Poirot's Three Hour Tour: Death on the Nile | 1937

(image from here)

"Do not open your heart to evil."

Her lips fell apart; a look of bewilderment came into her eyes.

Poirot went on gravely:

"Because — if you do — evil will come…Yes, very surely evil will come…It will enter in and make its home within you, and after a little while it will no longer be possible to drive it out."
[#thenightisdarkandfullofterrors]

-Death on the Nile, p. 64

The Sum of It:
Papa Poirot is on vacay again, this time in Egypt. And, of course, he is surrounded by a vast host of rich and interesting people…most of whom have rich and interesting secrets. At the center of the drama is The Epic Love Triangle of Jacqueline, Simon, and Linnet. Gorgeous, uber-wealthy Linnet Ridgeway has married former bestie Jacqueline de Bellefort's ex-fiancee, Simon Doyle. Jacqueline says he was STOLEN away, Linnet and Simon say tough, they fell in love instead and Jacqueline needs to get over it. Linnet and Simon are on their dream honeymoon around the world, including an extended stay in Egypt, with the definitely NOT OVER IT Jacqueline constantly showing up and totally ruining the mood. Poirot comes in to the middle of this mess and is implored by Linnet and Simon to MAKE JACKIE STOP. Poirot refuses to take this situation on as a case by basically saying uh…what am I supposed to do?, but feels kind of sorry for Jacqueline, as he believes she is truly hurt by the turn of events. BUT he suggests Jackie does quit her weird stalking obsession because he is afraid she will just keep continuing down a very dark path.

Of course Jacqueline doesn't listen to Poirot's advice, and travels along with/continues to harass the newlyweds, Poirot, and a bunch of other characters on a Nile river cruise. What could go wrong? Of course Jackie gets crazy drunk one night, pulls out a gun, and shoots her #boo Simon in the knee. And if that isn't dramatic enough (cue crashing breakfast tray and screaming maid), Linnet is found #MURDERED the next morning! As guilty as everyone would assume Jackie is, she has a watertight alibi for the whole night. But never fear, the boat is full of many other suspects (most of whom had suspicious grudges with poor, dead Linnet), including a drunken romance novelist, a shady American lawyer, a grumpy Communist, and disgruntled French maid. Poirot teams up with old pal Colonel Race #cardsonthetable (also conveniently on board!) to solve the crime as the boat continues its deadly cruise down the Nile.

The YOA Treatment:
SO YEAH we loved this one. It is Agatha at her finest, with a gorgeous exotic setting, a host of fascinating characters, hysterical women, expensive jewelry, Americans who say things like "now see here!", and your regular mind blowing plot twist. The setting is one of our fave parts — Anyone who can make it through Death on the Nile without desperately wanting to take an exotic vacation with Poirot is lying to themselves. One of the things we love most about Poirot (particularly if he must be sans Hastings) is his love of the lavish holiday. Not only do his voyages give colorful settings to his stories, but allow for an eclectic bunch of characters that wouldn't always make sense in the country home or London where we usually find Hercule Poirot. Death on the Nile is no exception. All that grisly murder aside, we would be more than thrilled to sail through Egypt with Poirot…and okay if we are being totally honest we would love to help him solve a crime or two as well...

We would be remiss if we did not take a brief moment to discuss the film adaptations that have been made of Death on the Nile. Many of our friends on #bookstagram have noted the AMAZINGNESS that is the the 1978 version starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot, Mia Farrow as a terrifyingly dramatic Jacqueline de Bellefort, Bette Davis as Mrs. Van Schuyler, a young and spunky DAME MAGGIE SMITH as Miss Bowers (already practicing sassy lines for her #DowagerCountess role), Angela Lansbury as Salome Otterbourne, and many others! That music! Those (Oscar-winning!!) costumes! That tango scene! While David Suchet remains forever #ThePoirot of our hearts, Peter Ustinov is also surprisingly delightful as the great Belgian sleuth. There is, of course, an equally wonderful David Suchet adaptation from 2004 with a totally glamorous Americanized Emily Blunt as Linnet which we also adore. Have any of you seen both adaptations? Which one is your favorite?

-A. & E.