The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford

The Woman on the Orient Express by Lindsay Jayne Ashford
My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars

Hoping to make a clean break from a fractured marriage, Agatha Christie boards the Orient Express in disguise. But unlike her famous detective Hercule Poirot, she can’t neatly unravel the mysteries she encounters on this fateful journey.

Agatha isn’t the only passenger on board with secrets. Her cabinmate Katharine Keeling’s first marriage ended in tragedy, propelling her toward a second relationship mired in deceit. Nancy Nelson—newly married but carrying another man’s child—is desperate to conceal the pregnancy and teeters on the brink of utter despair. Each woman hides her past from the others, ferociously guarding her secrets. But as the train bound for the Middle East speeds down the track, the parallel courses of their lives shift to intersect—with lasting repercussions.

Filled with evocative imagery, suspense, and emotional complexity, The Woman on the Orient Express explores the bonds of sisterhood forged by shared pain and the power of secrets.

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I didn't have a clue what the book was about when I started to read this book. I thought this book would have some kind of mystery that that would inspire Agatha Christe to write one her mystery books. It wasn't until I had read perhaps half the book that I read the blurb and I'm glad that I did not read it before because I thought it gave away a little too much for my taste. I preferred to discover key events rather than knowing before I start a book.

As for the mysteries in this book. Well, I can't say that this book turned out as I thought it would. But, still, I quite liked the book. I liked the women's stories, their friendship as they started to get to know each other. Some things are based on real events and real people and some are the author's inventions like Nancy Nelson. And, this may not have turned out to be the murder mystery story that I thought it would be, but I enjoyed traveling with the women on the Orient Express and later on their time in the Middle East. I love reading about travels in the beginning of the 2000-century. For some reason, it's just so much more exotic, and thrilling to follow people as they travel back then. Especially women like Katharine Keeling who was a real famous archeologist. Nowadays, well everyone is flying everywhere and there are tourists all over the globe.

So, despite not turning out as I thought it would, did I enjoy the book. I liked the writing style and I especially liked reading about three interesting women.

I want to Lake Union Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this book through NetGalley!