Agatha Christie delivers the mystery magic that readers love. Death on the Nile is one of her best known books and it is replete with all those trademark elements that make Agatha Christie the queen of mystery. There is an extensive and eccentric cast of characters, an exotic location, red herrings right and left, and of course–the murder. The identity of the murderer didn’t seem quite as much of a surprise in this book, but there was a lot going on to confuse the situation and in some ways the ending did ultimately spring a surprise that was not telegraphed at all. Hercule Poirot seemed a bit of a nostalgic romantic in this particular novel, which was charming.
Death on the Nile is the 17th book in the 38 book Hercule Poirot series and was published in 1937. These books can be read as stand-alones, although it is suggested to read them in order. In Death on the Nile, a major plot point of Murder on the Orient Express is referred to in passing, so one might pick up a few spoilers when reading out of order.
Fun fact: Agatha Christie also wrote romances under the pen name Mary Westmacott.
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 18 religious exclamations; 34 mild obscenities; 1 anatomical term.
Violence/Gore: Character says they want to rip off a character’s clothes and stomp on their face; verbal threats to kill; character talks about wanting to kill someone with a knife or pistol; character is almost crushed by a boulder; character shot in appendage; character is shot in head and killed–this is first reported, then the body examined in a brief scene of description; someone says they should die by committing suicide; someone jokingly wonders why someone hasn’t been killed earlier; character is stabbed and dies, body found; character is shot (death); extended description of crime; character shoots and kills another; character dies by suicide.
Sex/Nudity: Reference to sex; reference to sex in novels.
Mature Subjects:
Murder, crime, suicide, death.
Alcohol/Drug Use:
Adults drink alcohol; a character is drugged; characters smoke.
