Murder on the Orient Express

The setup is iconic: a luxury train trapped in a snowdrift in the middle of nowhere, a man found dead with twelve stab wounds, and a carriage full of people from every walk of life who all seem to have air-tight alibis. As Hercule Poirot says when he realizes the scale of the puzzle:

"The impossible could not have happened, therefore the impossible must be possible in spite of appearances."

Now, let's talk like critics. The biggest problem with this book is the middle section. If you aren't a fan of repetitive interviews, you might find it a slog. Poirot spends chapter after chapter just sitting in a chair, asking twelve different people the same questions about when they went to sleep and if they saw a woman in a red kimono. It can feel more like a police report than a novel at times.

Also, the coincidence level is off the charts. Every single passenger on that train happens to be connected to the same kidnapping case from years ago? It's a massive "suspension of disbelief" ask. But, and this is a big "but," the ending is so emotionally charged and morally complex that it makes you forget all the logic gaps. It’s one of the few mysteries that actually makes you think about the nature of justice vs. the law.