The Plymouth Express Affair

A young woman is found stabbed in a first-class compartment on the Plymouth express, her jewel case rifled and a valuable necklace gone. Hercule Poirot takes the case at the request of the victim’s grieving father and quickly sees past the obvious suspects to the pattern others miss. Agatha Christie packs a full puzzle into a short frame, with a hidden accomplice, a staged robbery, and the small inconsistency that unravels everything. First published in a magazine in 1923, the story shows Poirot’s method in miniature and reads as a brisk, satisfying introduction to his logic. Christie fans and newcomers alike can finish it in a single sitting. A free PDF and EPUB edition is available to download.