This is one of those odd Poirot novels where he barely appears at all in the story till the second half of the book.
Most of the story is told from the point of view of members of the Boynton family. There are three adult children and a teen, and reigning them all in, a mother who is an absolute beast of a human being.
She's described as a tyrant, as sadistic, taking pleasure in controlling and tormenting her children. The family rarely left the house, back in the United States, no friends were allowed. Yet here her family is, on vacation in Jerusalem.
The family sees how freely others live their lives, and they begin to feel a desperation to be rid of her. In a campsite in Petra, days outside of Jerusalem, the old woman dies. Her death seems natural, yet a doctor among the group is missing a syringe, and some medicine. The mother has a syringe entry point on her wrist.
Enter Poirot, back in Jerusalem, as he's called upon to see if the family either as a group planned the mother's death, or if individuals in the family took it upon themselves to end her life and free them all from nightmare.
There are other parties in the expedition. Is it possible these outsiders had motive?
I thought it was interesting one of the family asked Poirot if he might not do what he did in the case of the Orient Express, just let the evil person who died go to rest and be gone.
Poirot continues to probe, however, and of course determines the guilty party.
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