Most murders are committed in one of two ways. The first is a crime of passion, of spur-of-the-moment violence, while the second is a crime of mediation, carefully thought out and carried out accordingly. Usually, a murder can be classified as one or the other quite easily, but what happens when the two run together and become a bloody mix of accident and intention, heart and brain? This is exactly the sort of crime faced by Hercule Poirot in Death on the Nile, by Agatha Christie.

Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian detective with a big brain and an even bigger mustache, is called to action once more by newlywed Linnet Doyle. After unceremoniously stealing her best friend Jacqueline de Bellefort’s love, Simon, and marrying him, the wealthy young woman seeks protection from her rival in love.

Unfortunately for Mrs. Doyle, even Poirot cannot stop a crime of passion, and the next day finds Linnet Doyle lying dead with a bullet shot straight through her head. Jacqueline is obviously suspected, but when she is revealed to have an airtight alibi, Poirot is confronted with a seemingly endless selection of twists, turns, and backstabbers, leaving even him at a temporary loss of suspects. Luckily for Poirot (and the reader), the killer is uncovered, and the events behind the murder are so unforeseen that it is impossible for even the most dedicated reader to correctly deduce them.

Death on the Nile, by Agatha Christie, is an extremely compelling novel that combines good writing, a neat plot, and a startling conclusion into four hundred pages of action and mystery. Fans of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot or any detective will not be disappointed by this intriguing Egyptian thriller novel.

-Mahak M.

Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.