Murder on the Orient Express
By Agatha Christie
Did you finish the book? Did you like it?
Were you able to figure out who the murderer was before the very end? If so, what tipped you off? If not, who did you think the murderer was? Were you surprised when Poirot revealed the culprits?
Have you read any Agatha Christie novels before? If so, did it help you to figure out who the murderer was earlier in the story?
Poirot uses a series of educated guesses/logic/psychological tells to solve this crime. Do you think that this is similar or different to detective work today? Why/why not?
What did you think of the ‘out’ that Poirot gave to the murderers? Did you think it was the right thing? Why did Poirot choose not to report the crime and punish them?
What is the difference between revenge and justice? Is there one? Were the murderers justified in killing Mr. Ratchett/Cassetti?
If you had to rewrite Murder on the Orient Express in the present day, where would you set it? Would you change the characters or the jobs that they held? Why?
Which character did you identify with most? Why?
Have you seen either of the movies? Before or after reading the book? Were they similar or different? Did it affect how you read the book?
The story is set on a train. Does the setting have any meaning or symbolism? What impact does the setting have on the story?
Portions of the book are reminiscent and based off of the kidnapping case involving the Charles Lindbergh baby. What are the similarities and differences between the real-life story and the fictional account in this book?
The characters are travelling from Syria to London. Contrast the social/political climate in the Middle East in today’s world with that of 1933.
The characters repeatedly reference America throughout the story. Does America carry particular symbolism or meaning? How is the diversity of American society shown through the passengers? Does it affect Poirot’s investigation of the case?
The characters often refer to characteristics of people due to their race/nationality/etc. Which character(s) do you see doing this the most? M. Bouc. What do you think of this? Is it a product of the time when the book was written, when the book was set? Or was it intended by Christie to examine the role that prejudice and profiling play in a criminal investigation? Does it appear to be racist or bigoted to you reading it today?
Before she is revealed as Linda Arden, did you suspect that Mrs. Hubbarb actually was Linda Arden? Was there anything that tipped you off (behavior, descriptions, etc.)? Is there anything, looking back in hindsight, that is a tip-off?
The dragon motif is mentioned in the novel. Do you recall where? The red kimono…anywhere else? Does this have particular symbolism?
Have you read other murder mysteries? Does this follow the same format? Why/why not? How is it unique?
Have you read The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford? Or any other books that play off of the story or theme of this book?