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Hercule Poirot #2
The Murder on the Link
“Two people rarely see the same thing.”
― Agatha Christie, The Murder on the Links
― Agatha Christie, The Murder on the Links
Experienced Belgian detective, Hercules Poirot is called in to a client but when he arrives is given notice of the man’s death earlier that day. The victim lay face down in a grave located within a golf course. He was wearing his son’s overcoat and a love letter within. Cause of death - stabbing with a letter opener. Soon Poirot’s case is flipped over by the discovery of another identical corpse.
Kindle Edition
First published June 6, 1923
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About the author
Agatha Christie
5,734 books75.6k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 9,327 reviews
June 20, 2014
Shut up Hastings. Shut up, shut up, shut up.
April 18, 2025
I thought this was going to be about a golfer getting murdered.
SPOILER ALERT: It was not.
This was actually one of the wilder rides that I've been on with Hastings and Hercule. Every time I thought we had the murderer in custody, there was another switcheroo and we were back to Poirot chuckling under his breath and making everyone feel like an ass.
Honestly, all you need to know about the plot is that it is completely bananas.
But I totally dug the entire thing and thought it was a really refreshing story.
Also, Hastings meets his very own Cinderella in this one. So, if for no other reason than that, this one is an important one for those of us who are into Poirot lore.
Recommended.
Read by Charles Armstrong. <--I prefer Hugh Fraser, but this guy was ok.
SPOILER ALERT: It was not.
This was actually one of the wilder rides that I've been on with Hastings and Hercule. Every time I thought we had the murderer in custody, there was another switcheroo and we were back to Poirot chuckling under his breath and making everyone feel like an ass.
Honestly, all you need to know about the plot is that it is completely bananas.
But I totally dug the entire thing and thought it was a really refreshing story.
Also, Hastings meets his very own Cinderella in this one. So, if for no other reason than that, this one is an important one for those of us who are into Poirot lore.
Recommended.
Read by Charles Armstrong. <--I prefer Hugh Fraser, but this guy was ok.
May 11, 2019
Side Note: In August last year, I reached a personal milestone of 1,000 books read so far in this decade with the first of Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot series, The Mysterious Affair at Styles. With this second novel in the Hercule Poirot series, I have reached another personal milestone: 1,000 eBook reads on my eReader. One thing I can already see: since I bought my first eReader, I have definitely been reading more books than ever before – and that is definitely a good thing! (PS – my reading decades are tracked differently than most people track decades. I start with the ‘zero year’ and end with the ‘nine year’ – in other words, for my reading purposes, this decade started for me in January 2010 and ends at the end of December this year, 2019.)
Captain Arthur Hastings chronicles this second novel in Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot series, just as he did in the first one. Poirot receives an urgent letter from a very wealthy man who says he is in fear of his life and desperately requires Poirot’s assistance. When Poirot and Hastings arrive, they are met with the news that the man was murdered in the ‘bunkair’ (as Poirot calls it) that was being built on a golf course under construction.
Of course, in real golf, landing one’s golf ball in a bunker filled with sand and a bank along one edge is definitely not a good thing as they are notoriously difficult to chip one’s way out of. In this case, landing in the ‘bunkair’ due to a stab in the back is, of course, far worse.
The plot in this novel rivals any that can be found in modern mystery writing. In fact, it not only rivals them, but in the majority of cases supersedes them substantially. It has been many years since I read some of Agatha Christie’s novels, and to be honest – I don’t think I would recognize the ones I previously read after so many years have passed of life, experience, and reading.
Ms Christie’s characters may not be as strong, yet that is out of necessity. In each book, several characters have to be admitted to set the stage, disassemble it, re-set it, and so forth. It wouldn’t even be responsible of her as a writer to dramatize the characters beyond the extent that she does because I can’t imagine anything worse as a reader than to find a character I was really attached to turn into a criminal.
However, we have Hercule Poirot. He may be tiny with big flowing mustaches and an obsession with adjusting the position of various objects that look out of alignment to him. Still, if he is not physically the ultimate hero to warm up to, his brain and how it works to solve the unsolvable is a huge attraction. And, we have Captain Arthur Hastings – young, dashing, and not nearly as swift to hone in on clues that his friend sees in seconds, he is still endearing in his efforts to keep up to the electrically-charged Poirot.
