and then there were none for her best book (IMO) and The Mysterious Mr. Quin for one almost supernatural, love the 3 of them

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oishster t1_j5xbxej wrote

I love Mysterious Mr Quin! So underappreciated IMO!

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[deleted] t1_j5w20ao wrote

You are reading the best of the genre, a classic of the highest level.And Then There Were None, is also a great book of Poirot. and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd

You should also try some "classic noir"
The Maltese Falcon
The Big Sleep
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold
These have been judged by critics to be the best mystery novels ever.
i think you can love also The Boys from Brazil. Is a great book different but great book.

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oishster t1_j5xbe47 wrote

I love Agatha Christie books so much! Of the Poirot books I particularly liked Five Little Pigs, I think it was so interesting to solve a mystery decades later. Murder on the Orient Express is great too, a classic for a reason.

Of course the Poirot books are excellent, but if you’re ever in the mood for some good non-poirot Agatha christies, Murder is Easy is one of my favorites! And Crooked House - one of my favorite twists tbh.

And I don’t know if these are mysteries exactly, but The Mysterious Mr. Quin is a really interesting collection of short stories that I wish got more attention.

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481126 t1_j5xbmmm wrote

I read almost all the Poirot books in 2022. You might also like peril at end house & evil under the sun.

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Abominable_fiancee t1_j5trchz wrote

It was my first Agatha Christie book too and it was brilliant!

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Wonderful-Elk5080 t1_j5u5y6o wrote

Agatha Christie is one of my favourite authors, and 'Death on the Nile' is one of my favourite books of hers! :) I'm glad you like it. Some of my other favourites are 'The Murder of Roger Ackroyd', 'Murder in Mesopotamia' and 'Murder at the Vicarage' (this one is a Miss Marple book). Definitely recommend you read any book written by her though :)

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Jimothy_Pickens t1_j5uarpa wrote

Definitely try some other poirot novels, they are always a great read. Also you could try "and then there were none" by Agatha Christie. Doesn't have a main detective but arguably her best book.

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FrankNCastle t1_j5vmqfh wrote

I recently read "And Then There Were None" and I loved it. I started reading "Murder on the Orient Express" right after. She quickly became one of my favorite authors.

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Hungrysaurus_vexed t1_j5vufsz wrote

The ABC murders is quite good! I did NOT see that coming…

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ilovelela t1_j5w0rrm wrote

If you can access the BBC series “Poirot” I absolutely love it, it was my introduction to Hercule Poirot, and I think it makes reading her Poirot books very enjoyable.

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Adventurous-Pea8354 t1_j5w54x3 wrote

Way underrated by her, in my opinion, is The Man in the Brown Suit. One of my favorites!!

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Ziarh33 t1_j5wg00g wrote

I inherited around 70 Agatha Christie books from my grandfather back in the early 80's. Including "10 Little N**s". I'm Australian, so not sure if that was just the title here?. I do remember it was changed to " And Then There Were None " some years ago.

Either way, brilliant book, and a great introduction to her.

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aFqqw4GbkHs t1_j5wjyqb wrote

I read a ton of her books at a teenager and have since forgotten most of the plot details, lols.So, I recently listened to a bunch in a wonderful audio book - it's called 'Poirot's Finest Cases' and it's recordings of Full-Cast BBC Radio dramatisations of these 8 books:

  • The ABC Murders
  • After the Funeral
  • Death on the Nile
  • Peril at End House
  • The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
  • Murder on the Orient Express
  • Three act Tragedy
  • The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Highly recommend! There's a 2nd, 'More of Poirot's Finest Cases' with another 7 books. they're not as 'fine' as the first list, but I enjoyed Five Little Pigs, Evil Under the Sun and Halloween Party

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LordBDizzle t1_j5wqlqf wrote

All of the Poirot mysteries are super good. Evil Under the Sun, Murder on the Orient Express, the ABC murders... Just make sure to read Curtain last (or after the good ones anyway). Good conclusion to the series.

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herbert_the_perbert t1_j5wu9rg wrote

It is a great book and not only as a murder mystery but also the way she subtly made it a cautionary tale about different ways of love and relationships.

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MsWonderWoman_xo t1_j5wzbwv wrote

I recently read this one but had a difficult time with the language. I have trouble reading/enjoying books that weren’t written in the 21st century, to be totally honest.

