Murder on the Orient Express

Old favourite, beautifully read by David Suchet (for many Christie fans, the definitive Poirot). Lovely audio book!

This unabridged reading of one of Agatha Christie’s best-known and best-loved books is great fun. David Suchet, the perfect TV Poirot, here gets to show off the amazing range of his acting talent. There are about 15 characters in the book, half of them women, from a variety of different countries and Suchet manages to sustain a different voice and characterisation for each. Yes, occasionally he goes a bit OTT (the Russian Princess for instance) but that adds to the enjoyment – Suchet understands that Christie’s books are first and foremost light-hearted fun.



Christie shows off her usual winning formula here – a baffling crime, a limited number of suspects, each interviewed by Poirot, and then the dénouement as Poirot reveals both murderer and method. What stops the books from becoming repetitive is that there is usually an unexpected twist and this book is no exception. Once you know whodunit, it’s easy to look back and see that Christie, more perhaps than any other crime-writer, plays fair with the reader – all the clues are there, we see everything Poirot sees, but can we work it out before he does?



This is a first-rate reading of a deserved classic of the mystery genre. Enjoy!

Everyone knows David Suchet can do a perfect voice for Poirot from the TV series, but perhaps less well known is that he's a great narrator and has a whole range of other men's and women's voices and accents which he can deliver with equal eloquence - you're never in any doubt about who's talking and the story really comes to life. A thouroughly enjoyable listen :)