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Christie is often regarded as the Queen of the Golden Age detective and mystery novels. Murder on The Orient Express, written in 1934, is considered a Golden Age, between-the wars, or classic mystery novel. As in Murder on The Orient Express, a.k.a. Murder on the Calais Coach, Christie's novels accurately portray the life of upper-middle class, British men and women of this period. Her novels put little emphasis on the working class; the books typically describe the lives of leisure class, rich tourists. In her later work, she attempted to script the lifestyles of the coffee bar, beat generation kids, but with less success.

Murder on The Orient Express was favorably reviewed and praised in England. It was made into a film in 1974 and is one of the most successful British films ever made. Even Agatha, who generally expressed dislike for film versions of her books, expressed appreciation.

Murder on the Orient Express features Hercule Poirot, one of Agatha Christie's - and the mystery genre's - most remarkable and famous characters. Poirot is a retired Belgian police officer turned private detective. As a private detective he tours Europe and the Mid-East solving mysteries. Because he is a private detective and has no apparent family, Hercule Poirot has a great deal of freedom. He is independently wealthy and the decisions he makes are not subject to law or otherwise. While Poirot does not always obey the law, he always abides his conscience and his sense moral law.