Book Club

Poirot Stories

Poirot is Agatha Christie's most famous and popular detective.  No doubt he would agree that he deserves that accolade!

Here is the place to discuss all of his stories in detail with other fans.  The most insightful comments will be added to the Stories pages.  But remember to beware spoilers!

If you can't find your favourite Poirot story here, don't worry - we'll be adding them all soon.

Warning: These discussions may contain spoilers!

Death on the Nile

Moderator1 10 Nov 09 at 8:11 a.m. GMT

Jacqueline de Bellefort was so happy with fiance Simon Doyle until her good friend Linnet Ridgeway stole him away.  Jackie is now following them around on their Egyptian honeymoon, however another traveller is Hercule Poirot and he is not happy with the behaviour of these young people.  He is happy to stand back though - at least until Linnet is found shot dead.  Now he's involved....

Opinions are mixed on this story: one of Christie's best or a flimsy and unlikely plot?  Which camp do you fall into?  It's certainly one of her most popular novels: is this justified?

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142 replies

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glalonzo0408 21 Jan 13 at 6:01 p.m. GMT

I have had the pleasure of directing this play on stage.  I must say it was quite a challenge, to say the least.  I am on the fence about whether it is good or flimsy.  It is a bit unbelievable.  

willjsch 20 Jan 13 at 11:01 p.m. GMT

I see parallels between DotN and Shakespeare's Macbeth:

*Witches gave Macbeth a prophecy he would become king; Simon Doyle created his own "prophecy" that he would marry Linnet and she'd die and leave him everything

*When Lady M heard the prophecy from her husband, she did the planning how he would murder the king; when Jackie realised what Simon was going to try she helped by planning the murder

*Macbeth pretends to be a loyal subject to Duncan and then kills him in his sleep; Simon pretends to be a loving husband to Linnet and then kills her in her sleep

*Macbeth gilds the faces of the grooms with blood; Simon writes a letter "J" on the wall with blood

*Macbeth is emotionally scarred by his murder; Simon is wounded during the course of his

*Macbeth slaughters Macduff's family and Macduff becomes his undoing; Simon and Jackie kill Louise and she becomes their undoing

*Macbeth had to kill Banquo and Macduff's family to try to get away with his first murder; Simon and Jackie had to kill Louise and Mrs Ottorbourne to try to get away with killing Linnet

*Macbeth's ambition and Lady M's planning are a fatal combination; Simon's ambitious greed for money and Jackie's planning are a fatal combination

May be many finer points too. I wonder how many AC plots are modelled on archetypes in classic literature (i.e. in the way the story of Bluebeard inspired Jane Eyre as well as Daphne Du Maurier's "Rebecca") - aside from the more obvious cases where she gives her stories titles that come from nursery rhymes or Shakespeare quotes etc.

Tommy_A_Jones 04 Dec 12 at 12:55 p.m. GMT

This book among others written by Agatha Christie are a lesson to us alll that you shouldn't believe all you are Toldand also that you should never assume and never rule ut anybody.

cwa11ace 03 Dec 12 at 4:56 p.m. GMT

This book just reiterates a fact touched upon in some of her other novels - that the person most likely to have done it, really did do it

Tommy_A_Jones 30 Jul 12 at 4:57 p.m. GMT

I hav just finished this book for the 2nd time and enjoyed it just as much as the 1st, Colonel Race really shines in his book and shows he really does have a purpose.

andreasc 06 Jun 12 at 8:26 a.m. GMT

An amazing book, Poirot surpasses himself and each character has a flair and individuality. The Abu Sibel scenery adds to the mystery atmosphere and the build up to the climax is simply unprecedented. The ending is like a shakespearian tragedy, a very appropriate catharsis for the guilty party(ies) involved. One of the best AC books together with The murder of Roger Ackroyd, And then there were none, Orient express etc

Tommy_A_Jones 02 Jun 12 at 12:19 p.m. GMT

I disagree, I think it shows a person whose best days were behind them, trying to grasp a bit more selfrespect and losing their  life in the Process, I think some people Agatha Created were done so to be a Casualty and the 3rd victim is one of them.

alzimi 02 Jun 12 at 3:30 a.m. GMT

The third murder wasnt necessary. And it was far-fetched.

