Read History

2026 | Score: 5.5

An interesting story, especially for being a century old. I am assuming I must have been told the answer a long time ago and it was sitting in my subconscious because about 1/3 through the book I decided what I thought had happened and it turned out to be right. Short mystery novels just aren’t my type of book. Overly relying on the “whodunit” without a super substantial story outside of that. I want to watch the movie though.

Format: Audible

Days: 5

Date: 3/17/2026 -> 3/22/2026

Summary

Murder on the Orient Express
Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot #10
Murder on the Orient Express Summary

Hercule Poirot has just done some favor for the French army in Syria, and now is headed back home. He boards the Taurus express to Istanbul, where the only other passengers in his car are two English people, Mary Debenham and Colonel Arbuthnot. He overhears some strange conversations between the two of them on the journey. He had planned to spend a few days in Istanbul before boarding his next train but gets a telegram that means he has to hurry home.

He runs into an old friend, Monsieur Bouc (An executive of the Wagons-Lits train company), who is also headed west and helps him get a second-class room on the surprisingly full Orient Express. Hercule is sharing a room with a young American named Hector McQueen.

Throughout the first day Poirot observes the various passengers, who include Mary and the Colonel from the Taurus express. McQueen works for a man named Ratchet, who has an evil face and Poirot dislikes. Ratchet approaches Poirot to ask for protection since he feels in danger, and Poirot refuses him.

Before bed, M. Bouc moves to a different car and gives Hercule his old first-class berth so he has his own room, right next to Ratchet’s. In the night he wakes up at 1:23 am when he hears a gasp from next door. He opens his door and the conductor, Pierre Michel, checks on Ratchet, who responds in French he is fine. The man then tells Hercule they are stopped due to a snow drift, and brings him a mineral water. A while later there is frantic buzzing from the room 2 down and an american lady, Mrs. Hubbard, is screaming there is a man in her room but when the conductor comes no one is there. Later Hercule awakens to a thump at his door and when he checks sees a woman in a red kimono fleeing down the hall.

The following morning M. Bouc summons Hercule and he meets a Dr. Constantine and learns Ratchet is dead and was stabbed twelve times, seemingly at different times with different hands and different amounts of force. The window was left open, but the train is still stopped and there are no footprints in the snow, so they know the murderer is still on the train. Hercule finds a couple of clues in Ratchet’s compartment. A pipecleaner, a handkerchief with the letter “H”, and a mostly burned note with the words “Armstrong” and “Girl” on them. Poirot connects this to the Armstrong kidnapping in America, the daughter of a famous actress and her husband, a Colonel Armstrong, had their young girl kidnapped and held ransom, then found dead when they paid. The mother had a miscarriage and died from grief, the Colonel was a broken man, and the maid killed herself after intensive police questioning. The man “Ratchet” was actually Cosetti, who carried out the kidnapping but escaped justice due to legal technicalities.

Poirot, Bouc, and the Doctor now interview everyone in the train car, since it has to have been one of them.

Pierre Michel - The car conductor, confirms what Hercule saw last night. Sat in a bench at the end of the car most of the night.

Hector McQueen - Secretary to Ratchet, father was the DA in the Armstrong case, speaks multiple languages since Ratchet only spoke english. He was with Colonel Arbuthnot the time the murdered occured (12-2am according to the doctor, and a broken watch found saying 1:15).

Masterman - The valet to Ratchet, was awake all night with a toothache. Vouches for his Italian bunkmate. Says he gave ratchet a sleeping draft since he always takes on on a train.

Detective Hardman - An american who was pretending to be a typewriter salesman, is actually a detective from New York. Says Ratchet hired him to watch for an attacker, a small man with a womanish voice. He had an end compartment and confirms no one entered or left, so the murderer had to be in this train car.

Mrs. Hubbard - A flighty, dramatic american woman who found a conductor uniform button in her room, probably from the man she heard in the night. Her room and Ratchets had a connecting door, which she claims a swedish lady says was locked before bed but was unlocked in the morning.

Greta Ohlson - The Swedish lady. She confirms Hubbards story, and since she shares a room with Mary Debonham, says neither left their compartment last night

Antonio - The Italian, confirms what Masterman said.

Princess Dragomirov - An old lady without the strength to stab a man, however she was the god-mother to Mrs. Armstrong, the woman from the kidnapping.

Hildegard Schmidt - The handmaid to the princess, says around midnight she was bringing something to her lady, when she ran into a small man with a womanish voice in a conductor’s uniform leaving Ratchet’s compartment. But when shown all the conductors says it is none of them.

Count and Countess Andrenyi - Recently wed travelling dignitaries.

Hercule performs various tests to see if the pipe cleaner and handkerchief belong to anyone, and what hand is dominant, etc. After interviewing everyone he goes and searches luggage and finds nothing, except a rolled up conductors uniform in Hildegard’s baggage, which she claims is not hers, and the red kimono in his own luggage at the end.

Hercule, Dr. Constantine, and M. Bouc do some thinking, and Hercule solves it. He explains a few things to the others and begins to call people back in, and ask them why they lied and explain their connection to the armstrong case. Mary Debonham was a nurse to the girl Daisy Armstrong, and is in love with Colonel Arbuthnot. Antonio was their Chauffeur. Masterman was Col. Armstrong’s valet. McQueen was their secretary. Hildegaard was their maid, etc.

They gather all of the passengers in the dining car and Hercule Poirot says he has two theories for this murder. Theory 1: A man snuck onto a train when they stopped at a station at midnight and stabbed Ratchet and left unseen. Dr. Constantine is upset and says this is not possible, but Poirot says to wait. Theory 2: Every single passenger in the train was connected to the Armstrong case. This is not coincidence, it is intentional. They all stabbed Ratchet/Cossetti since he should never have been free. Mrs. Hubbard, the mother of Mrs. Armstrong in disguise, basically confirms and it and says she will take the blame. But instead they all agree the second theory is wrong and everyone will tell the police the first theory. Hercule Poirot solved it. THE END.