Hercule Poirot was looking forward to enjoying a relaxing vacation in Egypt. Before he boarded a river cruise, he was approached by a couple (Linnet and Simon Doyle). The couple told him they were being followed by Jacqueline DeBellefort, Simon’s former fiance. Poirot told them there wasn’t much they could do, but he did end up confronting Jacqueline anyway. Jacqueline admitted to Poirot that she had originally intended to kill Linnet, but that she had decided against it and chose to simply follow them instead. During that conversation, she even showed Poirot the gun that she had planned to use for the murder and that she still carried with her.
On one of the cruise excursions, the passengers explored a temple. At one point, a boulder fell from the top of the temple, nearly hitting Linnet. It seemed as though someone pushed it intentionally, but no one knew who it was. Later, once they were all aboard the ship again, Simon and Jacqueline got into a heated argument about her following them. Jacqueline got so angry that she shot him. After that, she immediately dropped the gun and said that she didn’t mean to do it. Some of the passengers walked Jacqueline to her room, but when they came back to where Simon was shot, they couldn’t find the gun.
The next morning, when everyone woke up, they discovered Linnet had been murdered. Suddenly, Poirot has another murder to solve.
This book is suspenseful because you aren’t sure who the murderer is. As the story unfolds, Poirot gains more information as he attempts to piece together what actually happened that night. There are many twists and turns that you do not expect. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes mystery books. Agatha Christie is a great writer. As she drops clues, the reader is trying to solve the murder along with Moissuer Poirot. There are many red herrings to throw you off the trail of the real murderer.
If you like edge of your seat suspense, and books you don’t want to stop reading, this book is for you.
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