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Death on the Nile (2022)
Death on the Nile (2022)
2022 | Mystery
The second of Kenneth Branagh's outing as Agatha Christie's sleuth Poirot, apparently much delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, and set after The Murder on the Orient Express.

I've never seen that movie.

I have read the book on which it (Murder on Orient Express) is based, though.

As I'm not that big a fan of murder mysteries, I hadn't, however, read the story on which this is based.

Why does that matter?

Simply because it meant I was going into this with no preconceptions; no real idea of what would happen (other than there would be a murder which Poirot has to solve)!

I'm not sure whether the rest of Agatha Christie's Poirot novels are all like this or not - I've only read Murder on Orient Express and Murder of Roger Ackroyd, but I did find heavy similarities between the plots, with both Orient Express and is film largely taking place in a confined location, where there is a limited pool of suspects and where Poirot has to sit down and methodically think his way through.

This movie takes a while to get going, with the first hour or so in particular - I found - dragging quite a bit. I've also heard that there was extensive use of Green screen throughout, which might also explain why some of the Nile scenes just didn't sit quite right.

On the other hand, there is a veritable list of who's who acting talent on the screen: aside from Branagh himself, we have Gal Gadot (as the key victim), Emma Mackey, Arnie Hammer, Russel Brand (surprisingly understated), Annette Benning, Dawn French, Jennifer Saunders (yes, that French and Saunders!), Letitia Wright and Sophie Okonedo - nearly all of whom would have their own motives for the murder.
  
40x40

ClareR (6054 KP) rated The Kingdoms in Books

Mar 6, 2022  
The Kingdoms
The Kingdoms
Natasha Pulley | 2021 | Fiction & Poetry, LGBTQ+, Mystery, Science Fiction/Fantasy
10
10.0 (1 Ratings)
Book Rating
I’m writing this review two weeks after finishing ‘The Kingdoms’, and I realise that I haven’t actually stopped thinking about it (off and on, obviously. I’m not THAT obsessed!). It’s one of those books that has really caught my imagination, and I’m certain that I’ll have to read it again at some point.

Basically (and I warn you: there’s nothing basic about this storyline!), Joe Tournier finds himself at a London train station, and realises that he doesn’t know how he got there, or who he is. A kind stranger takes him to the hospital where he’s diagnosed with amnesia. After a week at an asylum, his owner and his wife come to claim him. His French owner. He is a slave in Londres, which is occupied by the French after they won the Napoleonic Wars. But none of this feels right to him.

A month or so later, he receives a postcard written in illegal English, from a lighthouse in rebel Scotland - written 100 years ago. After gaining his freedom as a slave, Joe becomes an engineer, and is sent to the same lighthouse to make repairs. And that’s all I’ll say, because I really don’t want to spoil the story. I will say that there’s some jumping around in time, and it shows that if you change a small thing in the past, there can be huge ramifications in the future.

I loved the characters, the plot, the setting - just everything about it really appealed to me. I can’t say as I’ve read many books set mainly on boats, naval or otherwise. The rules and the running of the ships were really interesting, and the sea battles were gripping.

It’s a fabulous book, and I’d most definitely recommend it. Thanks to The Pigeonhole for the serialisation!