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Hercule Poirot #0.06
El expreso de Plymouth
Flossie Halliday, hija de un magnate americano del acero, es encontrada muerta en un tren con rumbo a Plymouth. Su padre, que conoce a Hércules Poirot, lo contrata para que descubra al asesino.
34 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 4, 1923
95 people are currently reading
2245 people want to read
About the author
Agatha Christie
5,816 books75.3k followersAgatha 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)
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)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews
April 18, 2025
An heiress is murdered on a train, and her grieving father hires Poirot to find her killer.
Was it her soon to be ex-husband, her con man lover, or someone else entirely?
Poirot will stroke his mustaches and Hastings will misread every clue, but at the end of the story, the guilty will be punished.
The Plymouth Express was later expanded into the full-length novel, The Mystery of the Blue Train.
This originally appeared in The Sketch magazine in 1923.
Read as part of the short story collection The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot & Midwinter Murders.
Was it her soon to be ex-husband, her con man lover, or someone else entirely?
Poirot will stroke his mustaches and Hastings will misread every clue, but at the end of the story, the guilty will be punished.
The Plymouth Express was later expanded into the full-length novel, The Mystery of the Blue Train.
This originally appeared in The Sketch magazine in 1923.
Read as part of the short story collection The Early Cases of Hercule Poirot & Midwinter Murders.
March 10, 2025
3 Stars. Before easy-to-use guidance systems on hand-held computers, did people get lost on the UK's National Rail? "Do I get off at Station X? Is that before J? Is it even on Line T?" One of Christie's best is 'The A.B.C. Murders' but, in that one, she mercifully doesn't trot out lists of obscure stations for non-Brits, including moi, to navigate. 'The Plymouth Express' is neither accompanied by an ABC guide nor a GPS. Understanding the relationship of various stations is a component of the plot. For this reader, a map would have been very helpful! The 11 pages first appeared in 'Sketch' in 1923; it can be found in 'Hercule Poirot The Complete Short Stories' of 1999. In the morning papers, Poirot and Hastings read of a terrible incident on the Plymouth Express, and realize the victim is Flossie Halliday, daughter of an American steel baron and former client of Poirot. Our detectives rush to see him. He pledges "my last cent to catch the damned scoundrel." It appears that Flossie was incapable of making a good choice in men; Poirot asks whether her former French lover or her current husband, both in London, both always short of funds, is the culprit? (No2020/Mar2025)
June 5, 2025
Overrated
Since this is the last one in the series, I'll write an overall review.
This series was the first thing I've ever read to Agatha Christie and I had high hopes for it, since it's considered to be very popular.
However I can't stress enough how disappointing this whole experience was.
The writing style is beyond poor and the characters depth doesn't exist at all and don't get me started on the weird plots.
Also the waya that the detective unravels what's happening or force the suspects to confess are nothing but laughable.
I mean this has to be a joke.
And that Poirot person is just awful.
He's nothing but an egoistic and a narcissistic person and his personality is just awful.
The disrespect that he was treating his friend with was just unbearable.
And then we have the second person "the Narrator" Me.Ridgeway, this man has a mashed potatoes in his head instead of a brain and always come to the most basic conclusions and he's always clueless about his surroundings unless it was a beautiful woman. Like???!
It makes absolutely no sense that he's being the right hand of the super mega egoistic detective. It feels as if the writer created this side character just to make her MC sound smart.
The entire series was just corny and dull.
Since this is the last one in the series, I'll write an overall review.
This series was the first thing I've ever read to Agatha Christie and I had high hopes for it, since it's considered to be very popular.
However I can't stress enough how disappointing this whole experience was.
The writing style is beyond poor and the characters depth doesn't exist at all and don't get me started on the weird plots.
Also the waya that the detective unravels what's happening or force the suspects to confess are nothing but laughable.
I mean this has to be a joke.
And that Poirot person is just awful.
He's nothing but an egoistic and a narcissistic person and his personality is just awful.
The disrespect that he was treating his friend with was just unbearable.
And then we have the second person "the Narrator" Me.Ridgeway, this man has a mashed potatoes in his head instead of a brain and always come to the most basic conclusions and he's always clueless about his surroundings unless it was a beautiful woman. Like???!
It makes absolutely no sense that he's being the right hand of the super mega egoistic detective. It feels as if the writer created this side character just to make her MC sound smart.
The entire series was just corny and dull.
September 23, 2019
A lot of bad things happen on trains.
December 10, 2020
Not the worst. An entire evening's entertainment for a buck; the 30-ish pages weren't painful to read but were predictable. The solution wasn't winkled from a corner of Poirot's little grey cells, the hints were fair-played; but as The Big Reveal goes, it was pretty tame.
The Americans, father and daughter, were only mildly stupid, which makes a nice change. One character was rather amusingly named "Red Narky." Check Poirot's Early Cases: 18 Hercule Poirot Mysteries out of the library if at all possible, spending a buck on this story alone won't quite pay you back.
