Murder on the Orient Express

I find it unfair, but certainly cannot hate when a book takes it to the next level, in the final chapter.

The Murder on the Orient Express is a locked room mystery. The best kind of whodunit. Nobody can complain if the clues in a mystery novel are too obscure or if the movements of the characters are deliberately confusing. But in this book chapters there are chapters dedicated to Poirot's ‘movement notes', list of clues and summary of whatever he' learnt.
I wish my textbooks wished so much as this book to really let me know what's going on. The ending is not really predictable. There are a few observations that H.P keeps to himself, that helps in keeping the final solution in the dark. There are leaps of theory that may not always make sense, but it does in the situation.
The book constantly keeps us thinking. I had a notebook with the movements and carriage position before I knew there were dedicated pages for them. There are foreseeable plot points. But it is a book, and for us this murder is in text. H.P can see, and we can't. And although a lot more eloquent than Sherlock, he doesn't always tell us what he sees.

I would not call this great literature. I don't want to be a snob, rating 5 only for great lit. The writing is ordinary. The plot is exceptional. This book had me hooked, kept me wondering till the end. The ending is beautiful. It's not just surprising. It's satisfying. Probably one of the most satisfying endings I've read.

Looking back on it, it's a whodunit with a heart.