I like that Poirot decides to take her on as a sidekick, and together they arrive at the same conclusion– him using his little grey cells for deduction, and her using her knowledge of human nature. She doesn’t have a lot of worldly experience, but she’s got some okay detective skills. It’s up to Poirot, and his unlikely new sidekick Katherine, whom he takes a liking to, to solve the crime! She is found strangled to death and some very valuable rubies have gone missing as well. The millionairess doesn’t make it to the Riviera, unfortunately. Along the way on the train she meets a millionairess who is leaving her cheating husband to meet her lover, and she also meets a funny little Belgian, Hercule Poirot. Katherine, who has never done anything much exciting in her 30-some-odd years, decides to take a fancy train across the continent and down to the South of France (naturally– that’s what I would do too). The old woman whom Katherine has been looking after finally dies and leaves her a huge chunk of cash (super sweet!). We start off with an unlikely heroine in this book a nice British woman (Katherine) who has lived her whole life as a nurse. I have to give props to the original designer of this book cover, because it seems as though they may have really read a good portion of the book, instead of just making something up that seems “mysterious.” Well this is a “Christie & Cocktails” first the cover on this book ACTUALLY represents what happens in the book (crazy, right?).

Poirot mystery of the blue train