This story is set on a filled to capacity train, heading from Stamboul (Istanbul) to London. It’s the middle of winter and the snow has built up on the tracks and forced the train to a standstill on its way through Yugoslavia (an area that is now in Croatia). This is when the murder is discovered… An American tycoon lies dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside.
Hercule Poirot happens to be on the train, and M. Bouc, his friend and a staff member of the company running the train, enlists his help in identifying the murderer. Because of their curious circumstances and the estimated time of death, the murderer is essentially one of the passengers. Everyone on the train is a suspect, but everyone also has an alibi. Poirot has to identify the actual murderer by narrowing down who had the motive, means, and the opportunity to actually murder the victim.
Poirot identifies the victim as a kidnapper who killed a little girl, but managed to evade justice on a technicality, and also that his murder was an act of vengeance. Now he has to tie in one passenger to the little girl… and how he picks up on the various little clues from the passengers and unravels the mystery forms the intricate and tightly woven rest of the story.
Dame Agatha’s most celebrated and intricate work, this has been adapted into plays, movies and television shows several times. But none truly match the clever and complex nuance of the book. An absolute must read.