The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the discussion thread for the Fall 2017 Group Read Death on the Nile. Please post your comments here. This thread is not restricted to those choosing this book for task 20.10, feel free to join in the discussion. Warning- spoilers ahead!

The requirement for task 20.10: You must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.

This is Hercule Poirot #17. For one who obsesses about reading series IN ORDER, this was a challenge. I have read a few Agatha Christies but not all in this series up to this one. So I just stepped out of my comfort zone and went for it. Originally published in 1937, it has been one of the most popular novels Agatha Christie wrote. In terms of characters and plot, it holds up just fine to a modern-day reader—or listener in my case, as I got to hear David Suchet read me this book, which was a delight.
As for being a book set in an Arab country, the theme for this group read selection, there were a few scenes on land, but by far most of the book took place on a boat with very little local color. The fact that they were in Egypt wasn’t of any importance to the story, as far as I could tell.

I'm similar on the "read in order" front. However, I've found that the Poirot/Marple series are a bit easier to dip in and out of than some.

If I hadn't only read this book in April this year, I'd definitely have made it my group read. But six months is a little short to reread a mystery!

Death on the Nile is my favorite (so far) Agatha Christie novel. I so love Hercule Poirot. I know he is perceived as a know-it-all, but the little Belgian is so charming. So what if he does a little bragging in this novel? He is a bit bored, after all. He's not had a case and is on holiday.

So too are many colorful characters. Mothers and the adult children, an old lady traveling with her nurse and a young cousin, a doctor, an agitator, and the newly married rich and beautiful Linnet Ridgeway. But her former best friend, Jaqueline de Bellefort, has been stalking the Doyles all throughout their Egyptian Honeymoon. She believes that Linnet deliberately stole her fiance, Simon, from her. She wants revenge and tells Poirot that she'd like to kill Linnet.

And when Linnet is found dead in the same way Jackie has told Poirot how she would like to kill the new Mrs. Doyle, all eyes are upon her. But she couldn't have shot Linnet - she has a rock solid alibi. So does Simon Doyle - Jackie shot him. So who killed Linnet Doyle? Two murders quickly follow. Could the victims identify the killer? And other passengers aboard the steamboat on the Nile are harbouring secrets as well. Fear not, Hercule Poirot is on the case and will identify the who, how, and the means as well as the motives in the most dramatic manner.

Dame Christie writes divinely and creates some clever red herrings tossed here and there. Her cast of character's are well developed and are interesting. The narrative is fast paced and when Poirot revealed everything, I was surprised. I would have loved to have been on that Nile River cruise!

Death on the Nile was a satisfying way to kick off the Fall reading challenge. Finely developed characters and a well-paced plot made for a quick and enjoyable read.

I have to agree with what Amor Towles wrote in Rules of Civility when the main character says what makes Christie appealing is that at the end of each book, there is a sense of order and justice in the world. The mystery is solved and the bad guy gets what's coming to him.

This is such an old favorite of mine - I can't count the number of times I've read it since I was a girl just discovering Agatha Christie. I think it ties with Orient Express for my favorite Christie.

Both Nile and Orient share a quality of tapping into subconscious anxieties much as a horror movie might: the loss of control of one's environment that travel brings; the helplessness when that travel has you stuck on the fringes of civilization and far from its nearest outpost; the claustrophobia of being trapped in a confined space - however large or gilded - with a monster slouching around the shadows, striking out horribly when nobody's looking.

I have to agree with Lois that the Egypt setting isn't terribly important to the story, just as the mountains aren't important in Orient, except in the sense that they isolate the field of suspects (the snowbank that stops the train in Orient, the deserted stretch of river in Nile). Both books are like what TV shows call bottle episodes in that respect.

I always forget how much more obvious Christie is with the romantic entanglings in the books compared to the TV adaptations - side characters are all neatly tidied up!

And it's been ages since I read a Poirot without Hastings - he's much more tolerable with intelligent foils, like Race!

As for the book itself - suitably twisty and enjoyable, though very little Egypt filtering through...

Suzanne wrote: "This is such an old favorite of mine - I can't count the number of times I've read it since I was a girl just discovering Agatha Christie. I think it ties with Orient Express for my favorite Christ..."

There's a new movie version of Orient Express out this fall, in case you hadn't spotted it.

This was my first Agatha Christie book but it will not be my last! I took this book into a Chipotle restaurant to read while waiting for a friend to meet me for dinner. I didn't really expect to like it but figured if it was my only reading material (my phone was close to dead so reading on it was out) I would have to stick it out enough to hopefully get interested at least a little bit. I will admit the first chapter was a challenge with multiple characters coming thick and fierce along with some unexpected time jumps but then things smoothed out to the point that putting it down when my friend arrived was actually difficult...not an anticipated reaction! After dinner I read until bedtime and then upon waking (absurdly early for me on a Saturday) I happily continued reading until I had finished the book. I will admit to being happy that I figured out the whodunnit, although I doubted that I had got it right for a few chapters there!

