Murder on the Orient Express

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Tom Conti, Jane Asher, Ruta Gedmintas, Walles Hamonde, Paterson Joseph, Rula Lenska, Art Malik, Eddie Marsan, Sophie Okonedo

Length: 5 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

Winner of the 2018 CAMEO Book to Audio Award

What begins as a routine journey on the luxurious Orient Express soon unfurls into Agatha Christie's most famous murder mystery. On board is the famous detective Hercule Poirot, and one man who, come morning, will be found dead, his compartment locked from the inside.

This Audible Original dramatisation follows the train as it's stopped dead in its tracks at midnight. The train's stranded passengers soon become suspects as the race to uncover the murderer begins before he or she strikes again.

This all-star production features lead performances from Tom Conti (The Dark Knight Rises, Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence) as Hercule Poirot, Sophie Okonedo (After Earth, Hotel Rwanda and Ace Ventura) and Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes, V for Vendetta and Hancock) plus a full supporting cast and even sound effects recorded on the Orient Express itself.

Starring: Tom Conti as Hercule Poirot, Sophie Okonedo as Mary Debenham, Paterson Joseph as Colonel Arbuthnot, Walles Hammonde as Hector Macqueen, Jay Benedict as Monsieur Bouc, Jane Asher as Mrs Hubbard, Rula Lenska as Princess Dragonioff, Ruta Gedmintas as Countess Andrenyi, Eddie Marsan as Ratchett and Art Malik as the Narrator.

Also featuring: Marie Rabe, John Chancer, Cedric Cirotteau, Andreas Karras, Barnabas Reti, Cristina Catalina, Greg Canestrari, Harry Hadden-Paton, Christope Delesques, Atilla Akinci, Hakan Silahsiz and Jeff Gerard.

©1934 Agatha Christie (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

Critic Reviews

"With a perfect accent and professional ease, Tom Conti becomes one of the most-beloved detectives in fiction, Hercule Poirot.... The entire cast has a wonderful time playing off Conti as the detective interviews the suspects one by one.... Even those who know this classic's clever ending will enjoy the production." (AudioFile)

A Classic Mystery, dramatized by Audible

Important note - This is a dramatized audio book, not a direct reading of the novel. Which means, this is a novel acted out by a full cast of actors, and is slightly shorter than the full reading would be. Personally, I LOVE dramatized audio, but some may not. Listen to the sample to see what it's like.

Ok, my review: I love Agatha Christie, and have listened to most of the Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot classics, either the full version or the dramatized version. I have also read and listened to (and watched!) Murder on the Orient Express, so, while this is an amazing classic mystery, I actually knew the story. And I still loved it! The characters are so rich, the acting is superb, and Poirot is such a delightful treat at any time.

This book throws no surprises, and sticks exactly to the plot of the novel.

This is an Audible Original dramatized book; there is an earlier dramatized version available, by the BBC and featuring John Moffat as Poirot here:

https://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Dramatised-Audiobook/B0042GI7CG/ref=a_search_c4_1_1_srTtl?qid=1509979055&sr=1-1

You may also opt for the full novel instead. There is one read by Kenneth Branagh here on Audible.com here

https://www.audible.com/pd/Mysteries-Thrillers/Murder-on-the-Orient-Express-Movie-Tie-in-Audiobook/B07664YTBY/ref=a_search_c4_1_3_srTtl?qid=1509979010&sr=1-3

67 of 70 people found this review helpful

Very Entertaining But Not an Unabridged Book.

I found the performance quite enjoyable but I prefer unabridged audiobooks so I own both versions. I look forward to listening to the full story soon so I can better judge this abridged audiobook. The Poirot performance was uniquely done. His reactions of amused chuckles were unexpected but interesting.

21 of 23 people found this review helpful

Amazing - I couldn't stop listening to it

Very few audio books hold my attention to where I don't want to stop and this is one of them. The story is excellent - A classic Agatha Christie - I will not give anything away except - expect the unexpected if you are not familiar with Agatha Christie and/or this classic novel.

The performance is amazing, keeping the listener engaged and anticipating the next part of the puzzle.

I hope Audible creates more Audible Original Dramas and wish there were more like it.

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

Fun Listen - Not the Actual Book

This is a fun listen - Tom Courtenay as Poirot is reason enough - but it is actually more of a radio play than an audible experience of Christie's book. If you want something quick and light, this will work, but if you want the real book, there are other versions you can listen to.