Although I have not been able to insert into my reading schedule as many Agatha Christie novels as I would like to, there are definitely more upcoming during the latter part of this year. I am so much looking forward to my further adventures with the incorrigible and daunting team of Poirot and Hastings.
Captain Arthur Hastings chronicles this second novel in Agatha Christie’s Hercule Poirot series, just as he did in the first one. Poirot receives an urgent letter from a very wealthy man who says he is in fear of his life and desperately requires Poirot’s assistance. When Poirot and Hastings arrive, they are met with the news that the man was murdered in the ‘bunkair’ (as Poirot calls it) that was being built on a golf course under construction.
Of course, in real golf, landing one’s golf ball in a bunker filled with sand and a bank along one edge is definitely not a good thing as they are notoriously difficult to chip one’s way out of. In this case, landing in the ‘bunkair’ due to a stab in the back is, of course, far worse.
The plot in this novel rivals any that can be found in modern mystery writing. In fact, it not only rivals them, but in the majority of cases supersedes them substantially. It has been many years since I read some of Agatha Christie’s novels, and to be honest – I don’t think I would recognize the ones I previously read after so many years have passed of life, experience, and reading.
Ms Christie’s characters may not be as strong, yet that is out of necessity. In each book, several characters have to be admitted to set the stage, disassemble it, re-set it, and so forth. It wouldn’t even be responsible of her as a writer to dramatize the characters beyond the extent that she does because I can’t imagine anything worse as a reader than to find a character I was really attached to turn into a criminal.
However, we have Hercule Poirot. He may be tiny with big flowing mustaches and an obsession with adjusting the position of various objects that look out of alignment to him. Still, if he is not physically the ultimate hero to warm up to, his brain and how it works to solve the unsolvable is a huge attraction. And, we have Captain Arthur Hastings – young, dashing, and not nearly as swift to hone in on clues that his friend sees in seconds, he is still endearing in his efforts to keep up to the electrically-charged Poirot.
Although I have not been able to insert into my reading schedule as many Agatha Christie novels as I would like to, there are definitely more upcoming during the latter part of this year. I am so much looking forward to my further adventures with the incorrigible and daunting team of Poirot and Hastings.
September 4, 2019
The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie is a 1923 publication.
Poirot has been frantically summoned to France by Monsieur Paul Renauld. Unfortunately, upon arrival, Hastings and Poirot are informed they have arrived too late and Renauld is dead… murdered as it so happens. Pitted against a younger and equally confident detective, Poirot is determined to meet his competition head on, utilizing his advantage of experience to solve the crime.
This is the second Poirot by Agatha Christie and is one I have not read. Christie obviously found inspiration with Holmes and Watson, and one can debate whether this is a homage or a parody, but either way, she did a masterful job with this twisty, complex whodunit.
I thoroughly enjoyed this classic mystery. I was never able to sit back, smugly confident that I had it all figured out. Christie was always at least two steps ahead of me. This is a stunning guessing game, narrated by Hastings, who provides his own unique observations along with his amusing commentary.
Despite its age, and our current desensitization and demand for more shock and awe, I think this story stands on its own merits quite well. (With the exception of a bit of cringe-worthy insta-love)
Christie is very clever, and it is obvious she put much thought into the plot, dotting the I’s and crossing the t’s. I was enthralled by her skill, and it is easy to see why she had such an enormous impact on the mystery genre.
As pure mysteries are few and far between right now, I’m looking to read more classics. Having read Poirot mysteries off and on over the years, I know this one might not rank up there with some of the later installments, but this a smart and impressive gem!!
4 stars
Poirot has been frantically summoned to France by Monsieur Paul Renauld. Unfortunately, upon arrival, Hastings and Poirot are informed they have arrived too late and Renauld is dead… murdered as it so happens. Pitted against a younger and equally confident detective, Poirot is determined to meet his competition head on, utilizing his advantage of experience to solve the crime.
This is the second Poirot by Agatha Christie and is one I have not read. Christie obviously found inspiration with Holmes and Watson, and one can debate whether this is a homage or a parody, but either way, she did a masterful job with this twisty, complex whodunit.
I thoroughly enjoyed this classic mystery. I was never able to sit back, smugly confident that I had it all figured out. Christie was always at least two steps ahead of me. This is a stunning guessing game, narrated by Hastings, who provides his own unique observations along with his amusing commentary.
