One of my favorite novels is Murder on The Orient Express written by The Queen of Mystery, Agatha Christie. The plot unfolds as Hercule Poirot, a brilliant detective from Scotland Yard, boards a train called the Orient Express. On this luxurious locomotive one of the passengers was murdered in the night. Thankfully for the passengers, Mr. Poirot was onboard, who closes cases faster than a bullet train from Boston to New York.
Unfortunately for the killer, the train’s voyage was halted by a horrendous blizzard that stopped it in it’s tracks. This gave Mr. Poirot all the time he needed to solve the murder.
Poirot started by interviewing all the passengers and employees, then he followed leads from the interviews for further investigation. As Poirot dug deeper, he found the case to be highly improbable. Everyone had an alibi for the night in question confirmed by another passenger. How could this have been done? Poirot ruminated about the murder for a prolonged time, and then abruptly he had an epiphany.
Why is the train completely full during this time of year? When almost no one is traveling.
How can such a variety of people ever come together in one place? An american assistant, british newly weds, an italian business man, a swedish maid, a russian princess, and many more.
The answer... it was all planned! In the past all of the passengers, excluding Poirot and his dear friend Mr. Bouc, who runs the train, had been involved in a murder case. The man who was murdered, Mr. Ratchett, was actually called Cassetti, a man who kidnapped and murdered a little girl named Daisy Armstrong, and got away with it. The rest of the passengers, and the wagon-lit conductor, worked for the Armstrongs or were family. They were appalled when Cassetti was declared innocent and free of all charges. They took it upon themselves to be the swift hand of justice, so they carefully planned out Cassetti’s murder.
Poirot realized all of this, revealed it to everyone, and then did something he has never done before. He let them all go because he realized through this ordeal who the “victim” truly was and the motives behind his death.
This novel is one of my favorites because it amazes me how Poirot deciphers these mysteries. He always starts with the basics, and pursues leads that others couldn’t surmise. When confronted by an extremely arduous task he remains calm, and utilizes his astonishing problem solving skills to discover the solution. I am inspired by this character to reinforce and enhance my own problem solving ability so that I can be more successful in future endeavors.
Another reason I loved this novel was because it feeds our own common biases. For example, The italian business man was the first suspect in the crime because many people accept italian stereotypes namely that they are fond of violence and unforgiving. Another bias in this book is fulfilled by the arrogant, haughty, condescending russian princess, who justifies most stereotypical behaviors of both princesses and russians.
Lastly, this book granted me with an increased understanding of the world around me. I learned that two wrongs do not make a right, but three rights make a left. To explain, when acts or people are viewed upon we all instantly form biases about them. If we take the time to inspect these acts and people more thoroughly, we can realize that maybe these acts are justified, or that these people are superior to our previous stereotypes. To summarize, “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover,” or in other words, don’t judge someone or something superficially or prematurely.
I learned that strong writing consists of not only great ideas, but creating clear reference points and contextual visualization for the reader. It puts the reader in the moment and allows them to identify with the story. Good writing is when the reader cannot put the book down. When they need to keep reading. When they want to continue the experience.
