Murder on the Nile

by Agatha Christie

Agatha ChristieFull Length, Mystery

Characters: 8 male, 5 female

Interior Set

Simon Mostyn has recently married Kay Ridgeway, a rich woman, having thrown over his former lover Jacqueline. The couple are on their honeymoon and are at present on a paddle steamer on the Nile. With them is Canon Pennefather, Kay's guardian, and Jacqueline, who has been dogging their footsteps all through the honeymoon. Also on the boat are a rich, ill tempered old woman with her niece and companion, a rather direct young man, a German who nurses a grudge against Kay's father and Kay's maid. During the voyage Jacqueline works herself into a state of hysteria and shoots at Simon, wounding him in the knee. A few moments later Kay is found shot in her bunk. By the time the boat reaches its destination, Canon Pennefather has laid bare an audacious conspiracy and has made sure the criminals shall not go free.

Genres: Agatha Christie, Mystery, Fiction, Classics, Crime, Plays, Mystery Thriller

104 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1944

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't think I have ever read an Agatha Christie book that I didn't enjoy and this was no exception. Considering the amount of books she has written this is some achievement and I wish there were more books to read of hers. I suppose I could always reread them. She is the master of suspense and intrigue.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was my first Christie novel I can recall reading, and I had no idea what a fun author she is. I guess I should have figured there was a reason she is so famous. I struggled to put down this fun page-turner. Poirot is a great character who is brilliant, clever, blunt, and a softie at his core. This was great light reading.

[Abragail Arnold · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s Agatha Christie, it’s wonderful.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Classic Agatha Christie. One of my favorites!

[Kingston dean · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have just finished my last performance of this play for my high school production where I played smith. Over the process of playing this character I formed an opinion of the way he was written. This is was I shall share presently. Smith is a member of the communist party however rolling in wealth. This is the core concept of the character and I believe that it is characters such as this that have created the twisted view of communism many hold onto. A character holding left wing beliefs that is created by someone who has experienced things like red scare propaganda will inherently have certain characteristics of their beliefs that goes against the basic theory. Smith is shown as a nasty person and someone who fails to really care for the proletariat and instead chooses to elevate his ego among the bourgeoisie by clinging to the aesthetics of communism. His wealth is seen as something that simply dispels any value communist ideas hold. It is characters like this that create the idea of communism being a poverty cult. Overall fun time very cool. (This review was specifically for noah)

[Lily Corcoran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agatha, you've done it again! Would love to see the play.

[Jeni Enjaian · Rating 3 out of 5]

A review from my old blog...

I'll never forget when I finally learned that Agatha Christie was a real person and not just a pen name. I don't know why I figured that Agatha Christie was a pen name... perhaps because her books are held in such high repute that she's become legend. ;)

Something that continually drives me nuts with her books... though not so much with this one... is that she crafts her mysteries in such a way that it is impossible for the reader to discern clues and figure out the answer to the mystery or simply be stumped at the end. The term "deus ex machina" comes to mind.

In this book though Christie drops many hard to discern clues in the first few chapters in which she also throws so much information at the reader that one is left picking up the pieces and trying to determine which bit of information is important. In any other genre besides a mystery this would annoy me but the beginning of this novel awakened my inner detective.

The actual murder... well, the first out of three... doesn't happen until about a hundred pages into the book. Actually, I was wondering when the murder was going to happen and thankfully Christie spared the readers an entire book of detective work and instead gave only half a book.

[Michelle Mulder · Rating 4 out of 5]

A relaxing get away gets turned into a murder. Linnet Doyle née Ridgeway is being stalked by her ex best friend Jacqueline, after she married Jacqueline's ex-fiance Simon Doyle.

They all end up on a steam boat on the Nile and this is where this get interesting.

This is an intriguing book, full of mystery, attempted murder, murder and betrayal.

This is such a good book and Agetha takes you on a journey that makes you question each suspect as the story progresses.

[Hannah of the Sky]

It's an Agatha Christie murder mystery. There's a reason she's famous. I haven't read enough of these to say whether it's better or worse than others, but I enjoyed reading it about as much as I enjoyed Murder on the Orient Express and the Hercule Poirot Christmas.

[Shokoofeh · Rating 4 out of 5]

All agatha christie books follow the same line but if you love it (and by it I mean her writing and her plot development), it never dissapoints.
I wanted a book i was sure was going to be fun and good and this was the perfect choice, especially for a summer read being set in egypt and all.
All in all she is always so clever with her plot twists I can never guess what will happen making me read 200 pages in a day. And i appreciate that.

[Ethan Hart · Rating 2 out of 5]

A play watered down by the very river it sets sail upon. The play, though a quicker read than the original novel, comes nowhere near the brilliance of it. Instead of the ingenious Hercule Poirot, we get “the Canon,” who seems to jump to the solution of the murder only at the last second of the piece, unlike Poirot, who is always calculating not just the murder, but the other mysteries involving the passengers aboard. These, however, have been mostly removed in favor of a solution to the murder with fewer red herrings and missteps. Without the other character’s side plots from the original novel that ultimately tie into the main mystery, the supporting cast is reduced to “romantic” narratives or comic relief. In my opinion, you are much better off reading Christie’s actual masterpiece of fiction, Death on the Nile, for a shocking journey and ending that the stage version is just too timid to follow through on.

