Audiobook Review: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie, narrated by David Suchet + Just Desserts reminder

Death on the Nile
by Agatha Christie, audiobook narrated by David Suchet (Compact Disc Christie – also available in Hoopla eAudiobook)

In the past couple of years, I made it a goal for myself to listen to all of the Hercule Poirot novels and short story collections by Agatha Christie, as audiobooks. The actor Hugh Fraser (who placed Captain Hastings in the long-running series of Poirot adaptations to television) narrates many of them, but for certain key titles, actor David Suchet (who played Poirot on television from 1989 to 2013) does the audio narration. That is the case with Death on the Nile.

 

Of all of Poirot’s famed cases, the two which are probably most recognizable to casual readers are Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. Death on the Nile is a twisty tale, with a group of characters all trapped on a luxury excursion boat on a tour of Egypt’s Nile river. When a wealthy young American heiress is murdered (following various threats against her), and her newlywed husband is badly injured, fellow passenger Hercule Poirot is called upon to solve the case. The suspects and motives are plenty. One of Christie’s other recurring sleuths, Col. Race, is also present to partner with Poirot. And the exotic location is put to good use.

Suchet’s voice as Poirot very effectively pulls you into the story, but it is his deftness at creating distinctive vocal personalities for every other character in the story that is truly amazing. I know that Kenneth Branagh narrated a new audiobook version in conjunction with his recent movie version of the story, but Suchet really inhabits Poirot much more successfully than Branagh, and I highly recommend his version of Death on the Nile. It is truly one of the “crown jewels” of Christie’s works.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Suchet’s audiobook version of Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. There have been multiple film/tv adaptations of this story, starring actors such as Peter Ustinov, David Suchet and Kenneth Branagh in the role of Poirot.)

 

( official Agatha Christie web site )

 

Read Kristen A.'s review of Death on the Nile in the February 2017 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

---

If you're a mystery fan, you're invited to join us for this month's Just Desserts meeting tonight, March 28th, at 6:30 p.m. in the 4th floor auditorium of the Bennett Martin Public Library downtown at 14th & "N" St. -- this mystery-themed discussion group meets on the last Thursday of each month, January through October.

Tonight, we'll be discussing the the first six entries in the Flavia de Luce series by British author Alan Bradley.

 

Even if you haven't read any of the Flavia de Luce entries for this specific discussion, you can still participate, and learn about other great new mysteries to try! For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts

DVD Review: Death on the Nile (2022)

Death on the Nile (2022)
(DVD Death)

Following the success of Kenneth Branagh’s first film outing as Hercule Poirot, Murder on the Orient Express (2017), the actor/director returned to the part for a second sleuthing in 2022’s Death on the Nile. Like Orient Express, Death on the Nile was jam-packed with a large cast of recognizable modern-day film stars, including Gal Gadot, Annette Bening, Russell Brand, Tom Bateman, Letitia Wright, Sophie Okonedo, Emma Mackey, Armie Hammer, Rose Leslie, Jennifer Saunders and Dawn French…and more. The cinematography, costuming and set design are all top notch, as are many of the performances.

 

However, just like Orient Express before it, director Branagh and screenwriter Michael Green have chosen to make major changes to the cast of characters from the classic novel by Agatha Christie – altering some characters names/backgrounds, combining others, and simply excising some entirely. This makes reviewing this film complicated – I’m a Christie purist, and on that level, this is something of a butchering of her story. On the other hand, this is, visually, a beautiful film on screen and the good performances do a lot to salvage the mangling of the original story. But, on the whole, despite loving Kenneth Branagh in pretty much anything else he has been in, he is just NOT Hercule Poirot, and the inclusion of a completely fabricated explanation for his lustrous mustache (connected in part to a tragic love story in Poirot’s past), drops my opinion of Death on the Nile from an 8 to a 6 in my eye. I really wanted to like this film more than I did, so I’m disappointed in the creative choices the film-makers made. However, if you’re not as familiar with the source material, you may find a lot to admire in this beautiful-looking film.

 

(Obviously, you should read the original novel by Agatha Christie. The adaptation of this story as part of the Poirot TV series, with David Suchet as the Belgian detective, was well done — available in the 9th season DVD set. And, while I’m also not a fan of Peter Ustinov’s 6-film stint as Poirot, his version of Death on the Nile is definitely a superior adaptation of Christie’s story, and is also visually sumptuous – fortunately, the libraries have that on DVD and Hoopla streaming.)

 

(Also available in traditional print format.)

 

( Internet Movie Database entry for this film ) | ( official Death on the Nile page on the studio’s web site )

 

See Scott C.’s review of the 1974 film version of Murder on the Orient Express in the October 2012 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!
See Scott C’s review of the 2017 film version of Murder on the Orient Express in the March 2018 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

Audiobook Review: The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

The Mysterious Affair at Styles

by Agatha Christie, audiobook narrated by David Suchet (Compact Disc Christie)

 

Having had the honor of performing as Hercule Poirot in a 2018 production of the Agatha Christie play “Black Coffee” at the Lincoln Community playhouse, I am hoping to also audition for that role in a production of “Murder on the Orient Express” at the Community Players theater in Beatrice in a few months. As part of my preparations for auditioning, I wanted to retrain myself in the sound of Poirot’s unusual French/Belgian accent, especially as captured by actor David Suchet in his long-running take on that character in the television series Agatha Christie’s Poirot.