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starrynight179 OP t1_j5x40n6 wrote

Oh yeah the prose is harder to read than modern books. Honestly though I find it beautiful!

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Suspicious-Feed3579 t1_j5x2kt8 wrote

You should also read Crooked House! The ending really shocked me.

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Jig_Wig t1_j5xdpuz wrote

Try 'And Then There Were None'. You won't be disappointed for sure

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No-Response3675 t1_j5xdqcg wrote

I also love Why didn’t they ask Evans- Tommy and tuppence mystery. Man in the brown suit is an underrated book too, though not a murder mystery

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Nintendoplease t1_j5xenjk wrote

Read murder on the orient express. It’s so good !!!

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anbu_night_ops t1_j5xg7jj wrote

My favorite of hers, by far is And Then There Were None. A simple yet complicated story, anyone could be the killer and such a great twist at the end.

I almost never comment on here but Christie is one of my favorite authors. Another one that I read recently was the mystery of the Christmas pudding. A few short but sweet stories.

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franhawthorne t1_j5y9hu9 wrote

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" is in a class by itself -- is it unique among all detective mysteries? It was certainly a game-changer.

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Volcano_Tequila t1_j6111d3 wrote

The great thing about Christie for me was that I really wanted her to completely bamboozle me, make me feel like an absolute fool for not seeing it all along. She was very fair in laying out the clues, and devious in deflecting me from seeing what was really going on. In the battle of wits, she mostly won, darn her!

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FigFromHell t1_j5tiz7l wrote

I also enjoyed this book a lot, but if you allow, how do you feel about the casually thrown around racism in her books? If I recall correctly there is even a moment in which Poirot compares the egyptians to dogs? I am not trying to ruffle some feathers, just an honest questions because this is something that bothers me about her books although I enjoy them otherwise.

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OhSoManyQuestions t1_j5tk9xe wrote

Same as with any other period book. Consider them snapshots of history and what was probably acceptable at the time. You can enjoy a work whilst also acknowledging that a modern-day lens may render some parts of it problematic. It's unfair, in my opinion, to judge past art through a modern lens. It's not as though Agatha Christie was out there on the streets spreading hate, you know?

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Snickerty t1_j5tr529 wrote

I think Christie also sideswipe the casual racism of upper class (white) British people, too. Poirot is often the subject of zenophobia. His foreigness is pointed out in numerous "those people" and "what do you expect from foreigners" comments. Our hero may not rant and rave about the injustice of ridiculous comments made by small minded, high handed, unpleasant people, but we do witness the insults with him. Poirot is a stoic intellectual: his mustachioed upper lip may well be Belgian, but it is definitely stiff.

Also,as you say, the books are written of their time too. Christie was born a Victorian, after all.

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FigFromHell t1_j5tm6f3 wrote

Yeah, I guess it's just a representation of the times. Thank you

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Grace_Alcock t1_j5u4uv5 wrote

It’s not just the period. If you read other Golden Age mysteries, she stands out as particularly racist and classist.

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dumbdotcom t1_j5tkb3a wrote

I've only read And Then There Were None, which was previously titled "Ten Little Indians" (glad for the name change), which also had some anti-Semitic things thrown around as well as some good ol fashioned sexism. I was definitely uncomfortable reading it, but I just reminded myself the book was published in 1939. That doesn't make it ok, but it's clearly a product of its time. I just take a moment to roll my eyes and move on. If it were published more recently, I wouldn't bother with it, but it's an old book and society has thankfully gotten better about that stuff

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FigFromHell t1_j5tlnzn wrote

Thank you, this gives me some perspective. If you look for the original, original title you'll see it's even worse. I know because in my native language it's still the same, it has not changed to any of the new ones.

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starrynight179 OP t1_j5tkqzq wrote

As a person of color, any racism is disturbing to me, but I still think she was a good writer

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Grace_Alcock t1_j5u4mjj wrote

In her 20s books, she uses the n word and about half a dozen variations on anti-semitism. Not to mention the classism, or the fact that adoptive parents and children are almost invariably evil or insane. She’s pretty awful—and worse than a lot of her contemporaries were, in fact. But her books are so damned skillfully written that I still love them. I just don’t like HER much.

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