[Gcoritsidis · Rating 3 out of 5]

somewhat implausible and yet predictable Poirot mystery (not sure how one reconciles those 2 things but there you have it) .

[Gail Sacharski · Rating 4 out of 5]

This play was adapted from the novel Death on the Nile, one of Christie's more popular Poirot mysteries. In this adaption, the famous detective has been replaced by a clergyman, Canon Pennefather (which also happens to be the name of a character in At Bertram's Hotel) who combines the roles of the lawyer/guardian & Poirot. Other characters have also been eliminated, keeping only those necessary to carry on the plot. All the action takes place in the public saloon rather than all over the boat & on shore as in the novel. Names have been changed in some cases, but the murder & reason for it has remained the same. The ending, however, has been changed. In the play, the very beautiful & rich Kay Ridgeway & her new husband, Simon, are on their honeymoon in Egypt. They board a river boat for a sightseeing trip up the Nile. Unfortunately for them, Simon's ex-fiancee, who happens to be Kay's ex-best friend & whom he jilted to marry Kay, also boards the boat. Jacquie has been harassing them throughout their travels in a fit of revengeful jealousy. Matters come to a head a few days into the trip as she gets drunk one evening & begins waving a pistol about. The ensuing events lead to murder which everyone believes Jacquie has committed, but for which she has an unbreakable alibi. Who then has committed Murder on the Nile?

[Konrad O · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a fantastic read and really engaged me to guess who the murderer would be however we all know that is impossible in any Agatha Christie book. Moreover this book had wonderful description of all the characters and also of all the details and made this book so much more interesting. However I must admit the first 50 pages of the book were fairly dull however from page 50 it really started engaging me and it became exponentially more interesting.

[Cathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to this book, narrated by Kenneth Branagh. That, in itself, made it a captivating book!
As usual Agatha Christie weaves a web of clues and mysteries throughout the book. Who will be killed? Who will be the murdered? What are the motives? How are the characters connected? And, in what ways will Hercule Poirot solve the mystery(ies)?

[Blessing · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not read the play (this story that I am marking "as read" says it is a "stage play"). I did read the book with Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot. Super story. Definitely recommend for youth, young adult, adult, etc...It has a fantastic & exciting plot, crazy characters, and twists and turns. Ending is even trickery!

[Susan Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Linnet Ridgeway is shot while on honeymoon, Poirot becomes involved in solving the murder. I could have sworn I've watched this acted out on TV, but for the life of me I still couldn't work out who the murderer was right until the big reveal at the end. Easy reading and I enjoyed the fact this hasn't aged despite being published yonks ago.

[Simin Johannessen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Den nest beste boken jeg har lest av Christie. Ca. alle karakterene er interresante, den har en stilig oppbygning som gjør verdenen mer levende. Løsningen på morder kommer ikke som ett sjokk når en finner det ut men det spiller ingen rolle, ferden dit har gjort at slutten blir sentiment og viktig uansett.

[Lavenderandfireflies · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christie's mysteries are always a pleasure to read, and a master of red herrings, with extraneous characters and parallel story arcs to quite marvelously obfuscate the story and force one to wait for Poirot or Marple to untangle it all! Especially with the Poirot mysteries, I simply cannot read them without hearing David Suchet's portrayal and voice of Poirot in my head.

[Mattia Stanchieri · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must to read. Brilliant story, including unexpected plot twists in a fascinating surroundings, Egypt. Recommended to readers who enjoy reading mystery books. Crimes are solved using analytical thinking and intuition. Suspense until the last page. All Hercules Poirot's stories will surprise you somehow.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as a novel, not a script for a play. But I can't find the novel in goodreads, so this will do. Agatha Christie sure likes to weave a tale! So many red herrings. I went back and reread the beginning just to see all the details she included from the get go. A fun ride!

[Ian · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just don't understand why this play has got so many good reviews.

Having read the play i found the script to be rather dry, as well as lacking surprising elements, some not so interesting characters and predictable.

[MR J R WARRAN-SMITH · Rating 1 out of 5]

SHE?????

All through this book the copywriter clearly missed that Linette and other characters had their sex changed from he to she and the reverse so it was very difficult to work out who they were actually referring to and very annoying too.

[AliceMads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Easy to follow, awesome rap up of the mystery. I love the characters and their characteristic, thay really felt realistic. another great Agatha Christie book!

[nina · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing.

[Ananya Sen · Rating 5 out of 5]

One such book where you might be able to predict the killer quite early but the "How?" will make you finish the book in one sitting. 🙂

[Rukaiya Akhtar · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was famous as a stage play, rather a detective story. Lovers concerto was more focused than the investigative matters.

[Jeanne Nichols · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great Golden Age mystery

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Agatha Christie does such a great job telling clever mysterious with intriguing characters!

[Chelsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book I started and stopped several times and it was really hard to keep up with all the characters. That said, it is a classic Agatha Cristie and enjoyable easy paced mystery.