Agatha Christie's Poirot: S03E04 The Plymouth Express
Better by about a half-star than the story because, while the Big Reveal played out a hair differently, the father and daughter were Australian, Hastings gets flummoxed by carelessly dissing a French dude to Poirot (I've complained about an actual Poirot giving such a rosbif of Little Englander as Hastings the time of day), played well by Hugh Fraser, and "Red Narky" gets a much needed upgrade in yclepture.
The Americans, father and daughter, were only mildly stupid, which makes a nice change. One character was rather amusingly named "Red Narky." Check Poirot's Early Cases: 18 Hercule Poirot Mysteries out of the library if at all possible, spending a buck on this story alone won't quite pay you back.
Agatha Christie's Poirot: S03E04 The Plymouth Express
Better by about a half-star than the story because, while the Big Reveal played out a hair differently, the father and daughter were Australian, Hastings gets flummoxed by carelessly dissing a French dude to Poirot (I've complained about an actual Poirot giving such a rosbif of Little Englander as Hastings the time of day), played well by Hugh Fraser, and "Red Narky" gets a much needed upgrade in yclepture.
September 29, 2023
One or two interesting ideas from Poirot, and that's all. Nobody, Agatha included, can always maintain a high standard.
PS: The novel based on this story was one of Agatha's poorest...
PS: The novel based on this story was one of Agatha's poorest...
December 31, 2020
This story is the 5th Hercule Poirot short story. It was first published in the UK in April 1923 in The Sketch magazine. US publication followed in January 1924 (The Blue Magazine). Christie later fleshed out the plot a bit, changed characters and some basics to form the novel The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928)
Christie lived such an interesting life. These first short stories featuring Poirot were written while on a 10-month around-the-world promotional tour for the British Empire Exhibition. Some of the incidents and people she encountered during this tour were used in her novel The Man in the Brown Suit (published in 1924). What a life!
In this story, a naval officer travelling by train gets a nasty shock when he discovers something gruesome stuffed under the seat of his compartment......the dead body of a woman! Poirot is soon on the case (of course) to discover the why, when and how.
I can understand why nasty goings-on aboard trains are a recurrent occurrence in Christie's writing (and a lot of other golden age detective novelists). It's the perfect "locked room'' scenario. Moving train. Strangers thrown together. Lots of strange places to have clandestine meetings, commit a gruesome murder, etc. Rounding out the top five of great places to have a golden age murder mystery would have to be: on board a ship at sea, on an island accessible only by boat, inside an isolated country mansion (especially during bad weather like a snow storm), and in the dark recesses of some slightly romantic locale like a large museum/pyramid/ancient ruin.
I enjoyed this story. Very short, but interesting! I like these tales even better now that I know Christie was writing them while on an adventure of her own. There is a book that recounts her stories about her trip, The Grand Tour: Letters and Photographs from the British Empire Exposition. Learning all sorts of new things about my favorite author while reading through her works in publication order. I'm having the best time! :)
The long-running television series, Agatha Christie's Poirot, made an episode based on this story (Series 3, episode 3). It was first broadcast in 1991. The episode is very good, but the script adds/changes quite a bit to flesh the story out to 50 minutes. The basic plot line is still there though....very well done!
On to the next story: The Adventure of the Western Star!
Christie lived such an interesting life. These first short stories featuring Poirot were written while on a 10-month around-the-world promotional tour for the British Empire Exhibition. Some of the incidents and people she encountered during this tour were used in her novel The Man in the Brown Suit (published in 1924). What a life!
In this story, a naval officer travelling by train gets a nasty shock when he discovers something gruesome stuffed under the seat of his compartment......the dead body of a woman! Poirot is soon on the case (of course) to discover the why, when and how.
I can understand why nasty goings-on aboard trains are a recurrent occurrence in Christie's writing (and a lot of other golden age detective novelists). It's the perfect "locked room'' scenario. Moving train. Strangers thrown together. Lots of strange places to have clandestine meetings, commit a gruesome murder, etc. Rounding out the top five of great places to have a golden age murder mystery would have to be: on board a ship at sea, on an island accessible only by boat, inside an isolated country mansion (especially during bad weather like a snow storm), and in the dark recesses of some slightly romantic locale like a large museum/pyramid/ancient ruin.
I enjoyed this story. Very short, but interesting! I like these tales even better now that I know Christie was writing them while on an adventure of her own. There is a book that recounts her stories about her trip, The Grand Tour: Letters and Photographs from the British Empire Exposition. Learning all sorts of new things about my favorite author while reading through her works in publication order. I'm having the best time! :)
The long-running television series, Agatha Christie's Poirot, made an episode based on this story (Series 3, episode 3). It was first broadcast in 1991. The episode is very good, but the script adds/changes quite a bit to flesh the story out to 50 minutes. The basic plot line is still there though....very well done!