 

Therefore, I decided to listen to several of the Poirot novels in audiobook form, staring with those that are actually narrated/performed by Suchet himself. The libraries have audiobook versions of nearly all of the 33 Poirot novels, but only 6 with narration by Suchet. (Curiosly enough, actor Hugh Fraser, who portrayed Poirot’s English friend and companion, Captain Hastings, in the TV series, is the more common Christie audiobook narrator). As it happens, Suchet DID do this audiobook adaptation of Poirot’s very first appearance, in The Mysterious Affair at Styles (originally published in 1920).

 

Suchet does a remarkable job of creating unique vocal characteristics for every single character in the story, both male and female. But it is his bringing to life of the eccentric little Belgian detective that makes this such a charming production. The novel itself is, of course, a classic of the mystery genre, and holds up fairly well after over 100 years. But it is Suchet’s vocal talents that are on full display in this book-on-CD.

 

Still highly recommended, even after this much time!

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try any other Suchet-narrated Poirot novels by Agatha Christie, or the story collection The Complete Hercule Poirot by Agatha Christie — all the short stories featuring this character!)

 

( official Agatha Christie web site )

 

See also Kristin A’s earlier review of The Mysterious Affair at Styles in the November 2015 Staff Recommendations here on BookGuide!

See many more similar reviews on our specialized Agatha Christie Reviews page!

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you read or listened to this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

DVD Review: The Witness for the Prosecution (2016)

The Witness for the Prosecution
based on the short story by Agatha Christie (DVD Witness)

I’ve never seen the original 1957 film, Witness for the Prosecution, starring Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton, despite being a life-long fan of Agatha Christie. Both that film and this TV-movie, are based on a Dame Agatha short story, originally published as “Traitor’s Hands” in the UK in 1925, and subsequently reprinted under the more familiar title. Christie also adapted her story as a full-length stage play, which premiered in 1953. Billy Wilder and his creative partners adapted it again for the feature film, and it has been adapted several times for television in both the UK and US.

 

This 2016 was written by Sarah Phelps and directed by Julian Jerrold, and goes places the previous versions did not. Set in the early 1920s, the mystery revolves around the brutal murder of a socialite, ostensibly by Leonard Vole, a much younger man (a recent WWI veteran) who she had been using as a gigolo. Despite the victim’s maid’s assertions that Vole killed her, he says his “wife”, a dance-hall girl, can provide his alibi. Vole’s attorney takes the case to court, only to have the “wife” turn on Vole and provide testimony on behalf of the prosecution in the case. But there are still more twists and turns to come.

 

The performances in this teleplay version of The Witness for the Prosecution were superb, with great work from Kim Cattrall as the victim, Monica Dolan as the maid, and Andrea Riseborough as Romaine, the “wife”. Billy Howle as Vole was hit-or-miss. But the film’s real star is the diminutive Toby Jones as Vole’s desperate attorney, John Mayhew. The film-makers actually turned this into Mayhew’s story, more than those more central to the mystery itself. This is a double-edged sword — Peters easily carries the film as the main character, but if you’re a purest and wish to see an accurate and fair adaptation of Christie’s actual story, this misses the mark.

 

Production design is great, but I had serious issues with how dark and muddy the cinematographers chose to make everything — 2/3rds of the film seem murky and foggy, and I ended up being very frustrated — I wanted to see the actors’ expressions and most of the time that was difficult. Ultimately, I can only give this adaptation of The Witness for the Prosecution a 6 out of 10 on BookGuide’s rating scale — there’s lots to recommend it, but also lots to be annoyed with. Your mileage may vary.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the 2015 video adaptation of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, by the same production team.] [Also available in traditional print format.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this TV-movie ] | [ official BBC The Witness for the Prosecution web site ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

Have you watched this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide Blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!

 

Hey mystery fans! Don't miss this month's Just Desserts mystery fiction discussion group discussion of the works of Elly Griffiths. The April 2021 Just Desserts meeting, tonight at 6:30 p.m. on Zoom. For more information, check out the Just Desserts schedule at https://lincolnlibraries.org/bookguide/book-groups/#justdesserts

Book Review: Murder, She Said - The Quotable Miss Marple by Agatha Christie

Murder, She Said
based on works by Agatha Christie (823 Chr)

This is a charming little collection of quotations of lines from the Miss Marple novels and short stories by Agatha Christie, a companion volume to the similar Little Grey Cells: The Quotable Poirot, which highlighted the character of Hercule Poirot, her other great detective. Though there are far fewer Marple novels and stories than Poirot, the editors of this collection still manage to assemble a surprisingly thought-provoking selection — broken down into a variety of categories addressing relationships, motive, and Marple’s views on herself. This should appeal to anyone who’s a Christie fan, or even just the casual mystery reader who wants some more insight into one of the most recognizable sleuths in this literary genre.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try Little Grey Cells: The Quotable Poirot and Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories, both by Agatha Christie.]

[ official Murder She Said page on the official Agatha Christie web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewer’s recommendations!