Having grown up with parents who own and frequently watch the Hercule Poirot series I will admit to being somewhat familiar with his character although I didn't watch many episodes with them. I usually preferred to read or fiddle about on the laptop while "watching" them. I will have to see if there is an episode about this book and if so, watch it to see how it compares. That is, after I go and put the first Hercule Poirot on hold at the library...

I generally prefer Marple to Poirot, but I think @Cat is right, not having Hastings around makes it better.

To me, the Egypt parts of this were inessential to the plot - it could have all been on any boat journey (or other Bottle Episode setup) and the parts of 'local color' that were included only served to highlight how much colonialism and 'othering' and class structures were integral to Christie's world view. Of its time, of its time, of its time.

Actively setting that aside, I liked all the elements Poirot had to put together to come up with his tidy solution. My initial guess about the whodunit was correct, but I would never have put together all the details to figure out the how.

READ 60

I have only read a few of the Hercule Poirot Mysterys and I must admit that I, like Race, was getting anxious by the time the crime was solved and I was totally wrong. I can not imagine connecting all the threads that this story presented and ending up with a very satisfactory ending . All the details that were included but did not seem important until they were explained to me by the wonderful Mr. Poirot.

Trish wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "This is such an old favorite of mine - I can't count the number of times I've read it since I was a girl just discovering Agatha Christie. I think it ties with Orient Express for my..."

Spotted it? OH YES. Dame Judi Dench as Princess Dragomiroff? Can. Hardly. Wait. ;-)

TessaVanessa

I loved it. I read my first Hercules Poirot book in the Winter Challenge and was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it. As I read it, I seem to read in a British accent or something. I'm thinking I should try to watch the series to see how well they do.

On to the story: There were many characters which I am finding is the norm in these mysteries. As soon as I thought I knew who did it, it changed again. It's amazing how Christie can weave all these people into the story and cast suspicion on each one. In this case, there were a few who had committed crimes besides the murders. I loved it. I have another one on my to read list for Challenge 20.3.

Peakles

I had never read an Agatha Christie novel until I read Murder on the Orient Express for a previous challenge last year. This season’s group reads gave me the opportunity to read another. I knew when I started Death on the Nile that I wouldn’t be able to put it down. I was right.
From the beginning, I knew who the murder victim would be, and early in the book I thought I knew who did it, but the author took me through so many possible suspects, I kept changing my mind. I really enjoyed Death on the Nile and I read it one day. I liked it better than Orient Express.

Schatzie

I'm like Pat (Peakles). I've never read this author until I started participating in this challenge. This challenge has pushed me out of my comfy little reading box.

I enjoyed this one. Even though I suspected the culprits scheme early on, I love the characters. They are fun, quirky and purposeful.

After I read an Agatha Christie novel, I'm always wondering why I don't read more. I still don't have an answer, for that and I probably won't read another until I need it for a challenge. There's just so many good books out there.

Well, once again I'm in the minority. Although I loved Agatha Christie when I was younger, Death on the Nile disappointed me. It was full of one dimensional characters and the mystery itself wasn't challenging. Plus, there was zero local flavor. Apart from some awkward racist descriptions of the Egyptians, the exotic setting was entirely ignored. I love mysteries but, with this one, I ended up bored and glad it was a short, quick read. I just don't think Agatha Christie is my cup of tea any more.

I have to agree with you. I read it for the winter challenge and was disappointed.

I have read a few of Christie's books for previous challenges, but this is only 3rd or 4th written by her. I found this to be enjoyable like the others I have read. I will say, this mystery was easier for me to figure out than the others.

I agree with most everyone else here; there was almost no real local flavor.

In the end, I always enjoy reading Christie. The books are often quick reads that suck you in and are hard to put down. I look forward to reading more in this series.

This was my first Agatha Christie, and I don't think I would have ever read one of her mysteries if not for this challenge, so I'm very grateful for that!

Putting aside the somewhat problematic nature of the bland and hardly used Egyptian setting and racist stock characters (product of its time for sure, as another reader mentioned), I found this a very quick, easy read. Not engrossing but fun enough, even if I knew whodunit pretty early on, despite Christie's various red herrings. And I thought the writing was quite good for an entertaining mystery.

