Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Published by HarperCollins, 1937
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐
It’s always such a pleasure to come back to Christie, and every time I read one of her novels, I wonder why I don’t do so more often. I won’t really go into plot specifics for this one. As one of her most celebrated classics, you’ll either know all about it already, or you can enjoy unpicking its mysteries for yourself.
Suffice to say, Death on the Nile features all the very best qualities associated with Christie’s work: A cast of well-established characters; lots of twists and red herrings to keep you guessing; contrasting moments of thrilling excitement and wry humour; incredibly readable prose; deceptively shrewd examples of human observation; an intricate tapestry of clues that weave together to form a smart, satisfying conclusion.
The only negative I could mention relates to the length and pacing. There’s no denying this could have been shorter, with the novel’s first half given over to setting up context and motives for each of the many characters. In the hands of virtually any other writer, this would have become tiresome, but there’s an effortless charm to Christie’s writing, characterisation, and evocation of time and place, that allows her to get away with it. Once the first murder takes place, the pace ramps up considerably, and I’m pleased to say she kept me guessing until the very end.
It hasn’t dethroned my favourite Christie, which remains And Then There Were None, but this certainly ranks highly among the 16 I’ve read thus far. As I always say when I finish one of her books, I can’t wait to read more!
As a side note, I buddy read this with my friends Jess and Rachel, which was lots of fun!
Callum McLaughlin 
I don’t think I’ve ever read this one but, like you say, reading Christie is always a treat and leaves me wondering why I don’t read her more! And Then There Were None is definitely my pick of her books too.
It’s always easy to see why she’s so popular! I’d love to eventually make my way through her whole back catalogue.
Agree that this ranks highly, but not in the top – although it’s difficult to really rank her novels, there are so many good ones. Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks! Very true, I’d love to eventually make my way through her entire back catalogue, at which point there’s no way I’d be able to rank them all! 😂
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