On to the next story: The Adventure of the Western Star!
May 5, 2016
A very clever case featuring Poirot - at the height of his power, might I add - and an eagerly action seeking Japp - who I also enjoy - and my beloved Captain Hastings. Didn't guess the ending of this one - but it was a true delight to read :)
April 2, 2015
This short story, featuring Hercule Poirot, was first published in The Sketch in 1923. When the body of a woman is found in a carriage of The Plymouth Express, she turns out to be the daughter of an American steel tycoon, Ebenezer Halliday. Poirot had done some work for Mr Halliday before and is not surprised to be summoned and asked to investigate the murder of his only child.
Poirot, Hastings and Japp all feature in this early Poirot story, which sees Japp as a young man intent on action. Meanwhile, Poirot is happy to take his time, ask questions and consider the evidence. Was the guilty party the woman’s hard up husband, hoping to inherit her money, a roguish past lover or was the motive robbery? Of course, Poirot will save the case with ease. An enjoyable story, with an interesting plot and Poirot at the height of his powers.
Poirot, Hastings and Japp all feature in this early Poirot story, which sees Japp as a young man intent on action. Meanwhile, Poirot is happy to take his time, ask questions and consider the evidence. Was the guilty party the woman’s hard up husband, hoping to inherit her money, a roguish past lover or was the motive robbery? Of course, Poirot will save the case with ease. An enjoyable story, with an interesting plot and Poirot at the height of his powers.
Read
May 31, 2024This short was later expanded to be the full length novel "mystery on the blue train" which I liked, a lot. So I would recommend picking up the full length, it is better. This short didn't give enough details for the twists to make sense.
September 24, 2023
The mystery of how a wealthy heiress ends up murdered, and hidden under the seats of a train carriage may have baffled the police inspector, but it’s no match for Poirot, his ingenuity, and his little grey cells….an interesting short story, which, felt a little too short, so I wasn’t surprised to read that it was later developed by the author into a full length novel, The Mystery of the Blue Train, which I’ll certainly read…..
January 24, 2021
A great story as always! One cannot deny the genius that goes on creating a witty and entertaining character such as Poirot.
With each book I read by Mrs, Christie, the Poirot series keeps on ranking highly and being my favorite.
With each book I read by Mrs, Christie, the Poirot series keeps on ranking highly and being my favorite.
September 15, 2023
As a fan of Agatha Christie, I picked this e-book up from my local library. It was part of a set of twelve novellas Midwinter Murder: Fireside Tales from the Queen of Mystery. I found each individual story entertaining with a great mystery. I would recommond to readers of Agatha Christie. 2023
October 31, 2016
I, for the first time could not figure out who the murderer is, and for that, I give this story, 4 stars. It is synonymous and a homonym to the site I am recommending it on, it is, a Good Read indeed!!
February 10, 2025
الرواية ٤/٣.٥
الترجمة ٥/٥
الترجمة ٥/٥
July 9, 2024
Not the best,but enjoyble murder mystery.
August 10, 2024
I love reading her books!!!! Another short story with Poirot trying to solve this case.
January 11, 2023
This story is rather exceptional My first time to see the case.
April 7, 2019
A very short story, and a reasonable introduction to the genre/character.
In this, Poirot is called in to investigate when a wealthy young lady is discovered under the seat of a train carriage. She has been stabbed, and her jewellery is missing.
With seemingly little info, and minimal investigation, Poirot solves the crime.
In this, Poirot is called in to investigate when a wealthy young lady is discovered under the seat of a train carriage. She has been stabbed, and her jewellery is missing.
With seemingly little info, and minimal investigation, Poirot solves the crime.
November 6, 2017
A great Hercule Poirot short story! Didn't see who the murderer ended up to be while reading the story, but those clever little grey cells of Poirot always lead to a great ending.
April 12, 2019
A body is discovered on the Plymouth Express and Poirot uses his little grey cells to solve the case before Inspector Jaff can. Another enjoyable short mystery
December 29, 2020
A good short story. I cannot resist any story with Detective Hercules Poirot!!
July 8, 2021
Started out with a promising premise but I feel like the actual reveal was a little tame.
September 18, 2022
Phenomenal narration - okay story.
December 29, 2022
This is a 3.5 🌟 read rounded ⬆️ to 4 🌟.
January 5, 2020
Another short story where I figured out who done it using my little grey cells. This one was kind of easy since the maid made a big deal of what her lady was wearing. Plus there were valuable jewels to be had. I noticed that Christie has quite a few short stories so far that involve stolen jewels.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 13, 2013
okay for a short story, pretty short!
January 27, 2018
There’s not much to say here. Christie is a genius.
March 27, 2020
Read 2020
July 8, 2020
A short story featuring Hercule Poirot. Quick and entertaining.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 171 reviews