I don't crave more (especially because I found Poirot a bit obnoxious) but if another title came up on a challenge, I'd read it. And thanks to other readers, I probably will pick up Orient Express before the film version comes out.

Poirot is always a hit or miss with me due to how much he admires himself. I don't recall him actually referring to his "little grey cells" in this book, which, perhaps, is one of the reasons I really enjoyed this mystery. So much better when you don't want to continuously hit the main character.
I'm not one of the people that can figure out who did the killing in a mystery, so I was pleasantly surprised, and a bit disappointed as I rather liked the myriad cast of characters on board the ship.

I have read a number of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot mysteries. I think they would have been quite well-done in their day. I seldom can figure out the culprit in advance, although I did know who it was in this one rather early on. I spent the rest of the novel trying to figure out HOW it was done. I just feel that the characters are flat and very one-dimensional and in many cases cliches. This arm's length feeling doesn't keep me from enjoying the books, but it does keep me from loving them.

This is the 4th Agatha Christie book that I've read and probably the first one that I truly enjoyed. It's not that I didn't like the others, but either the pace was too slow or there were too many characters, and I'd often find that I didn't care who the killer was. While I still struggled with the "too many character" issue in this book, I found the story more readable than some others. I also did figure out whodunit, but later found myself second-guessing and thinking it was others. I'm now convinced that I should stick with Hercule Poirot and maybe even try a Miss Marple.

Like others have mentioned, I can't stand reading series out of order, but I accidentally started Poirot with #31 so I figured that it wouldn't hurt too much to read #17. I also read #1 a few months ago, in an attempt to read them in order. So far, #1 was my least favorite, so I trust the series improves over time.

Kristen wrote: "Like others have mentioned, I can't stand reading series out of order, but I accidentally started Poirot with #31 so I figured that it wouldn't hurt too much to read #17. ..."

This is a series that really does NOT need to be read in order to appreciate and understand it. Some characters do repeat, but you always know the relationship and it doesn't spoil anything in a previous book if you've read a later one in the series.

Agree with all the comments re a lack of local color / culture of Egypt. That's the problem with these kinds of nominations / voting routines. Who knows what the person who originally recommended the "genre" had in mind? Simply "set in" the area or really ABOUT the area? In any case, this was a clear winner in the poll.

A few seasons ago the genre was "cozy mystery" and the winner of the poll was a book that isn't even a cozy mystery.

The mods have enough to do without trying to police this selection process more closely. We get what we vote for.

Anyway ... I'm about 1/3 of the way through the audio ... performed by David Suchet, who simply IS Poirot! Very entertaining. (This is a re-read for me ... and I do not remember whodunit! ... so I'm not really reading most of the comments because I don't want it spoiled ... LOL)

This was an enjoyable re-read for me. I hadn't read it in a long time. I remembered who had committed the first murder (of Linnet Doyle), but I didn't remember that there were additional murders even though that often happens in Christie's books. I also didn't remember most of the other characters besides Poirot and Simon's former girlfriend. I enjoyed the red herrings and the twists in plot regarding the other characters.

I agree with the other folks who have commented that although the story takes place on a boat in Egypt, it isn't really about an Arab country.

I have read Agatha Christie mysteries for years, and this was an enjoyable reread for me. I have reviewed it here: Death on the Nile. Since I have read it a couple of times, I wasn't looking forward to a reread; however, I was surprised at how fresh the book felt and how much I loved it once again. I had forgotten all the twists and turns in the plot that make it so clever. I understand that Poirot isn't for everyone, but I find that he is the perfect detective. What a joy to read!

It's not you, it's me. I only rated this 2 stars. I thought it was okay, but it didn't really do anything for me. I thought the first 1/3 of the book was flat out boring. And the ending was like... What? So everyone on the boat ended up being a criminal? That's nice, but a little hard for me to believe, I guess. I thought the characters were a little flat. And although I didn't know -how- right away, I did know the killer and motive almost at once.

I'm doing a challenge where I need to read 9 Christie books. I'm kind of wondering what I've gotten myself into if this is the best, as many have claimed.

Lisa wrote: "It's not you, it's me. I only rated this 2 stars. I thought it was okay, but it didn't really do anything for me. I thought the first 1/3 of the book was flat out boring. And the ending was like......"

I rated it a two as well. Whew, nine Christie's in one challenge? I might have to have a cocktail. Could be fun though if you're in the right space! ;-)

I didn't really enjoy this one. This is only the second Christie I've read (And Then There Were None, eons ago) and it will likely be my last unless there's another group read. I thought the action dragged but I was pretty sure of the murderer early on. I found that I really didn't like Poirot, and I think that colored everything.

