The first night featured a storyline true to the original text, but set in Japan in 1933. In this version, the train Orient Kyuukou ran from the western city of Shimonoseki to Tokyo, with the train stopped by a small avalanche near Sekigahara, Gifu. Geier, Thom (16 June 2015). "Kenneth Branagh in Talks to Direct Agatha Christie's 'Murder on the Orient Express' (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Los Angeles, California: The Wrap News Inc . Retrieved 11 July 2015. After taking the Taurus Express from Aleppo to Istanbul, private detective Hercule Poirot arrives at the Tokatlian Hotel, where he receives a telegram prompting him to return to London. He instructs the concierge to book him a first-class compartment on the Simplon-route Orient Express service leaving that night. Although the train is fully booked, Poirot obtains a second-class berth through the intervention of friend, fellow Belgian, and fellow passenger Monsieur Bouc, director of the train operator Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits (CIWL). Other passengers include American widow Caroline Hubbard; English governess Mary Debenham; Swedish missionary Greta Ohlsson; American businessman Samuel Ratchett, with his secretary/translator Hector MacQueen, and his English valet Edward Henry Masterman; Italian-American car salesman Antonio Foscarelli; Russian Princess Natalia Dragomiroff and her German maid Hildegarde Schmidt; Hungarian Count Rudolph Andrenyi and his wife Elena; English Colonel John Arbuthnot; American salesman Cyrus B. Hardman; and Greek medical doctor Stavros Constantine.

The story's first true publication was the US serialisation in six instalments in the Saturday Evening Post from 30 September to 4 November 1933 (Volume 206, Numbers 14 to 19). The title was Murder in the Calais Coach, and it was illustrated by William C. Hoople. [33] Whatever you unwrap for Christmas, you had better hope it's this book. This is 21st-century cosy Christmas crime that doesn't shy away from the darkness. Eighteen passengers, seven stops, one killer Christmas read' JANICE HALLETT Every murder mystery needs its great characters to keep you guessing and Alexandra Benedict has written in some, well lets just say interesting characters that will keep you guessing. It is Christmas and everyone is trying to be somewhere but the weather is setting in and there is travel chaos. As the title suggests the main scene is aboard the sleeper and it is heading north to the Highlands but the snow is getting worse and so the train is not going to be stopping at all the stops. On board the train is the former Met detective Roz Parker, but one by one you get to meet the leading characters and what a real mix they are. There is a social media celebrity who is constantly engaging with her followers, then we have a quiz team, there is even a stowaway on board the train, there is a TV star and many others. In the small hours of Christmas eve, miles from anywhere the train is derailed and passengers are tossed around or jolted from their sleep. And a killer strikes. Now they are all alone and who is going to be next. It is down to our heroine Roz to take control and find the killer before there are more bodies to be found.

The 18 suspects are an interesting bunch, but their characterisation is sketchy and I found it quite hard to form an opinion on the identity of the murderer and their motives. But Benedict is bang up to date with the inclusion of same sex couples, a person called Sam who uses the pronoun they, and a famous social media influencer. I learned quite a lot! On a lighter note, Roz has made a concoction called tablet for the journey, a sort of Scotch whisky-laden fudge from her mother's own recipe book. Roz constantly refers to this recipe book and to tablet and the recipe even appears at the end of the novel. The book was made into a 1974 movie directed by Sidney Lumet and produced by John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin; it was a critical and commercial hit. The film starred Albert Finney as Poirot, Martin Balsam as Signor Bianchi, George Coulouris as Dr Constantine, and Richard Widmark as Ratchett/Cassetti, with the remaining cast of suspects including Sean Connery (Arbuthnot), Lauren Bacall (Mrs Hubbard), Anthony Perkins (MacQueen), John Gielgud (Beddoes), Michael York (Count Andrenyi), Jean-Pierre Cassel (Pierre Michel), Jacqueline Bisset (Countess Andrenyi), Wendy Hiller (Princess Dragomiroff), Vanessa Redgrave (Mary Debenham), Rachel Roberts (Hildegarde Schmidt), Colin Blakely (Hardman), Denis Quilley (Foscarelli), and Ingrid Bergman, who won the 1974 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Greta Ohlsson. Only minor changes were made for the film: Masterman was renamed Beddoes, the dead maid was named Paulette instead of Susanne, Helena Goldenberg became Helena Grünwald (which is German for "Greenwood"), Antonio Foscarelli became Gino Foscarelli, Caroline Martha Hubbard became Harriet Belinda Hubbard, and the train company's Belgian director, Monsieur Bouc, became instead an Italian director, Signor Bianchi. Whatever you unwrap for Christmas, you had better hope it’s this book. This is 21st-century cosy Christmas crime that doesn’t shy away from the darkness. Eighteen passengers, seven stops, one killer Christmas read' JANICE HALLETT

Cyrus Hardman: an American ex-policeman who was in love with Daisy's French nursery maid, who committed suicide after Daisy was killed. The light-hearted tone, cheerful banter, festive puzzles and the cover all suggest a Christmassy comfort read and the frequently darker content completely jars with that feel. The content simply doesn't match the tone.Barnard, Robert (1990). A Talent to Deceive – an appreciation of Agatha Christie. New York City: Fontana Books. pp.199–200. ISBN 0-00-637474-3. Roz is on her way to Fort William to support her daughter as she gives birth to Roz's first grandchild. But as usual, Roz can't be there when her daughter needs her most and neither mother nor baby are doing well. Roz is constantly and anxiously on the phone to her daughter's female partner, and all this stirs up memories of her fractious relationship with her own mother, especially during her mother's dying days. Murder in the Calais Coach". EBSCOhost. Archived from the original on 2 January 2014 . Retrieved 23 November 2012.

