The Mystery of the Blue Train 1928 detective book

Name: The Mystery of the Blue Train
Rating: 4.4 (98 reviews)

The Mystery of the Blue Train 1928 detective story

The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928, United Kingdom)

Rufus Van Aldin, an American millionaire, just bought the most expensive piece of jewellery there was, for his only daughter, Ruth. This gift was a glimpse of happiness in her life since her marriage to Right Honorable Derek Kettering is almost a farce. Derek is a bonvivant, who spent his money on gambling and an expensive lover, Mirelle. Van Aldin would do anything to break up their marriage for the sake of his daughter, but she seems to be still be in love with Kettering. This time the millionaire manages to convince his daughter to demand a divorce and confronts his son-in-law regarding the proceedings. Derek is not happy with this turn of events - he is broke and only his wife’s money keep him afloat. The clash with her father means that there is only one hope for Kettering - if Ruth would die before the divorce is finalized. To get away for the winter from dull and gloomy England Ruth is gonna take the Blue Train heading for the Azure Coast and spend there time with her lover, Comte Armand de la Roche. But what happened that night aboard the Blue Train will spoil the plans of everyone involved.

One of the early Hercules Poirot novels written by Agatha Christie in the time of her life, when nothing seemed to go right for her - her mother died and soon later she found out her husband had been unfaithful to her. In that dark moment she had to return to writing to gather money and The Mystery of the Blue Train was one of the novels that she had written. The circumstances would explain why the book is not particularly good among bibliography of the famous author. She even herself said in one of the interviews that she hated that book and there are reasons why. Why the murder plot is quite interesting, the slow pace and very speculative nature of the case drags the whole thing down.

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