Nobody does a murder mystery better than Agatha Christie, and in Death on the Nile, Ms. Christie shows us exactly why she will hold the throne of Queen of this genre far into the next century--and that's if it's every taken from her.

To say too much about Death on the Nile would be a spoiler. It's Agatha Christie at her best, dropping clues, making readers believe what they see is precisely what they see. The suspects of Linnet Doyle's murder are apparent, but most of us know an Agatha Christie murder well enough that not all as it seems.

I read this book in my teens, and it's still fresh in my mind. What I love about Agatha Christie mysteries is that you are completely flabbergasted when the murderer is revealed. Even if your mind strayed to that person(s) once or twice during the book, you have good reason to dismiss them.

Linnet is not a particularly nice person and has made many enemies. Certainly her one-time best friend, whose fiance she is now married to, doesn't like her. Why mince words, Jacqueline despises her and seems to have gone off the deep end since Simon broke it off with her to marry Linnet.

But Linnet is rich and her trusted lawyer has been embezzling her funds and that money train is coming to an end with her recent marriage. Did I mention that Linnet isn't terribly nice? Well let me reiterate the point. She's not. Her maid has a bone to pick with her, too. As you can see the list just goes on. There are many people who would love to see Linnet ten feet under.

Hercule Poirot owes his sleuthing skills to being a keen observer. He notices what may appear to be the most insignificant things to us, but are clues to motivation and character. He understands the human psyche and that's what makes reading and watching him in action so great.

If you haven't read this book or watched the movie, you should. This is Agatha Christie at her genius best. Mysteries simply do not get better than this. ~ Beverley