Arrive promptly at Pedley Street Station and be prepared to board. You’ll be seated in one of the train’s eight booths, with each booth seating eight guests. From the very moment you step aboard, be wary. Although a train journey seems innocent enough, the fact that the recently discovered Jewel of the Empire is being transported on your journey may throw a spanner or two in the works. Worse than the fact a precious diamond might go missing is the troubling rumour that someone on board has something much more ghastly planned. Everyone is a suspect on The Murder Express…including you! Agatha Christie's Poirot: Tom Conti, Sophie Okonedo, Paterson Joseph, Rula Lenska & Art Malik star in a new adaption of Murder on the Orient Express". An Audible Original Drama. 21 October 2017 . Retrieved 2 September 2018– via Seen It. Busch, Anita (5 January 2017). "Willem Dafoe Joins Ensemble Cast Of Fox's 'Murder On The Orient Express' ". Deadline Hollywood. Los Angeles, California: Penske Media Corporation . Retrieved 5 January 2017. Two less notable events helped inspire her novel: Agatha Christie's first journey on the Orient Express in late 1928, and a blizzard near Çerkezköy, Turkey, that marooned the Orient Express for six days just a few months later, in February 1929. [13]Ritman, Alex (5 December 2016). "Ballet Star Sergei Polunin Lands Roles in 'Murder on the Orient Express,' 'Red Sparrow' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Los Angeles, California: Eldridge Industries . Retrieved 5 December 2016. There were things I liked about it - the characters were amalgamated well into what was set up to be a modern take on the classic mystery-on-a-train Golden Age plot (yay!) Unfortunately, it wasn't particularly twisty, the solutions were unimaginative and some of the characters behaved in ridiculous ways. Willem Dafoe is latest addition to 'Murder on the Orient Express' all-star cast". AFP Relax. 6 January 2017 . Retrieved 7 January 2017. This is the perfect Christmas book. Get it for yourself to read when the nights are cold and dark and give it as a present. To everyone!’ MARTYN WAITES

Binge! Agatha Christie: Nine Great Christie Novels". Entertainment Weekly. No.1343–44. New York City: Meredith Corporation. 26 December 2014. pp.32–33. The setting is somewhat less exotic than the Orient Express - here it's the sleeper train from London to Fort William - but there's the same opportunity for a tight band of suspects and there's the convenience of a train that gets derailed in a snowstorm, isolating the suspects and the detective - in this case a newly retired Met detective inspector, heading up to Scotland because her daughter's about to give birth. Die ehemalige Polizisten Roz hat von ihren Kollegen eine Fahrt erster Klasse im Weihnachts-Express nach Schottland geschenkt bekommt. Sie möchte zu ihrer Tochter und deren Partnerin. Die beiden erwarten minütlich ihr erstes Kind und Roz hofft, pünktlich zur Geburt dort zu sein. Das Schneegestöber behindert jedoch den Bahnverkehr und der Zug startet mit Verspätung. Auf der Fahrt denkt Roz immer wieder an die Vergangenheit und dass sie es nicht leicht mit ihrer Mutter hatte und mit ihrer Tochter. Schottland soll ein Neuanfang werden. Nach und nach lernt sie die anderen Passagiere kennen. Einige sind ihr sofort sympathisch, auf andere Bekanntschaften könnte sie auch verzichten. Poirot Facsimile Edition (Facsimile of 1934 UK first edition), 4 September 2006, Hardcover, 256 pp. ISBN 0-00-723440-6Drawn by the festive cover and the promise of a snowbound train, and blizzards in the highlands of Scotland at Christmas time, I wasn’t disappointed and really enjoyed this book which is my first by the author. It’s well written, well paced and entertaining. Touching on some deeper subjects such as domestic violence, rape and victim blaming it does include some unexpectedly sensitive subjects , and the story took a turn I didn’t expect from the slightly romantic, christmassy who dunnit vibe of Agatha Christie’s festive murder on the orient express to touch upon more modern day issues, but they were well handled and woven expertly into the storyline. Cooper, John; Pyke, B A, eds. (1994). Detective Fiction – the collector's guide (2ed.). London, England: Scolar Press. pp.82, 86. ISBN 0-85967-991-8. Começou a todo o vapor mas depois perdeu fôlego. Foi um retelling do famoso Um Crime no Expresso do Oriente de Agatha Christie, que é um livro espetacular. Alexandra Benedict teve uma ideia mesmo muito boa. Sendo o primeiro livro, nota-se a sua inexperiência mas também uma carreira promissora e desejo-lhe toda a sorte.