Despite its age, and our current desensitization and demand for more shock and awe, I think this story stands on its own merits quite well. (With the exception of a bit of cringe-worthy insta-love)
Christie is very clever, and it is obvious she put much thought into the plot, dotting the I’s and crossing the t’s. I was enthralled by her skill, and it is easy to see why she had such an enormous impact on the mystery genre.
As pure mysteries are few and far between right now, I’m looking to read more classics. Having read Poirot mysteries off and on over the years, I know this one might not rank up there with some of the later installments, but this a smart and impressive gem!!
4 stars
February 6, 2025
I do not remember Hastings being so annoying and stupid. It almost ruined the book for me.
The Murder on the Links is the 2nd adventure of the famous Hercule Poirot. It was a solid and complicated mystery with lots of suspects. However, I was not as entertained as I hoped to be. Maybe I should stick to the well known novels and skip Christie's less successful mysteries.
The Murder on the Links is the 2nd adventure of the famous Hercule Poirot. It was a solid and complicated mystery with lots of suspects. However, I was not as entertained as I hoped to be. Maybe I should stick to the well known novels and skip Christie's less successful mysteries.
May 4, 2024
Agatha Christie's second Hercules Poirot novel isn't a smooth, confident trip of bloody fun to the inevitable solution satisfying the curious fan, her wobbly sea legs will walk down the decks looking straight ahead soon enough no need of endless dead ends to fool the fools but hurting the narrative her eyes seeing the light in the darkness but not yet . Poirot keeps his secrets close to his ample vest never hinting who the killer is, driving others batty including Paris police investigator, the very arrogant officer Monsieur Giraud, though the quite gruesome, the...
brutal murder was committed in a far away place the
provincial northern France, an arch rival tries to show how superior he is making the great detective look unimpressive and downright silly to the lawmen , you want to grab him by his shirt and shake the clues out, however this would ruin the mystery too early, a patient reader is a happy contented person, besides we all know the future victor .The humans lacking control of their emotions can never be believers in mysterious stories....Oh the story set in the early 1920's when it was written a rich man is stabbed to death outside his mansion, suspects include wife Eloise, son Jack, mistress, friends in France and our Belgian sleuth receives a letter from the soon to be deceased millionaire, found dead were else but on a golf course, Paul Renauld the unlucky. Ancient secrets contribute to criminal investigations with the police as always arresting the wrong person not to worry Poirot is nearby and will find the real butcher. As his sadly ineffective assistant the Man asks many questions discovers little, no important answers, he tries very hard... however.
Still a detective or even a mediocre one seems like a fish out of water. Our good to be honest is rather out of his league...
Captain Arthur Hastings sadly isn't, presumably though a survivor of the horrendous trenches looks puzzled, welcome to the Club. A little blackmail, illicit love, twins, characters hiding from the law under assumed names you need a scorecard to know the good from the bad...The author by this mystery and especially later efforts transported the genre to a higher quality, maybe they will always be considered unimportant works not worth serious studying yet the pompous view the world in a different way than us, those groups making the majority, quite naturally just need a little entertainment . I prefer the more mature Lady's books, the familiar is a comfort to the consumer, it feels like a delicious hot cup of coffee in a cold winter's day...maybe a doughnut too what's the harm?
brutal murder was committed in a far away place the
provincial northern France, an arch rival tries to show how superior he is making the great detective look unimpressive and downright silly to the lawmen , you want to grab him by his shirt and shake the clues out, however this would ruin the mystery too early, a patient reader is a happy contented person, besides we all know the future victor .The humans lacking control of their emotions can never be believers in mysterious stories....Oh the story set in the early 1920's when it was written a rich man is stabbed to death outside his mansion, suspects include wife Eloise, son Jack, mistress, friends in France and our Belgian sleuth receives a letter from the soon to be deceased millionaire, found dead were else but on a golf course, Paul Renauld the unlucky. Ancient secrets contribute to criminal investigations with the police as always arresting the wrong person not to worry Poirot is nearby and will find the real butcher. As his sadly ineffective assistant the Man asks many questions discovers little, no important answers, he tries very hard... however.
Still a detective or even a mediocre one seems like a fish out of water. Our good to be honest is rather out of his league...
