The Nile Murder Investigation

Death on the Nile

Hercule Poirot and Colonel Race move from an apparently obvious suspect through competing clues to the conspiracy behind the deaths aboard the river steamer.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The First Threat The First Threat from "Death on the Nile". A Threat Made Plain The warning Jacqueline de Bellefort admits to Hercule Poirot that she has imagined killing Linnet Doyle and shows him her small pistol.

The First Threat from "Death on the Nile". A Threat Made Plain The warning Jacqueline de Bellefort admits to Hercule Poirot that she has imagined killing Linnet Doyle and shows him her small pistol.

A Threat Made Plain The warning Jacqueline de Bellefort admits to Hercule Poirot that she has imagined killing Linnet Doyle and shows him her small pistol. Her anger seems to make the danger unmistakable. The detective’s concern Poirot urges Jacqueline to turn from revenge, sensing that nursing hatred may change her. She refuses to abandon her pursuit, leaving him uneasy about what the journey may bring.

A Deadly Discovery A Deadly Discovery from "Death on the Nile". A Murder in the Cabin Linnet’s death Colonel Race tells Poirot that Linnet Doyle has been shot in her cabin.

A Deadly Discovery from "Death on the Nile". A Murder in the Cabin Linnet’s death Colonel Race tells Poirot that Linnet Doyle has been shot in her cabin.

A Murder in the Cabin Linnet’s death Colonel Race tells Poirot that Linnet Doyle has been shot in her cabin. A bloodied J on the wall seems to connect the killing to Jacqueline de Bellefort’s earlier threat. The clue’s weakness The apparent message is too neatly incriminating to satisfy Poirot. With Jacqueline under watch after shooting Simon, the investigators begin to question whether the obvious explanation is a trap.

The Stolen Weapon The Stolen Weapon from "Death on the Nile". The Missing Pistol An interrupted alibi Witnesses place Jacqueline de Bellefort in the saloon when she shoots Simon Doyle, then under Miss Bowers’s care.

The Stolen Weapon from "Death on the Nile". The Missing Pistol An interrupted alibi Witnesses place Jacqueline de Bellefort in the saloon when she shoots Simon Doyle, then under Miss Bowers’s care.

The Missing Pistol An interrupted alibi Witnesses place Jacqueline de Bellefort in the saloon when she shoots Simon Doyle, then under Miss Bowers’s care. She cannot have reached Linnet’s cabin during the crucial interval. A second mystery The pistol vanishes from beneath the saloon settee before Fanthorp returns for it. Poirot sees that the unseen person who removed it may have witnessed the shooting and deliberately shaped suspicion.

The False Trail Unravels The False Trail Unravels from "Death on the Nile". Evidence That Does Not Fit Contradictory details The weapon is found wrapped in Miss Van Schuyler’s velvet stole, with a stained handkerchief.

The False Trail Unravels from "Death on the Nile". Evidence That Does Not Fit Contradictory details The weapon is found wrapped in Miss Van Schuyler’s velvet stole, with a stained handkerchief.

Evidence That Does Not Fit Contradictory details The weapon is found wrapped in Miss Van Schuyler’s velvet stole, with a stained handkerchief. The wrapping appears to muffle a shot, yet Linnet’s wound shows the gun was fired close against her head. Poirot revises his theory The physical evidence cannot describe one straightforward shooting. Poirot insists that the investigators abandon their first assumptions and attend to the details that seem inconsistent.

The Lovers’ Conspiracy The Lovers’ Conspiracy from "Death on the Nile". The Two-Handed Alibi A staged crime Poirot reconstructs how Simon Doyle used Jacqueline de Bellefort’s staged shooting to create an alibi, then shot Linnet…

The Lovers’ Conspiracy from "Death on the Nile". The Two-Handed Alibi A staged crime Poirot reconstructs how Simon Doyle used Jacqueline de Bellefort’s staged shooting to create an alibi, then shot Linnet…

The Two-Handed Alibi A staged crime Poirot reconstructs how Simon Doyle used Jacqueline de Bellefort’s staged shooting to create an alibi, then shot Linnet himself and wounded his own leg. Jacqueline’s apparent guilt and Simon’s apparent helplessness protected each other. The final reckoning Jacqueline later killed Louise and Salome to silence witnesses. Once Poirot exposes the scheme, both conspirators face arrest; at Shellal Jacqueline shoots Simon and then herself.

At the Cataract Hotel, before the Nile voyage

The morning after the shooting aboard S.S. Karnak

During the first investigation aboard S.S. Karnak

After the pistol is recovered from the Nile

Near the end of the return voyage