Cindy wrote: "Lisa wrote: "It's not you, it's me. I only rated this 2 stars. I thought it was okay, but it didn't really do anything for me. I thought the first 1/3 of the book was flat out boring. And the endin..."

My first Christie was And Then There Were None. That one I enjoyed. I rated it a 4. Hopefully I will find some more like that. ^_^

I love Agatha Christie books she takes the reader through buildup, event and outcome in a way that maintains interest throughout. Hercule Poirot is my favourite of her investigators. This book is probably the most well written of all. I loved the first chapter where Christie introduces her characters through their lives/ loves and professions - so much better than a list of dramatise personae. I feel poi rot is a little less starched and a little more human in this investigation and there is a little undercurrent of humour in some of his conversations and musings.

Its interesting how differently we perceive a book for me this is one of Christies's best but obviously not for others

I am firmly in the camp of Christie could have done better. I loved And Then There Were None because I was on the edge of my seat with suspense. But this one fell flat for me.

First, I hated all of the characters. Normally, I feel sorry for the victim and I really want to feel vindication when the killer is revealed/caught. But in this story, I could have cared less. I was actually happy that the person that bit it did. How horrible is that??

Second, it read like a script from a made-for-TV-movie. The suspense wasn't there. When the killer was finally revealed/confessed, there was no grand sense of ending. It just.....happened. I was terribly disappointed.

Third, I agree with others.....the book could have been set in any other location and it would have been the same story. Where was the arab intrigue? Having lived in that area of the world for awhile, I really with Christie had fleshed out the settings a bit more....used them to add intrigue and suspense.

Maybe this was all Christie's intention, but I know she can write better because I have enjoyed other things she's written.

I love this book. This was my third time reading it. I think the banter between the characters is charming, witty, and fun. I love the sense of the era it was written in. One of my favorites.

This was a nice reread for me. Knowing the ending can be a challenge when reading a mystery, but this one had enough side interest that it was still entertaining. It was fun looking for the clues and all the misdirection that AC planted.

This was a re-read (or re-listen) for me as well. I did not remember who did it, though I did suspect rightly, then wrongly, then HALF rightly again.

Multiple suspects is a hallmark of Christie mysteries, and I think she does a good job of confusing the issue so that Poirot (or Miss Marple) -and the reader - has to really ferret out the clues to arrive at the conclusion.

And of course, there's the marvelous David Suchet narrating the audiobook. Suchet IS Poirot!

LINK to my review

This is only my second Agatha Christie mystery and although I love mysteries, I was disappointed in this one. My expectations were not met as I expected the story to be centered around Egypt and archeology and instead, the story was set on the cruise ship on which the murders took place and the suspects remained. The background was nicely set and the characters well described and she develops confusion for the reader in which each and none of the suspects seem to be possibilities. Unfortunately, the story dragged and felt claustrophobic to me.

Christie does have other mysteries set in locations other than England, but NONE of her books are particularly sensitive / focused on the culture of the location. They all focus on the murder and the suspects, and on solving the mystery. (This is true, at least, for the dozen or more that I've read ...)

I have read Agatha Christie before, however, this was my first adventure with Mr Poirot. I wasn't particularly excited about starting at book #17 because (like a number of people earlier in the thread) I like to start at book 1 and work my way forward. I'm actually a bit of a perfectionist in this manner. Anywho, it was one of those books where it was easy enough to infiltrate part way through the series and I don't feel like there were massive gaps in my knowledge.

I would have liked to have more of the cultural vibe especially given that this was chosen to represent "Fiction set in a member state of the Arab League" but it did mention some of the iconic Egyptian landmarks (which gave me a bit of a thrill as I visited Egypt in 2013).

In terms of the mystery, I was pretty proud of myself as I picked the killers pretty early on. Then I doubted myself pretty massively, but then turned out my original theory was correct. I did enjoy all the subplots of the other characters.

I read this book as I was in major wedding preparation mode. It was an easy read and a good escape from everyday life aka stressing about seating charts and centrepieces. So I enjoyed it and would recommend although not as a representation of an Arab state, more as a fun mystery.

Definitely enjoyed this one! I've read some, but not most or even half, of Christie's books, even though I always enjoy them when I do pick them up. What I liked most about this one was the locked room sort of setting -- there were limited options for who could kill or be killed. My very favorite Agatha Christie will always be "And Then There Were None" and this reminded me of that a bit. And although I had some inkling of who did it, I was surprised by some of the twists and turns.

I agree with Cindy and was disappointed with Death on the Nile. Earlier this year I read And Then There Were None which I LOVED. I just didn't care about any of the characters, I suspected "whodunnit" almost from the beginning (and was right), and there was no real tie in to Egypt or the Nile. It could have taken place on any generic cruise ship.