Captain Arthur Hastings sadly isn't, presumably though a survivor of the horrendous trenches looks puzzled, welcome to the Club. A little blackmail, illicit love, twins, characters hiding from the law under assumed names you need a scorecard to know the good from the bad...The author by this mystery and especially later efforts transported the genre to a higher quality, maybe they will always be considered unimportant works not worth serious studying yet the pompous view the world in a different way than us, those groups making the majority, quite naturally just need a little entertainment . I prefer the more mature Lady's books, the familiar is a comfort to the consumer, it feels like a delicious hot cup of coffee in a cold winter's day...maybe a doughnut too what's the harm?
February 3, 2022
This plot is so complicated that I lost count of the number of times I lost count of its coups de théâtre. So layered! At one point, when a first (second? Told you I lost count) solution is offered, Poirot says,
“This is not a crime well ordered and regular, such as a detective delights in. [...] ah, indeed, what order or method is there in that?”
and I pretty much agreed with him. I was appalled. I disliked that solution so much, it made so little sense, that I thought it was the worst of all of Christie's novel I had ever read -and believe me, they are quite a lot. But then another solution came up, et voilà! I fell in love again. On top of that, I fell in love again in spite of all the sentimentalism the whole story is seasoned with. It may be tough to deal with at times, but I promise it will be worth the effort: “Take it from Papa Poirot!”
PS I love him, but Hastings needs to disappear now. I find it so much easier to enjoy the novels where he is simply a minor character rather than the sole narrator.
“This is not a crime well ordered and regular, such as a detective delights in. [...] ah, indeed, what order or method is there in that?”
and I pretty much agreed with him. I was appalled. I disliked that solution so much, it made so little sense, that I thought it was the worst of all of Christie's novel I had ever read -and believe me, they are quite a lot. But then another solution came up, et voilà! I fell in love again. On top of that, I fell in love again in spite of all the sentimentalism the whole story is seasoned with. It may be tough to deal with at times, but I promise it will be worth the effort: “Take it from Papa Poirot!”
PS I love him, but Hastings needs to disappear now. I find it so much easier to enjoy the novels where he is simply a minor character rather than the sole narrator.
January 5, 2019
It's early days for Poirot, who I love. A fun murder mystery full of twists and turns that only he can solve.
October 8, 2024
"Some of the greatest criminals I have known had the faces of angels…"
As I teed up this second book in the Hercule Poirot series, I peeked over the brilliant Belgian’s shoulder to read a letter penned by Monsieur Paul Renauld urgently summoning the detective - and Hastings, his faithful companion - to France. This letter promised to supply all the details once they had arrived.
Below the signature was a despairing and almost illegible scrawl: "For God’s sake, come!"
With their interest piqued and suitcases packed, the men boarded a ship anticipating their new adventure. But upon arrival, they found that the author of the letter, their very reason for traveling, had been murdered.
Mon Dieu!
In true Christie fashion, her literary twists and turns had me hanging onto my Kindle for dear life yet enjoying every minute. Would Poirot hit a hole-in-one or shank it? I don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone who hasn’t read The Murder on the Links. (Despite its title, no golfers were harmed in the making of this story…)
Christie’s masterful storytelling has left me hungry for more. On to book three!
As I teed up this second book in the Hercule Poirot series, I peeked over the brilliant Belgian’s shoulder to read a letter penned by Monsieur Paul Renauld urgently summoning the detective - and Hastings, his faithful companion - to France. This letter promised to supply all the details once they had arrived.
Below the signature was a despairing and almost illegible scrawl: "For God’s sake, come!"
With their interest piqued and suitcases packed, the men boarded a ship anticipating their new adventure. But upon arrival, they found that the author of the letter, their very reason for traveling, had been murdered.
Mon Dieu!
In true Christie fashion, her literary twists and turns had me hanging onto my Kindle for dear life yet enjoying every minute. Would Poirot hit a hole-in-one or shank it? I don’t want to spoil the fun for anyone who hasn’t read The Murder on the Links. (Despite its title, no golfers were harmed in the making of this story…)
Christie’s masterful storytelling has left me hungry for more. On to book three!
