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Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
By Susan · 14 posts · 16 views
By Susan · 14 posts · 16 views
last updated Sep 02, 2025 12:08AM
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Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) - SPOILER Thread
By Susan · 4 posts · 12 views
By Susan · 4 posts · 12 views
last updated Sep 01, 2025 04:16PM
What Members Thought
Definitely not a favorite, something about it just didn’t appeal to me. It started off with an unlikeable heroine and her rather pathetically puppy-like wannabe beau sitting in a movie theater, and right from the start I wasn’t pleased or interested in either character.
He’s a clerk at the Tax Inspector’s office, she’s secretary to the cousins who run a shipping firm. In an effort to impress, he drops a hint that her bosses may be in dire straits. He tries to backpedal, but Helen Mildmay isn’t o ...more
He’s a clerk at the Tax Inspector’s office, she’s secretary to the cousins who run a shipping firm. In an effort to impress, he drops a hint that her bosses may be in dire straits. He tries to backpedal, but Helen Mildmay isn’t o ...more
Published in 1928, this is listed as the first Inspector Poole mystery, but this features Superintendent Dodd, so I was a little confused! However, this is an interesting mystery and, unusually, set in Liverpool rather than London, which was refreshing.
The mystery features around a shipping company, ran by two cousins, Charles and James Morden. James is married to the lovely Lilith, and the two have an expensive lifestyle, even though the company is not doing too well. Much of the daily business ...more
The mystery features around a shipping company, ran by two cousins, Charles and James Morden. James is married to the lovely Lilith, and the two have an expensive lifestyle, even though the company is not doing too well. Much of the daily business ...more
Set in Liverpool, two cousins are partners in a small shipping business. One evening both of them go missing setting in train a man and body-hunt for the local police and some members of the office. One body later and a motive linked to prohibition in the USA, the solution is quite surprising. Enjoyed this one overall. Had to smile at a railway schedule quoted, as the route between Crewe and London has not changed in a century!
This book had excellent villains with an interesting money-making scheme. However, the good guys were rather boring with an annoying heroine, a bland hero, and a couple of blindly infatuated men. The police detective is portrayed as a bumbling idiot, but he does arrive at the correct solution. Not a favorite. (P.S. There is no Inspector Poole in this book.)
This was okay.
Very confusing at the start which made it difficult to get into the story. But I later became intrigued.
I did like Inspector Dodd although I thought he was a bit of a dolt at times. Maybe I will like Inspector Poole just a bit better.
Very confusing at the start which made it difficult to get into the story. But I later became intrigued.
I did like Inspector Dodd although I thought he was a bit of a dolt at times. Maybe I will like Inspector Poole just a bit better.
I found this book very easy to read; the characters felt real… even if I didn’t really like the heroine. The ending caught me by surprise, but I find myself satisfied in spite it subverting my expectations.
This books rates as a 4.5 for me. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
This books rates as a 4.5 for me. I look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
Sep 16, 2022
Judy
rated it
really liked it
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