Reading the Detectives discussion

Welcome to the latest Poirot buddy read, of one of Agatha Christie's most famous books, Death on the Nile.

Please feel free to post spoilers in this thread.

Thank you! August snuck up on me...

Definitely one of Christie's best known books. Having the characters together on a boat on the Nile, does mean the reader gets to know them well. Linnet Ridgeway was not a likable person in my opinion so there was no one there who was supposedly missing her, apart from Simon her husband.
Now I knew exactly who was the murderer, but that is because this is a reread for me, also seen the film, however the plot was excellent as expected from Christie
I liked that Poirot described an archaeological as a method of solving a crime, by gently brushing away at it until left with the answer. Very Christie.

Jill wrote: "Definitely one of Christie's best known books. Having the characters together on a boat on the Nile, does mean the reader gets to know them well. Linnet Ridgeway was not a likable person in my opin..."

Yes! I agree, Linnet wasn’t likable, yet she was so young, and frankly pretty clueless that her wealth could make her a target - seemed tragic and unnecessary, if she hadn’t been an heiress, she would not have been killed.

I really appreciated Poirot in this one - he sees all and suspects, but knowing human nature he is helpless, and must stand by, ready to pick up the pieces and stop the killer, but it will be too late. In this way, he reminds me very much of Miss Marple - they are both very clear in their own beliefs and know evil must be stopped, but sometimes they have to wait until it strikes before they can act.

Like you, Jill, this was a reread for me, and I thoroughly enjoyed it - perfect summertime read for me!

First read for me. Very enjoyable with plenty of red herrings! It struck me as another Poirot where the killer's are allowed to die by their own means, rather than go to court and be hanged.

Have ordered the Peter Ustinov film version to watch now. It really does have quite the cast!

That’s the one I kept picturing- now I want to see it again! Kept imagining David Niven as Colonel Race, but Suchet, in narration, made him sound all gruff country squire, didn’t really work for me. Otherwise, his acting and voice choices were spot on, closest thing I could get to the movie!

I've noticed now in several of the books that Poirot often warns someone, seemingly away from danger or harm, when in fact he is warning them off going through with a planned murder.

This was one of those deliciously improbable plots-both the one concocted by Simon and Jackie and the one written by Christie-with far too many possibilities for failure to ever have worked. Made for a fun read though!

I’ve always thought they chose an extremely complicated and risky murder method - all that fake shooting etc. What if someone had insisted on examining Simon’s I injury right away? And there must have been a huge risk of him running into someone when he hopped off to commit the murder. Poirot’s fondness for Jackie I found inexplicable - I thought her a callous little horror.

Tracey wrote: "Have ordered the Peter Ustinov film version to watch now. It really does have quite the cast!"

It’s a very good film. Sticks quite closely to the original story. A few characters have been eliminated, but they are ones who are not really essential to the plot.

I felt badly for Linnet, despite her being a bit of a snob. I imagine she went through her entire life not knowing if people befriended her because she was rich, beautiful, or both. I doubt she had many close connections with anyone. You can see why she would have been attracted to a simple, uncomplicated man like Simon Doyle. Certainly not her only motive, as I think she had a tendency of wanting whatever others had, but you can see that side of the coin as well.

I also did not understand why Poirot was so sympathetic to Jackie. One can't explain away a person's ability to murder 3 people without remorse simply for Love.

Yes I always felt bad for Linnet too. It’s been a while since I read it but she didn’t come across so badly. Certainly didn’t deserve to be killed.
Poirot has a soft spot sometimes. I just read another one where he talks loudly so the guilty party has a chance to off themselves if they want. Escape prison.

FR wrote: "Yes I always felt bad for Linnet too. It’s been a while since I read it but she didn’t come across so badly. Certainly didn’t deserve to be killed.
Poirot has a soft spot sometimes. I just read an..."

Poirot definitely has a soft spot for lovers. I don't quite understand though why he would have felt that Jackie was more sympathetic than Linnet. If anything, the fact that Linnet felt guilt about taking her friend's fiance (otherwise she wouldn't have cared that she was following them around), while Jackie had no remorse about setting her up and killing her, speaks more highly of the former than the latter. It's almost as if he viewed it as though one had a choice and made a bad one, and the other had no choice at all. I don't quite agree with that reading of the circumstances.

Poirot may have sympathized more with Jackie because he knew her first from the restaurant and saw she 'loved too much'. Jackie seems unrealistic to me; she changed too much from good friend, to spurned lover (admittedly an act), then heartless murderer of that friend just to get her boyfriend money.

And I agree there were so many ways the scheme could have failed.

Sandy wrote: "Poirot may have sympathized more with Jackie because he knew her first from the restaurant and saw she 'loved too much'. Jackie seems unrealistic to me; she changed too much from good friend, to sp..."

Yes, I’m not overly familiar with psychology and it’s terminology, but Jackie’s intense emotional swings and feelings would be exhausting, I think. I agree, Poirot felt sympathy for her because he spotted at the restaurant that she loved too much - perhaps he feels it allowed her to be manipulated by her lover, but I got the impression she was definitely the brains there!

Finally, I also agree, so many points where the scheme could have failed - in fact, her ability to adapt and just go grab a gun and kill, although impressive as to her adaptability, was rather frightening, I thought! What if more people acted like that? Sorry, with the mass shootings we’ve had, I find it chilling - “well, the plan is going south, off to get a gun!”

Susan in NC wrote: "Sandy wrote: "Poirot may have sympathized more with Jackie because he knew her first from the restaurant and saw she 'loved too much'. Jackie seems unrealistic to me; she changed too much from good..."

And to your point about psychology, is "loving too much" even an appropriate term for her? It borders more on obsession, which makes her behavior in the middle section perhaps truer to form than just an act.

Tara wrote: "Susan in NC wrote: "Sandy wrote: "Poirot may have sympathized more with Jackie because he knew her first from the restaurant and saw she 'loved too much'. Jackie seems unrealistic to me; she change..."

Yes, I think obsessed is the more honest term - frankly, that just makes her more unstable and exhausting to me!

Susan in NC wrote: "That’s the one I kept picturing- now I want to see it again! Kept imagining David Niven as Colonel Race, but Suchet, in narration, made him sound all gruff country squire, didn’t really work for me..."

I had the same experience. I admired every other narration interpretation Suchet did but Colonel Race... just grating to the ears.

Regarding Poirot's feelings towards Jackie. Maybe there is also a hint of remorse, knowing that things might go awary but nothing being able to stop it.