February 26, 2019
Women’s history month is fast approaching, and I could not resist to start my annual reading women authors in March a few days early. Between denser reads I enjoy reading mysteries as a palette cleanser. This keeps my brain sharp and keeps me from falling into a reading rut. I find almost no better way to honor women’s history month than to read the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie. Nearly every mystery writer of today can trace their influences back to Dame Christie, and each of her cases adds a new layer of intrigue. I have enjoyed cases featuring the Belgian detective Hercule Poirot for years and decided to fill in the gaps with Murder on the Links, an earlier case of Poirot’s I previously overlooked.
Fresh of his case at Styles, Poirot and his assistant Captain Hastings are summoned to Merlinville, France, a seaside town, by Monsieur Renauld as he fears that his life is in danger. By the time he arrives at Renauld’s Villa Genevieve, he has been murdered. Rather than protecting his client, Poirot assists in investigating his murder. Even in his earlier cases, younger detectives refer to Poirot as a fossil, a has been whose methods are antiquated. In this case, we meet local detective Giraud, a go get them type who claims to know whodunit, how, and why from the get go. Giraud exhibits charisma and pizazz as a modern detective, leading Hastings to question his mentor’s methodology. A retired Belgian detective who runs a private investigator firm in London, Poirot often appears lost in thought, yet his little gray cells are hard at work throughout the duration of a case in order to bring the true criminal to justice.
At first glance, it appears that Monsieur Renauld’s son Jack murdered his father over anger of being cut out of his will. Should both parents somehow die, he would stand to inherit a vast fortune. Two women have fallen for Jack, and it is unclear at first whether either of these women are in love with Jack or with his money. Poirot figures it out immediately and has to piece together clues. Giraud on the other hand sees things in black and white and leads Captain Hastings down a trail of false clues. Complicating the matter is that Hastings has also fallen in love with a pretty young girl who calls herself Cinderella. Poirot warns his protege of falling in love for the wrong reasons as the presence of a woman who cloud his judgement of a case, a judgement that is already fuzzy due to the presence of pseudo detective Giraud. As a result, Poirot and Hastings are at odds for most of this case as Poirot races to solve it before the French convict the wrong person.
As with many of her cases, Christie leads readers down a multi layered trail that evolves as Poirot cracks the case. Here, the murder occurs on a golf course in what Poirot calls a “bunk-air”, yet golf links has a double entendre, linking the Renauld case to one that occurred twenty years in the past. No one is who they seem to everyone except Poirot as he has been solving crime for decades and has a lifetime of detecting experience to compare to his current employment. Hastings lack of use of his little gray cells is apparent throughout as Poirot urges him to think things through rather than to leap to the first conclusion that comes to him. As this is the first mention of Hastings in the Poirot series, it is clear that Christie has meant for be an able sidekick; however, he is more the type to solve things by accident, allowing for Poirot to do the more serious detecting. Even from these earliest of cases, Christie reveals that Poirot does not overlook even the minutest of details as he sees the case to its conclusion. In his words, a clue of two inches is just as important as one of two feet, putting the framework in place for Poirot to be known as one of the greatest detectives in literary history.
It is hard to believe that Agatha Christie published her earliest cases nearly one hundred years ago. Her first cases were written in the early 1920s and have stood the test of time as Hercule Poirot and his mustache have endured as among the most recognizable literary profiles. I did utilize my little gray cells and avoid a reading rut as I read along to discover whodunit. It is always fun to read an Agatha Christie murder mystery, and it is far from my last journey with her. As such, women’s history month has commenced and I am excited for the reading adventures the month has in store for me.
4 stars
Fresh of his case at Styles, Poirot and his assistant Captain Hastings are summoned to Merlinville, France, a seaside town, by Monsieur Renauld as he fears that his life is in danger. By the time he arrives at Renauld’s Villa Genevieve, he has been murdered. Rather than protecting his client, Poirot assists in investigating his murder. Even in his earlier cases, younger detectives refer to Poirot as a fossil, a has been whose methods are antiquated. In this case, we meet local detective Giraud, a go get them type who claims to know whodunit, how, and why from the get go. Giraud exhibits charisma and pizazz as a modern detective, leading Hastings to question his mentor’s methodology. A retired Belgian detective who runs a private investigator firm in London, Poirot often appears lost in thought, yet his little gray cells are hard at work throughout the duration of a case in order to bring the true criminal to justice.
