Murder on the Orient Express Red Herrings

A Red herring is a clue which misdirects or leads to a dead end. In Murder on the Orient Express there are many red herrings that have made the story very interesting and suspenseful. They make you continue guessing until the very end. In Murder on the Orient Express, the red herrings giving give a very important part in the story.

The first red herring is the handkerchief. It was found in Ratchett’s compartment after the crime had taken place. It was an expensive handkerchief with an initial “H”. Assuming the handkerchief would belong to a woman, with an initial “H”, Poirot began investigating this by asking all the women on the train if it belonged to them. Since she had a name that started with an “H”, Hildegarde Schmidt was suspected as well. Although after questioning her they had found she had not been to America before so the handkerchief did not belong to her. Poirot considered another woman with an “H” initial, Mrs. Hubbard. When she was le...