For some reason I can't quite figure out, I've always preferred this book to the admittedly superior "Murder on The Orient Express", maybe it's because it is lighter in tone and with a central love story that is quite moving and unglamorous. Derek Kettering falls for Katharine Grey, a woman of charm and moderate beauty, even though past her prime. The book consists of several interweaving stories all centered around a famous gem once owned by the Tsar's family. Exotic dancers, international thieves, American millionaires, the French Riviera, a reluctant English rose heiress, the book has it all. It's lurid, it's gripping, it's great fun! The film instead is just a muddle. The scriptwriters decided to change a few things about the relationship between the main characters,which were of paramount importance for the story's structure. Derek is now "in love with his wife", Mireille is a black (!!!) dancer with an illicit affair with Mr Van Aldin (!!!!) and Lady Tamplin turns up on the train (!!!!!). Why, oh why? At the end, I couldn't give a damn for any one of the characters... Incredibly bad acting, weird accents, too many plots ending nowhere... Don't bother, unless you are a dye hard fan.
Review of The Mystery of the Blue Train
