From AudioFile
A Russian princess, a Hungarian count, a Swedish beauty, and an assortment of Americans, English and French are brought together on the elegant Orient Express. A brutal murder and an unexpected blizzard bring in the vacationing Hercule Poirot. The results are excellent. This BBC Radio dramatization is as thought-provoking as the original. The vocal characterizations, as diverse as the characters themselves, are appropriately dramatic. Actor John Moffatt is a forceful Poirot and leads the ensemble with style. With its attention to dialects, incidental music and pace, this is the perfect audio presentation for a road trip or a cozy day by a warm fire. M.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Vickie Sears
Murder on the Orient Express is a tour-de-force variation on the theme of the English house-party, gathering a remarkable set of characters, each a secretive soul, for a journey on the fabled Orient Express train as it travels from Istanbul to Paris. On hand to resolve the murder of an American passenger is Hercule Poirot, the dapper Belgian detective, dependent only on his wit, who tucks away obscure, seemingly unrelated minutiae in his facile mind. When he determines that the corpse was a renowned child kidnapper/killer, he begins to wonder about connections between the passengers and the victim. A misplaced button, overheard conversations, a monogrammed handkerchief, and an elusive figure clad in a scarlet kimono all become clues as Hercule Poirot interrogates the snow-trapped travelers and comes to his own conclusions. Murder on the Orient Express, with its skill plot construction, adroit writing, and thought-provoking revelations, reminds us that what is "just" is not always what is legal. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Just after midnight, a snowdrift stopped the Orient Ecpress in its tracks. The luxurious train was surprisingly full for the time of year, but by the morning there was one passenger fewer. An American lay dead in his compartment, stabbed a dozen times, his door locked from the inside...Red herrings galore are put in the path of Hercule Poirot to try to keep him off the scent, but in adramtic denouement he succeeds in coming up with not one but two solutions to the crime.

SYNOPSIS

Murder on the Orient Express. En route to Paris, Belgian detective Hercule Poirot has booked winter passage on the fabled Orient Express. Among the curious assortment of fellow passengers, one wealthy American holds a unique distinction: He has been found dead of multiple stab wounds in the night compartment of the Calais coach. By dawn, thirteen travelers, each bearing a secret, will find themselves suspect in the most ingenious crime Poirot has ever solved.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

This dramatization of Christie's famous murder mystery is admirably presented by the BBC. Hercule Poirot unravels a murder when the train from Istanbul to Paris--the Orient Express--is stopped by a snow drift in the Balkans. Using his flawless logic and innate ability to evaluate the evidence, Poirot solves the mystery and the dilemma faced by the occupants of the coach. The various narrators who portray the story's numerous characters are uniformly excellent, and the sound quality is good. Recommended for most mystery collections.-- Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., Providence

AudioFile - Don Wismer