At first glance, it appears that Monsieur Renauld’s son Jack murdered his father over anger of being cut out of his will. Should both parents somehow die, he would stand to inherit a vast fortune. Two women have fallen for Jack, and it is unclear at first whether either of these women are in love with Jack or with his money. Poirot figures it out immediately and has to piece together clues. Giraud on the other hand sees things in black and white and leads Captain Hastings down a trail of false clues. Complicating the matter is that Hastings has also fallen in love with a pretty young girl who calls herself Cinderella. Poirot warns his protege of falling in love for the wrong reasons as the presence of a woman who cloud his judgement of a case, a judgement that is already fuzzy due to the presence of pseudo detective Giraud. As a result, Poirot and Hastings are at odds for most of this case as Poirot races to solve it before the French convict the wrong person.
As with many of her cases, Christie leads readers down a multi layered trail that evolves as Poirot cracks the case. Here, the murder occurs on a golf course in what Poirot calls a “bunk-air”, yet golf links has a double entendre, linking the Renauld case to one that occurred twenty years in the past. No one is who they seem to everyone except Poirot as he has been solving crime for decades and has a lifetime of detecting experience to compare to his current employment. Hastings lack of use of his little gray cells is apparent throughout as Poirot urges him to think things through rather than to leap to the first conclusion that comes to him. As this is the first mention of Hastings in the Poirot series, it is clear that Christie has meant for be an able sidekick; however, he is more the type to solve things by accident, allowing for Poirot to do the more serious detecting. Even from these earliest of cases, Christie reveals that Poirot does not overlook even the minutest of details as he sees the case to its conclusion. In his words, a clue of two inches is just as important as one of two feet, putting the framework in place for Poirot to be known as one of the greatest detectives in literary history.
It is hard to believe that Agatha Christie published her earliest cases nearly one hundred years ago. Her first cases were written in the early 1920s and have stood the test of time as Hercule Poirot and his mustache have endured as among the most recognizable literary profiles. I did utilize my little gray cells and avoid a reading rut as I read along to discover whodunit. It is always fun to read an Agatha Christie murder mystery, and it is far from my last journey with her. As such, women’s history month has commenced and I am excited for the reading adventures the month has in store for me.
4 stars
July 9, 2024
How fun to spend a few hours with my first favorite detective and his charming, if not slightly befuddled, sidekick.
How I managed to miss this one is beyond me, but I really enjoyed reading this early Poirot. Certainly Ms Christie fine tuned her characters as the series continued, but I was not surprised that Hercule’s mustache was an early sartorial priority for our “egg-shaped’ friend.
Slightly melodramatic, Christie threw a lot of tropes in here including some slightly complicated, double-crossing lovers. Plus some added over the top fun included a younger Hastings in love.
They just don’t make them like this anymore… now to see if PBS produced this one with David Suchet as the Belgian. 😎
(Reviewed 3/5/22)
How I managed to miss this one is beyond me, but I really enjoyed reading this early Poirot. Certainly Ms Christie fine tuned her characters as the series continued, but I was not surprised that Hercule’s mustache was an early sartorial priority for our “egg-shaped’ friend.
Slightly melodramatic, Christie threw a lot of tropes in here including some slightly complicated, double-crossing lovers. Plus some added over the top fun included a younger Hastings in love.
They just don’t make them like this anymore… now to see if PBS produced this one with David Suchet as the Belgian. 😎
(Reviewed 3/5/22)
October 8, 2019
Great! I couldn't stop reading it! I read this in just one session! I didn't want to leave it for the next day. An intricate and complex plot, but one that isn't confusing. One of the best Agatha Christie books I've read in all my life. It was a pleasant surprise for me.
December 14, 2024
The Murder on the Links is an early detective mystery by Agatha Christie. Originally, it had been published as a four-part monthly serial in a magazine between December 1922 and March 1923, under the title of “The Girl with the Anxious Eyes”, before it was issued in book form by The Bodley Head in May 1923. It is the second novel to feature everyone’s favourite Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot:
“Height, five feet four inches, egg-shaped head carried a little to one side, eyes that shone green when he was excited, stiff military moustache, air of dignity immense!”
The Murder on the Links could be thought of as “the French one”, as it takes place in northern France. Additionally, the style is “high-flown and fanciful”, as Agatha Christie readily admitted, owing something to “The Phantom of the Opera” author, Gaston Leroux, and even, apparently, the 17th century tragedian, Jean Racine. She had based the book very closely upon a real-life French murder case, and one critic noted that some of the plot twists seemed to have been inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story featuring Sherlock Holmes , “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange”. Hercule Poirot’s regular side-kick and amanuensis, Captain Arthur Hastings, is in place, and the setting leaves the field wide open to potentially antagonistic French professionals from the Paris Sûreté.