famouspoirot 15 Apr 12 at 7:45 a.m. GMT

Death on the nile is my favourite novel in the entire poirot series(anyone who have seen my profile image could guess that). The discovery of the murderer nearly took my breath away.

enessee 12 Apr 12 at 5:19 p.m. GMT

I don't think the plot was at all flimsy - a lot of substance in fact. Unlikely is a different matter though. Not so much the plot as a whole, most good who-done-it's are going to be fairly fantastic, otherwise there would be no interest. The really unlikely bit is that the alibi for the murder actually worked at all. It is described by Poirot as a meticulously worked out plot, but actually too many things could have gone wrong (well before the things that actually did) for it ever to have been thought viable by a really cunning person.

Raun1245 29 Mar 12 at 5:30 a.m. GMT

I enjoyed this book from the starting letter to the ending letter, never a dull moment. For me this book is the 2nd best Poirot novel and 4th best Agatha Christie novel.

emily_g123 24 Feb 12 at 7:05 p.m. GMT

I personally enjoyed this particular book; I thought it was interesting how suspicions were purposly thrown on one person.  The characters seemed very interesting as well, and I liked how many different crimes were uncovered, not only the murder.

BrigidM 11 Feb 12 at 3:24 p.m. GMT

I think it is definetly a very good one - it was actusally my first Agatha Christie and I could not put it down - I read it until it fell apart! I think this is definetly justified. The film was very good as well, I love all the actors in it, they were really good! But there WAS quite a lot of characters and I thought it was hard to keep track. But the conclusion was very satisfying to me.

xxchristielover123xx 26 Nov 11 at 7:02 p.m. GMT

i love this book alot, its very detailed! but sometimes i think all of the charactors can be confusing.

SeaView 11 Nov 11 at 11:14 a.m. GMT

Omigosh, how I love Peter Ustinov and Sir David Niven in this glorious movie. I've watched the video in my bedroom to fall asleep at night. Seen it hundreds of times. Christie is so rich! I love her quote from Montaigne? that a woman's whole goal in life is to "inspire love". I like how Poirot (Ustinov) stands on the boat in the Nile and tries to warn Mia Farrow (Jacqueline de Bellefort) to not launch into the deep of evil, she was headed in a perilous direction. She swears to follow her destiny even "to hell itself". I guess that's why Christie named her "Bellefort", doesn't that mean beautiful and strong in French?

rossana 10 Nov 11 at 8:33 p.m. GMT

It was one of the first book by Agatha Christie I read. I was about 10 years old, when I read it in Italian, and I read it in English some months ago. I feared that, already knowing the murderers, it could be a little bit boring, but I found it really interesting: I was able to appreciate details better.

de_misteri 30 Sep 11 at 6:13 a.m. GMT

One of my favourite AC plots- it's easy to see mwhy it's so famous. The setting was good and the murder was complex, and the ending was unexpected as to who committed the murder.

3rdGirl 23 Sep 11 at 10:02 p.m. GMT

Easily one of my favourite AC books and I absolutely love the David Suchet film as well. So much so that I found the vessel they used on the internet and want to go on a holiday on it one day. They even have a Poirot and Agatha Christie suite!!

I'm a time poor mum, so have been listening to the BBC radio book read by Mr Suchet, and it is fantastic. I love the complexity of this plot even though I don't think it''s one of hre best.  I think this is one of the novels where AC gives you a fantastic sense of place and the exotic. Her details on the sightseeing and life on the Nile are just wonderful, and I think this has a lot to do with it's popular appeal. It's certainly why I love it so much. Also, she goes into great detail to 'set up' the characters in this one, so you really get to know them more than in other novels of hers.

Two thumbs up from me!!

mariely 09 Aug 11 at 2:02 p.m. GMT

I agree with Lone_Wolf Tim was gay. and in a relationship with Mrs. Allerton, who wasn't really his mother, a kind of gigolish thing

MsBuckley 24 Jul 11 at 2:21 p.m. GMT

This is certainly my favourite book of hers! The plot is awesome! It is just fascinating the way Agatha planned Jacqueline and Simon's plan. I was just surprised at the end! Agatha is such a mastermind, I love all the things in this book, from the falling rock, until the murder and, it is a brilliant plot, really, I LOVED IT!