Introduction

Paris, 1928:

 Agatha Christie and fellow writer Dorothy L Sayers board the Orient Express, bound for Constantinople. Christie in particular is looking forward to a break from recent dispiriting events in both her work and private life – the finalization of her divorce from her philanderous husband Archie, and the miserly reception of her latest book.

But before the duo can settle in to enjoy the luxuries of their first-class journey, their journey is derailed when a fellow guest drops dead during the dinner service. And as the last person to speak to the victim, Dorothy finds herself a prime suspect in his murder.

As the train hurtles East, Sayers’ resourceful assistant Eliza and her friend Theo must navigate a maze of suspects. But with each passing mile, the stakes rise, and when another body is discovered, their search to find the killer before they reach their destination becomes increasingly complicated.

Can Eliza and Theo stay one step ahead, crack the mystery and clear Dorothy’s name? Or will this be one journey too far for the amateur sleuths?

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Excerpt

Chapter One
All Aboard
Crime writers were a special breed of animal. They circled one another like hounds scenting a fresh trail, each sniffing out plot holes and red herrings with the precision of bloodhounds.
From one end of a long table in their private dining room at Café Royal, Eliza Baker scribbled minutes in a worn notebook as members of the London Detection Club happily sipped claret and traded gory stories of murders and kidnappings gone wrong. Her bright eyes peering over the top of wire-rimmed spectacles, the club secretary Dorothy Sayers was recounting some gruesome detail about a body in a locked room. Looking dapper in his evening jacket and bow tie, Anthony Berkeley leaned back, grinning with amusement as he corrected her on the likely state of rigor mortis. When Agatha Christie chimed in, ‘Any murderer worth his salt can throw off an overly zealous detective by keeping the body warm through artificial means,’ everyone fell silent as if the Her Royal Majesty the Queen had given a final proclamation ending all debate on the matter. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

From the author:

1.Did you learn anything new about Dorothy L. Sayers or Agatha Christie? Do you enjoy reading about real historical figures in fiction?

2. What would you have done in Dorothy Sayers’s situation? Do you think times have changed such that she would no longer feel shame over her situation?

3. What about Agatha Christie who just went through a divorce? What do you think it must have been like for a woman to set out on her own and travel to the Middle East in 1928?


4. Did you get a sense of what it must have been like to travel on the world’s most luxurious train? How has travel changed? Do you think a trip like theirs is still possible today?

5. What do you think of Eliza and Theo’s developing relationship? Do you enjoy some romance sprinkled into your mysteries?


6. Do you like the chess metaphors and chess subplot? Do you need to know about chess to enjoy it?

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