A gem of a mystery (The Mystery of the Blue Trai - Agatha Christie)

Member Name: marlowe

Product:	The Mystery of the Blue Trai - Agatha Christie
Date:	26/03/09 (130 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good storyline, interesting characters.

Disadvantages: Some contrived coincidences

The lives of Katherine Grey and Ruby Kettering could not, for years, be more different from each other. A poorly paid and hard worked companion to an elderly woman, Katherine had seen the last ten years of her life living a safe if rather dull existence in the small village of St Mary Mead (incidentally this story does not feature Miss Marple in any way). In contrast to this Ruby Kettering knew of only luxury, devoted upon by her father who had recently bought her some rubies known as "The Heart of Fire" and able to buy whatever she wanted, if it was not for the unamicable separation between her and her husband and her attempts to keep her new liasons with a former partner hidden from her father, then she would have no concerns. Yet the death of Miss Harfield, the woman Katherine was companion to, saw the surprising revelation that she had bequeathed all her money to Katherine. Suddenly Katherine found herself able to afford luxuries she had previously only dreamed of and the decision was made to take a trip to Nice to visit some cousins, a journey which was to involve a ride on the luxurious Blue Train from Calais. By some coincidence Ruby Kettering was also on the train and the two women had a brief conversation. In most cases that was all the involvement that Katherine would ever have had with Ruby, yet matters were to take a far more sinister turn. When Ruby is discovered dead in her carriage shortly afterwards, the cause is clearly murder. The motive is initially believed to be robbery, as her jewels have been stolen, yet when it is discovered that her estranged husband is also on the train he becomes one of the prime suspects for her death, especially as he is in dire financial straits. Moreover, the reunited lover of Ruby, one Comte de la Roche is also a strong candidate for the role of murderer and, of course, there are other possible suspects as well. It is evident that the case may not be as straightforward as initially appears, but fate has ensured that Hercule Poirot will also be travelling on the Blue Train and the case interests him enough to come out of recently imposed retirement. Agreeing to let Katherine Grey help him in the investigation, the detective sets forth to unravel a crime that is harrowing and which reveals the killer to have no scruples.

Published in 1928, "The Mystery of the Blue Train" is an extended version of a previous short story known as "The Plymouth Express". Mindful of the fact that this might lead to people realising early on what had happened, Christie has ensured that a strong element of mystery is retained by changing the character of the murderer. Otherwise, certain basic elements remain the same, the rich heiress and wealthy American magnate, the estranged husband, the jewels and the train journey are all present. Due to the increased length the characters of all three, either directly or spoken of by others, are expanded significantly and, in the case of Derek Kettering, the husband, allows us to see a more rounded view of his personality and this presents him in a more sympathetic light. Moreover, the novel gains greater depth with the inclusion of Katherine Grey and the impact of not only the murder, but also her newly acquired wealth.

Through reading this novel it is apparent that Christie has once again provided the reader with a range of personalities, some of whom remind us of other characters in different works and others who seem to be rather more original. Katherine Grey, for example, should, going by other Christie narratives, be similar to Anne Beddingfeld or Bundle Brent. Caught up in a mystery, it is usual for other main female characters of Christie's to pitch in and subject themselves to daring exploits, risking death or injury on numerous occasions. Katherine, on the other hand, does not do this. She is calm, willing to talk to people and to watch out for things, but the element of frenetic investigation so common in many of the other female personalities within the other stories is missing in this case. It is clear, of course, that she is not the primary detective, that role belongs to Poirot and, as a consequence, this may account for the more subdued role which Katherine plays. And yet, despite this, her position within the story is not reduced and her abilities to reason and work out what is occurring result in her eventually coming to the same conclusions as the identity of the murderer as Poirot does. It is regrettable that Christie should have seen fit to include a pseudo - supernatural element to Katherine's initial suspicions, but it is up to the reader whether we are meant to take that literally, or consider it may have just been her subconscious directing her attention in the right direction.

With reference to the other characters, elements of Linnet Doyle can be seen in Ruby Kettering and it may be that the latter was to be the inspiration to the former. Accustomed to getting her own way, spoilt and never considering her actions might place her in danger, Ruby Kettering commences her appearance in the novel seeming fairly innocous yet is revealed later on to be harder and more egoistical than was initially believed. As Derek Kettering announces to his father in law: "she's tough, you know. Underneath the pink and white white softness of her she's as hard as granite. You have always been known as a hard man, so I have been told, but Ruth is harder than you are. You, at any rate, love one person better than yourself. Ruth never has and never will." Although we may infer that these are the words of a man caught up in a bitter separation, as the novel progresses a deeper element to Derek's personality is revealed, indicating it is likely he was speaking the truth about Ruth.

Derek himself is a complicated person within the novel. Seen as somewhat of a cad to start with, he redeems himself significantly later on due to his words and behaviour. His decision to have nothing more to do with the petulant and openly mercenary Mirelle, for example, is testament to the changes he is undergoing and his realisation that he wants more from a relationship than Mirelle is prepare to offer him. His refusal to be bought off by Rufus Van Aldin, his father in law, is one indication of this, as is his furious reaction at the endeavours of the Comte to blackmail him. He reminds us a little of Lance Fortescue or Ralph Patton, though there are differences inherent. Moreover, he provides a contrast between himself and the Conte de la Roche. That man, in similarity to the same person in "The Plymouth Express", is a person for whom it is difficult to find any liking for. Unscrupulous, self serving and generally thoroughly unpleasant, he imposes a superficial charm on others which does little to deceive the reader.

Rufus Van Aldin is a man who is forced to come to the devastating conclusion that no amount of money can bring him everything he wants. When his daughter is murdered then the only thing he can hope for is retribution for her killer. Powerful due to his personality and his wealth he has been used for years to getting what he wants and using his position to influence and threaten others. When the events of the Blue Train occur the realisation that, in this respect, he is weakened by the acknowledgment that nothing can bring his daughter back.

The psychology of the murder in this novel can be compared to the situation in "Death on the Nile", whereby it is one which has been carefully planned but which can only take place within a very limited time frame. Relying significantly upon luck and timing the murderer takes a huge risk in accomplishing the task they have set themselves. It is apparent, therefore, that they are a person who likes to take risks and who acts swiftly often without thinking of the consequences, or perhaps that they are so assured of their scheme that they can conceive of nothing going wrong with it.

Poirot adapts his usual methods of logic and painstaking deductions alongside his abilities to be aware of the personalities of people in order to uncover the killer in "The Mystery of the Blue Train". As with "Peril at End House" his initial suspicions occur when he questions a statement made to him and begins to look at the person who will eventually be identied as the murderer in a different way. There is some firm evidence to back up his suppositions, assisted by Scotland Yard and the French Police force yet the credit for the discovery must be given to Poirot. Without Hastings by his side he relies instead on the thoughts and words of Katherine and on his questions to his vale, Georges, a man imminently capable of his position yet lacking the imagination that Hasting possessed.

Whilst the majority of this story progresses at a good pace, there are aspects of it which seem, in the case of the murder at least, to be rather irrelevant and relying too much on coincidence. That Katherine should see Derek at the Savoy and then on the Blue Train is a little far fetched, but the idea that he should be well known to the cousins she is staying with in Nice is taking the coincidences a little too far. It allows us to gain another opinion of Derek, but is seems too contrived to be agreeable. Furthermore, the passages involving Lady Tamplin, Chubby and Lennox, could, in the sense of the murder, been happily eradicated from the narrative. However, it is probable that "The Mystery of the Blue Train" is to be seen as two stories. The main one, of course, being the killing of Ruth Kettering and subsequent investigation. The other one is the story of Katherine Grey's life and how how new wealth influences, if it does at all, her life from then on. The comparison between herself and the life which Lady Tamplin is accustomed to living is clearly set out and as the story continues it becomes clear that Katherine will have to realise just what she wants to do with herself.

To conclude, this is one of Christie's works which has the advantage of not only having an interesting plot, but also a good twist to it. Whilst aspects of it will be very familiar to those who have read "The Plymouth Express", nevertheless there is enough originality in it to keep the reader's attention. Failing to score full marks due to the coincidences which seem too contrived, it is, on the whole, a good choice to consider.

Summary: Worth reading