Death on the Nile

⛰ What It's About

Linnet Doyle's got everything: money, charm and gorgeousness, but the kicker is that she isn't yet married. When Linett's best friend, Jacqueline, asks her to see her lover, Simon, in order to get him a job, Linnet falls in love with him and then they get married. After a while, Linnet Doyle goes to Egypt on a honeymoon with her best friend's ex-lover; they go on a Nile cruise, where a murder occurs. Unfortunately for the culprit(s), this particular Nile cruise has Hercule Poirot and Colonel Race abroad who unite to solve this mystery.

🧠 Thoughts

Christie in Egypt

Death on the Nile is loved and appreciated by many fans of Agatha Christie. This is not necessarily due to the intricate plot that was featured in the book, but because of, in my opinion, the ambience of the book; it makes you experience Egyptian vibes by travelling with the characters, through which you get to know more about Egypt. 

Christie's visit to Egypt inspired her to write this novel, I suppose. She first visited the country as a young woman in the winter of 1910. The experience had a clear impact on her as she wrote her first (unpublished) novel Snow Upon the Desert (1910) which was set in Cairo. Later, she drew further on her experience of life in Egypt and the experience of tourists visiting the country when writing the short story, The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb (1923) and, 14 years later, Death on the Nile.

Christie’s marriage to British archaeologist Max Mallowan in 1930 reinforced her fascination with the ancient Near East and ancient Egypt. The marriage – along with the financial success of her novels – provided her with a great opportunity to travel as a tourist and with her husband in the region, experiences which inspired her fictional Belgian detective's travels in Murder in Mesopotamia (1936), Death on the Nile (1937) and Appointment with Death (1938).

What I Didn't Like About It

In my opinion, the book has a lot of drawbacks that I'm going to discuss. First off, everyone can enter any room in the ship without a key. How the heck? Secondly, Christie introduced too many characters and I kind of got lost; although I finished the book, I couldn't tell Mr. Fanthorp and Mr. Furgeson apart. Thirdly, it took too long to get to the anticipated murder (4 hours in the audiobook). Some people might not see that as a drawback and view it as character build, but I disagree because the whole book is 8 hours long. Fourthly, the book spoiled A Murder on the Orient Express for me, so I recommend reading A Murder on the Orient Express before reading Death on the Nile to avoid spoilers.

--------------------- Death on the Nile spoilers ahead --------------------- 

The plot is a bit too overwhelming and has many side plots. First off, the criminal on the ship who was hunted by colonel Race. I don't understand this part's significance except maybe Christie wanted to make us think that this criminal a suspect of Linnet's murder although he has no motive. Second, Tim Allerton's theft; it is absolutely unnecessary! Third, why doesn't lord Dolish (assumed name: Mr. Furgeson) show his real identity? Moreover, Linnet had 3 visits the night of her death: Simon Doyle, Tim Allerton and Ms. Van Schuyler. A little bit too much? Fourth, Cornelia's engagement to Dr. Bessner and Mr. Furgeson's proposal to her were unnecessary and they added nothing to the plot. The thing that annoyed me the most about the plot is how did no one hear the second and the third shot, the one that killed Linnet and the other that really injured Simon? Someone might argue that Simon used the stole to cover the sound, but this is contradicted by a discussion earlier between Poirot and Race that a stole is hardly effective for covering up the sound of a shot. I asked about this supposed plot hole on reddit and I got an answer that hardly satisfied me: some people heard a shot then running, others heard running then a shot, which was people hearing different shots and different people running around the ship. Also, the saloon was quite far away from where anyone was sleeping so they probably didn't hear the two shots that were fired at the saloon. But this justification isn't reasonable to me because I can believe that anyone sleeping may not have heard the shots but what about the ones who were awake (Mr. Fanthorp and Cornelia)? They must've heard something!

Poirot's Soft Spot (Spoilers Ahead)

Poirot seems to have a soft spot for lovers/couples. He left Tim Allerton without arresting him or building a case against him, and he even gave him a chance to get rid of the evidence that convicted him (the fake pearl necklace). He also knew that Jacqueline had another pistol and although he anticipated that she'd shoot Simon and then herself (which eventually happened), he left the pistol with her.

Race shouted: ‘Where the devil did she get that pistol?’ Poirot felt a hand on his arm. Mrs Allerton said softly, ‘You – knew?’ He nodded.

Mrs Allerton said: ‘You wanted her to take that way out?’ ‘Yes. But she would not take it alone. That is why Simon Doyle has died an easier death than he deserved.’ said Poirot.

In the case of Tim Allerton, I think Poirot's view is that justice doesn't need to be served if the culprit isn't a murderer and if he wouldn't commit a similar crime again which fits Tim Allerton's case properly. And why wouldn't he commit a similar crime again, you say? Because first and foremost, Poirot knows about him and second, Poirot thought that his marriage to Ms. Otterborne would keep him occupied from theft. Also, Ms. Otterborne was a decent lady who wouldn't let him commit theft again of course.

We can conclude either that Poirot usually ignores the culprit in theft cases in which the stolen property was returned or that he cares more about exposing the truth than actually serving justice.

📌Quotes

“A man doesn't want to feel that a woman cares more for him than he cares for her. He doesn't want to feel owned, body and soul. It's that damned possessive attitude. This man is mine---he belongs to me! He wants to get away --- to get free. He wants to own his woman; he doesn't want her to own him.(Simon Boyle)”

"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.”

“They conceive a certain theory, and everything has to fit into that theory. If one little fact will not fit it, they throw it aside. But it is always the facts that will not fit in that are significant.”

“But then, how do you know?" "Because I am Hercule Poirot I do not need to be told.”

“Take the Pyramids. Great blocks of useless masonry, put up to minister to the egoism of a despotic bloated king. Think of the sweated masses who toiled to build them and died doing it. It makes me sick to think of the suffering and torture they represent." Mrs. Allerton said cheerfully: "You’d rather have no Pyramids, no Parthenon, no beautiful tombs or temples—just the solid satisfaction of knowing that people got three meals a day and died in their beds." The young man directed his scowl in her direction. "I think human beings matter more than stones.”

📺Tv Adaptations 

 1. Death on the Nile (1978)

2. Death on the Nile S09E03 from Agatha Christie's Poirot TV series.

📚 Related Books

Evil under the Sun is another novel which is extremely dependent on timing and circumstances.