17 of 20 people found this review helpful

Classic revisited with an ensemble

As far as the story itself: I had to remind myself that this was first published in 1934, and since then how many authors have borrowed Ms. Christie's cleverness. It is dated, but stands up when read in the spirit of its time. The setting of the Orient Express blocked in a snow storm felt perfectly claustrophobic and sinister; a great setting for the murderous deeds to come. The characters are like looking at a bag of glistening gems, each one beautifully colored, rich and faceted! It's hard not to see this story play out in your mind with every word Christie wrote

As far as the performance: I am a fan of the ensemble performances in most cases. I find them very entertaining, but sometimes the shift of character can seem jarring. This version was good, but not without a few notable faults that seem mostly technical. The sound effects team seemed like they just didn't fully commit to letting us have the full audio experience...were those sound effects I heard or just bad editing...was that a door shutting or something falling in the recording studio? I didn't detract any points for the effort, just am mentioning this so buyers know what to expect. It still added a little excitement to hear a train whistle or approaching steps. Overall a fun and entertaining experience.

Accents: Good news/bad news. Tom Conti as Hercule Poirot -- good acting but his accent was at times difficult to understand (perhaps because he is a Scottish actor doing a Belgian detective; perhaps because we are used to British actor David Suchet's portrayal for 25 yrs.) He almost seemed to be strangling on his accent in the beginning. His personal dialogues are half whispered with an echo-y effect added making them particularly difficult to understand. It gets smoother, stay with it.

For fans and those familiar with the story a good purchase, otherwise I would say read the text first and then if you enjoy that, try this production.

15 of 19 people found this review helpful

Old Time Radio

It reminded me of listening to radio theater before TV became popular.
Lots of fun! !!l

8 of 10 people found this review helpful

change in volume makes version hard to understand

This version has 2 volumes within the story line. The change in volume makes it too difficult to understand part of the story. I will be listening to a different version of this book

8 of 11 people found this review helpful

Loved this production!

This was a very pleasurable listen. The voices were all great and the story intriguing.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Enjoyed

It kept me entertained and I had never actually heard this famous story the different voices were good

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Magnifique!

I’ve read the book and seen the beautiful movie, but the audible version is just splendid! Such a joy! I heard it in short segments, but it would be wonderful to listen to on a long trip. Highly recommended!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

All-star Poirot!

Being a big fan of audible's original dramatisation series (passenger 57, the child etc) I was looking forward to listening to this adaptation of a modern classic and boy was I not disappointed.

I'll admit that I have never read any of Agatha Christie's work up until now (I know, shame on me) but I certainly will be from now on, as I can now see plainly that I've been missing out.

Entertaining and enveloping, strap on tight as you board the Orient express because this has more twists than a formula one racing track. Absolutely 10/10.

13 of 15 people found this review helpful

Smashing!

Loved it. A first class cast recording. Tom Conti highly believable. Jane Asher a revelation. Very well done

12 of 14 people found this review helpful

When's the next one Audible, please soon?

Although ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ is one of Agatha Christie’s more well known books, my view is it works better in a visual rather audio format. The problem is that after the murder is discovered the majority of the story is then played out in the dining compartment as Poirot interviews the passengers. Without the backdrop of the snow and decor of the Orient Express to keep you enthralled, the story begins to plod. Though I can understand why this story was chosen as it links with the new film, of the same name, starring Kenneth Branagh. It is still an ingenious story, but there are better ones.

Anything bad? Nope not bad, I did really enjoy it, though found some of the minor cast accents a little wobbly - they didn’t always seem authentic, some syllables sounded English/ Welsh.

After so many years with David Suchet depicting Poirot, it took a little time to adjust Tom Conti, but I do hope Audible will dramatise many more books so that he cements himself as the character.

15 of 18 people found this review helpful

Murder

a great story very enjoyable, and I did not guess the murderer. A great book

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Just brilliant! Perfect!

Perfectly read one of the best stories ever.
Characters actually have character. Great acting. Strongly recommended.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Kept me guessing

My mom had been a long time fan of Agatha Christie’s books but this is the first I have read. Tom conti was brilliant as hercule poriot and even when I thought I had worked it out, I was no where near.
I look forward to more Agatha Christie audio books

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Really interesting story and loved the performance

What did you like most about Murder on the Orient Express?

Had me gripped, loved the characters, the performance and the production

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The twist was excellent, the whole book had me on edge and itching to listen to more!

Any additional comments?

Wouldn't normally choose a book like this but really glad I gave it a go, highly recommend

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

invigorating and captive

Absolutely loved it! Better than the 2017 movie playing in theatres. Sounds were crisp and I felt transported during the story...as if I were on the train!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Great Story!

my first Agatha Christie book, love it and it was really well performed! highly recommended!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Excellence!!!

Loved the story and the performance of the actor's/actresses. Enjoyed every minute of listening to it.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful