Agatha Christie is incomparable and I'm a huge fan. My rating reflects the BBC dramatization only. This was a daily deal on Audible, and I couldn't resist the 99 cent price. It was a fun listen and very well done, but I would have preferred a simple narration of the book. ( )

The story concerns Linnet Doyle, one of the richest women in England, who travels to Egypt with her husband Simon for their honeymoon. The couple’s trip is marred by constantly running into Simon’s former fiancée Jacqueline De Bellefort, who was also Linnet’s best friend but now appears to be stalking the newlyweds. The three cruise down the Nile on the Karnak: the passenger list filled out by an array of socialites, servants, mysterious strangers and, of course, the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. There is, as the title suggests, a death (followed by several more) and various minor mysteries for Poirot and his old friend Colonel Race (who is there on the trail of a spy) to unravel.

The story is intricately plotted with its beauty contained in the to-the-second timing of everyone’s movements. Like a great magician, Christie is a master of distraction and keeps all but Poirot’s little grey cells busy pondering jewel thefts and legal shenanigans while the real murderer goes undetected. The characters, all of them, are vividly depicted, leaping from the page in rich imagery that might seem like a cliché until you realise Christie is the original who countless others have imitated. And of course there is the marvellous sense of place and the exotic atmosphere that the book exudes. ( )

I had expected this to be read rather than performed as a radio play. Once I got used to the format, I thoroughly enjoyed the story. This is only my second Agatha Christie and I think I liked the first (Ten Little Indians) better, but this was still entertaining and I didn't know "whodunit" until she told me! ( )