I won't give up on reading Agatha Christie in the future. As I said, I thought And Then There Were None was fantastic.

I have read a handful of Christie before, including a Poirot or two and have always enjoyed them. One of the things l love most about the ones that I have read is how timeless they are - the situations are usually scenarios that can still happen today and be feasible.

I listened to Death on the Nile as an audio book, which was both enhancing and challenging. The version I read really made it more of a play, with music and background noises and different characters for each person. This really helped keep me engaged. I was challenged by the inability to really tell some of the women apart though, which I do think made it harder to really keep the narrative straight as I was listening.

Simon was originally my first pick for the 'bad guy', but as the story progressed, I thought it was the shady guy who was trying to prevent Linnet from signing papers. (Don't remember name as it was audio)

All three of the main characters (minus Poirot) were pretty horrible and deserved what they got.

Like a lot of others, this was pretty flat for me. While I like Agatha Christie's plotting, her characterizations are hit or miss for me. I figured out the whodunit fairly early, but figuring out how it was done (and why) was the more interesting part. It is to Christie's credit that she can keep a reader interested even if they figure parts of the plot out.

(I also am now interested in looking at the audiobooks. I read a paperback, but David Suchet reading this would be amazing!)

I read the Agatha Christie books when I was in my twenties and loved them. Now in my fifties, I find myself returning to them through book challenges. Death on the Nile features the quintessential detective, Hercule Poirot. Once he enters the room, you know he will go through a series of steps and find the killer.
Agatha Christie is timeless - the stories don't get old. I enjoyed rereading this book.

I've read a couple Agatha Christie books and have enjoyed them. While The Death on the Nile was a good book, I didn't find it to be as good as the others I have read (And Then There Were None and Murder on the Orient Express).

I think part of what fell a bit flat for me this time around was that I had figured out who did it pretty early on in the story and was waiting for a twist to throw me off the scent.

I will continue to read Agatha Christie -- as Laura said, she is timeless.

I have read several Agatha Christie mysteries over the years and really enjoyed this re-read as an audiobook. The voice character got Poirot exactly right and I could picture the british TV character throughout. Even though this was the second time reading this one, I had forgotten the ending! I must be getting old. I love the way Agatha Christie keeps the twists and turns coming.

I've read a lot of Agatha Christie when I was a teenager (it's been some years :-), not this one though. I enjoyed it as much as ever. I listened to the audiobook and just loved to listen to the different accents!

I didn't vote for it in the poll, though, as I expected it to be a lot more British than Egyptian. That suspicion proved to be true. I would have preferred to read a different book for that particular theme.

Still, I got some very enjoyable trips in my car with a fun audiobook out of it, so I'm happy!

Read this in one sitting and I loved it! I normally like to read books in order but I find Agatha Christie books easy to read in any order. This book is now at the top of my favorite books written by Agatha Christie.

This is a reread for me. I read it first a bit over a year ago, but it is one of my favorites by Agatha Christie, so it wasn't a chore to read it again. I have been slowly making my way through Christie in order by series and I read all of Poirot first then MIss Marple and now I'm reading the others. Going back to Poirot was nice as he'll always be my first Christie read.

I am a big fan of Agatha Christie; I've read about thirty of her books (including her autobiography, which I recommend to anyone interested in her novels - she led a fascinating life and was able to travel to so many amazing places). I read Death on the Nile for the first time about four years ago, and I remember loving it. I'm one of those readers who forgets a lot about most of the books I've read, so I was excited when I saw that this was a group read for this season, since I barely remembered the plot. I knew who committed the murders, but had no recollection of how and forgot all of the exciting side-plots worked into the main storyline. Luckily, as some previous posters have said, more than half of the fun of an Agatha Christie novel is trying to figure out how the crimes were committed. Death on the Nile remains up in my list of favorite Agatha Christie mysteries.
To anyone who is just getting started on Agatha Christie, I recommend Crooked House, And Then There Were None (possibly her most famous book), Towards Zero, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Murder on the Orient Express (with a new movie adaptation coming out in November!), and The Unexpected Guest (a novelization by another author of one of her plays). Of course, I love many of her other books, but these six are among my top picks!

Agatha Christie has not disappointed me yet. Although i thought Simon and Jacqueline were somehow responsible, I was not sharp enough to put together all of the pieces. Interesting set of characters in this book!

Samantha wrote: "I am a big fan of Agatha Christie; I've read about thirty of her books (including her autobiography, which I recommend to anyone interested in her novels - she led a fascinating life and was able t..."

i loved And Then There Were None and i also liked Sparkling Cyanide