I’ve always enjoyed a good Agatha Christie murder mystery. After reading multiple of them in the past couple of years, I have never been let down by the storyline, and this is no exception. She paints such a clear picture in your head about whatever minor detail you learn about.​​ The way she builds suspense, during moments of each character's fearfulness, adds so much to the story. 

The book is about a very long, overnight train ride going to London from Istanbul. There are 13 passengers, who are all strangers, and each got their own sleeping quarters due to the multiple day trip. However, once the journey began, a passenger was threatened with a death threat, seemingly out of the blue. Not long after that, the first murder took place, sending everyone into a downwards spiral. Thankfully for them, there is a detective on board, who will try his best at solving the deadly mystery. 

One of the most important aspects of the book, in my opinion, is the setting in which it occurs. The whole time, the train is marching through a massive snowstorm, and acts almost as a secondary battle that the occupants of the train must face. They couldn’t really step outside, or even open a window due to the constant barrage of sleet or snow. Partway through, infact, they get dislodged from the tracks and are completely stranded from then on. This just added more fuel to the fire, because now they have lost all hope of getting to London on time, and are stuck with an insane murderer amungst them.

Something that cannot go unnoticed is the amount of suspense that is built, along with the amount of times she can keep you on the edge of your seat. Practically every scene, there was something that I was wondering, worrying, or curious about. This is an important part that many murder mysteries can’t keep up for the whole time, and can only hold onto for a few moments. She keeps you guessing until the last scene, and there are some things she never even reveals. 

Despite all of the aspects of this impressive book, there is one thing that I struggled with. There were times when the names of characters, or each of their relationships became slightly hard to follow. I couldn’t always remember if this lady was friends with that guy, or did they both hate each other, and so on. This is one of those books that you would enjoy even more the second time you read it. There is this sort of a secondary plot, which also gets revealed, about the passengers' stories and their potential connections to one another! Due to this, things can get a little complicated, and might not be as enjoyable the first time through. 

Christie is a great author. Though not written in modern day english, her works are timeless, including Murder on the Orient Express. Its impressive suspense along with attention to detail I could only dream of writing myself makes this book something I would definitely recommend to any high schooler or above. Despite a few of its shortcomings, this is a must read, and even worth watching the movie after you’re done.