Mystery Review: Death on the Nile is one of her best and here Christie brings more big mystery energy than usual while simultaneously ramping up the romance. Sort of a three weddings and five funerals kind of thing. She presents a wide cast sprinkled with her effortless twists, turns, and red herrings. This is one of her overseas (or colonial) excursions where Christie seems to feel a little freer to let it all hang out. At heart this is one of her darker books. The characters get a little more background than usual and the mystery is top drawer. Two caveats. First, I guessed the perp early, which I don't usually do. If the solution is apparent to most readers I'd consider this a flaw. I assume, however, most won't solve it easily and I just suffered a misfiring neuron. Second caveat. Less than an hour after finishing Death on the Nile I watched the Kenneth Branagh adaptation. It's certainly Great Gatsby glitzy (for no obvious reason) and over the top, but very much a disappointment as there's little genuine Poirot or Christie to be found while the book's plot was needlessly modified and simplified. If not jarring, awkward, and pointless, the movie's Sister Rosetta Tharp homage would've been its only saving grace. Other than that Death on the Nile is the Queen of Mystery in top form. [5★]
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