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This is the book Dame Agatha hated!

1926 started out well for Agatha Christie. She was happily married and adored her young daughter. Her mysteries were achieving success and the money they brought in meant that the Christie family could live comfortably. Archie Christie was doing well in his career and enjoying his weekend golfing. All was good in the Garden.

Then her beloved mother died suddenly. In the midst of her grief, she tackled the monumental task of clearing fifty years worth of family treasures out of a huge house. After several weeks she knew she was close to physical and emotional collapse, but forced herself to go on. Then her husband arrived to announce that he was leaving her for another woman. It was a horrible time in her life.

Added to her stress was the need to write a book to make more money. Archie's salary wouldn't stretch to supporting two households. Suddenly she went from being a married woman who wrote books for fun to being a professional writer who HAD to write, even though she wasn't enjoying it at all . In her autobiography, she tells of the torture of composing this book while her little daughter distracted her. Every woman who's ever worked from home will sympathize.

Predictably, she never liked this book. The memories that surrounded its creation remained too raw, even at the end of her long life. It's not one of her best, but it's not as bad as she thought.

Desperate to publish a book and not feeling creative, she expanded a Hercule Poirot short story. There are the usual stock characters known to Christie fans. There's an American millionaire and, of course, he's a rough diamond - bluff, determined, and sometimes obtuse. His adored only child is a daughter. She's beautiful (of course) and as arrogant and single-minded as her father.

Ruth Van Aldin has only been denied one thing in her life - the right to marry the charming fortune hunter she fell in love with as a young girl. Now she's married to a impecunious British lord and it's hard to tell which of them is more bored with each other. Derek Kettering is amusing himself with an exotic French dancer named Mirelle. Ruth plans to divorce him, but what will she do then? She's thrilled with the fabulous rubies that her father has bought for her, but she wants to wear them to display her beauty to the man of her choice. The charming fortune hunter has resurfaced and this time the strong-minded heiress won't be denied.

Rufus Van Aldin's secretary is also a young Englishman, but with no money and no title. Boyishly handsome and universally popular, his background as a WWI war hero is excellent training for dealing with the Van Aldins and the people they attract. He's unfailingly conscientious and efficient, making the Van Aldin's lives run as smoothly as possible, but he can't stop them from being ruthless and reckless. Carrying her valuable rubies on the Blue Train to a Mediterranean resort is asking for trouble and Ruth gets some very serious trouble indeed.

Also on the Blue Train is Cinderella in the form of Miss Katherine Grey. A level-headed young woman, she's been companion to a wealthy old lady for years. Now she's inherited a unexpected fortune and she can buy beautiful clothes and visit exotic places. She and Ruth Van Aldin are as different as chalk and cheese, but many people find themselves confiding in strangers. Suddenly, Katherine is an important witness to a brutal crime.

And another passenger on the Blue Train is Hercule Poirot. He's on vacation, but quickly pressed into service by the train company executives. Like all businessmen, they want the case solved quickly and with as little bad publicity as possible.

Yes, the characters are two-dimensional and the plot is weary, but even at her lowest point, Christie cared about her characters and that shines through. She put in the usual plethora of suspects - the husband who will inherit, his greedy mistress, the charming wastrel who relieves love-blinded ladies of their treasures, and even a shadowy "master criminal" who has the police baffled. Who could it be?

I was surprised at the answer to that question, but it don't think it reflects badly on Mrs. Christie. I read old mysteries for their charm and I'm ALWAYS the last to figure out the solution. My apologies to the author, but I enjoyed this book. I hope you do, too!