Appointment with Agatha July 2022
Christie wrote unpleasant people with relish! This novel is awash with them and I enjoyed them enormously. I was willing to believe any of them could be the murderer, no doubt as Christie intended. It seemed that motives could be designed for many of them and I spent time suspecting several of them and I was always wrong. I should have known better—whenever Christie makes a suspect obvious you can pretty much cross them off your list.
The tight confines of the boat on the Nile reminded me of the earlier Poirot novel Murder on the Orient Express. The detective himself even references that train trip, no doubt to provide another red herring to the reader. The fortunate appearance of Colonel Race gives Poirot the sidekick that he needs to ‘discuss' his thought processes with, so that we can know what the little grey cells are up to.
I think my favourite character, however, was Ferguson, the belligerent socialist. His sudden determination to marry Cornelia Robson made me laugh, as did her reaction. Poirot's casual reveal of Ferguson's true identity to Cornelia's odious cousin was icing on that little cupcake, especially when Cornelia makes the obvious choice, freeing herself from servitude.
Once again, Christie doesn't require her murderer to face justice, much more common for her than I'd realized before beginning this reading program. I find that a fascinating aspect of her authorial character.
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