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''Murder on the Orient Express'' is a detective novel by Agatha Christie featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 1 January 1934.〔''The Observer'', 31 December 1933 (p.〕 In the United States, it was published on 28 February 1934, under the title of ''Murder in the Calais Coach,'' by Dodd, Mead and Company.〔John Cooper and B.A. Pyke. ''Detective Fiction – the collector's guide'': Second Edition (pp. 82, 86) Scholar Press. 1994. ISBN 0-85967-991-8〕 The U.K. edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6)〔Chris Peers, Ralph Spurrier and Jamie Sturgeon. ''Collins Crime Club – A checklist of First Editions''. Dragonby Press (Second Edition) March 1999 (p. 14)〕 and the U.S. edition at $2.00.〔 The U.S. title of ''Murder in the Calais Coach'' was used to avoid confusion with the 1932 Graham Greene novel ''Stamboul Train'' which had been published in the United States as ''Orient Express''.〔Vanessa Wagstaff and Stephen Poole, ''Agatha Christie: A Readers Companion'' (p. 88). Aurum Press Ltd, 2004. ISBN 1-84513-015-4〕 ==Plot summary== Upon arriving at the Tokatlian Hotel in Istanbul, private detective Hercule Poirot receives a telegram prompting him to cancel his arrangements and return to London. He instructs the concierge to book a first-class compartment on the Orient Express leaving that night. After boarding, Poirot is approached by Mr. Ratchett, a malevolent American he initially saw at the Tokatlian. Ratchett believes his life is being threatened and attempts to hire Poirot but, due to his distaste, Poirot refuses. "I do not like your face, Mr. Ratchett," he says. On the second night of the journey, the train is stopped by a snowdrift near Vinkovci. Several events disturb Poirot's sleep, including a cry emanating from Ratchett's compartment. The next morning, Mr. Bouc, an acquaintance of Poirot and director of the company operating the Orient Express, informs him that Ratchett has been murdered and asks Poirot to investigate, in order to avoid complications and bureaucracy when the Yugoslav police arrive. Poirot accepts. After examining the body and Ratchett's compartment, Poirot ascertains Ratchett's real identity and possible motives for his murder. A few years before, in the United States, three-year-old heiress Daisy Armstrong was kidnapped by a man named Cassetti. Cassetti eventually killed the child, despite collecting the ransom from the wealthy Armstrong family. The shock devastated the family, leading to a number of deaths and suicides. Cassetti was caught, but fled the country after he was acquitted. It's suspected that Cassetti used his considerable resources to rig the trial. Poirot concludes that Ratchett was, in fact, Cassetti. As Poirot pursues his investigation, he discovers that everyone in the coach had a connection to the Armstrong family and, therefore, had a motive to kill Ratchett. Poirot proposes two possible solutions, leaving it to Bouc to decide which solution to put forward to the authorities. The first solution is that a stranger boarded the train and murdered Ratchett. The second solution is that all 13 people in the coach were complicit in the murder, seeking the justice that Ratchett had averted in the United States. He concedes Countess Andrenyi didn't take part, so the murderers numbered 12, resembling a self-appointed jury. Mrs. Hubbard, revealed to be Linda Arden, Daisy Armstrong's grandmother, confesses that the second solution is the correct one. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Murder on the Orient Express」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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