Writing about a talented amateur detective who reasons things out, accompanied by his rather more pedestrian side-kick, are certainly reminiscent of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Contemporary reviewers at the time noted this, and compared the two favourably. Hastings of course plays the same role as Watson in the Sherlock Holmes novels, and Monsieur Giraud, the investigating officer in this novel and a detective of the Paris Sûreté takes the part of Inspector Lestrade.
“Two people rarely see the same thing.”
To add a little spice to the action, Monsieur Giraud is arrogant, and resents Poirot’s involvement in the investigation, treating him with contempt as his rival. To ameliorate this slightly, we have Monsieur Hautet, who is the examining magistrate, and assistant to Monsieur Giraud. He respects Poirot because of his reputation, and is therefore more helpful. These two are like amplifications of Inspector Lestrade, who has different attitudes towards Holmes at different times, in the Sherlock Holmes novels. Later on we are to meet Lucien Bex, the commissary of police for Merlinville, and Monsieur Marchaud, a police sergeant in his force.
Agatha Christie seems to revel in introducing new characters, to complicate matters even further, and this is just one example. None of these police officers is particularly pertinent to the plot, but the interchanges and frictions between Girauld and Poirot makes for most entertaining reading. We also enjoy the frustration experienced by Hastings, who occasionally bursts out with something like:
“I neither see nor comprehend. You make all these confounded mysteries, and it’s useless asking you to explain. You always like keeping something up your sleeve to the last minute.”
The novel begins with Captain Hastings narrating in an amusing fashion about a train journey in which he meets a young girl. He is clearly attracted to her, yet has ambivalent feelings, as she seems to exemplify all the aspects of modern young women of which he disapproves:
“Now I am old-fashioned. A woman, I consider, should be womanly. I have no patience with the modern neurotic girl who jazzes from morning to night, smokes like a chimney, and uses language which would make a billingsgate fishwoman blush!”
She leaves without divulging her name, fancifully calling herself “Cinderella”.
The “case proper” begins with a message received by Hercule Poirot from a Paul Renauld, who has requested his help urgently. We are treated to an analysis of this letter by Poirot, who considers it deviously written, with a suspect addition, designed to ensure that Poirot would come. Sure enough, he is intrigued, and he and Captain Hastings travel to Paul Renauld’s home, the Villa Genevieve, in Merlinville-sur-Mer.
But when they arrive, the local police have beaten them to it.
We meet Monsieur Giraud of the Sûreté, a confident young man who is leading the police investigation, and watch his pompous efforts to upstage Poirot. Whenever Poirot picks up small details, such as piece of lead piping found near the body, Monsieur Giraud delights in mocking him. Poirot remains calm, although Hastings is most indignant at the way he is being treated. Monsieur Hautet, the examining magistrate, is less resentful, and more inclined to welcome Poirot’s experience, and even to share important information with him.
In between the entertaining descriptions of Poirot by Hastings, we are introduced to various people connected with the family. The son, Jack Renauld, is not present, as he had been sent away on a trip by his father, Jack has an interesting history, which may or may not be significant. He had been born in South America, lived both in that country and in France, and has a complicated romantic life.
Paul Renauld’s secretary, Gabriel Stonor, seems keen to be helpful to both the police and Poirot. He had been absent in England at the time of the murder, and suggests his own theory. Because his employer’s past is a complete mystery, prior to his time in South America, Stoner suggests that blackmail may be at the heart of it. Certainly South America seems to keep cropping up in this story.
Doctor Durand is the local doctor and police surgeon in Merlinville. There are several servants: the elderly Françoise Arrichet, who was present at the Renauld’s house during the crime, and Léonie and Denise Oulard, two young maids who are sisters, and had also been there. In addition there is the gardener Auguste, who was not present.
Other key players are two neighbours, Madame Daubreuil, and her daughter. Hastings is taken immediately with the attractive daughter, Marthe Daubreuil:
“By Jove, Poirot,’ I exclaimed, ‘did you see that young goddess?’ ”, yet all Poirot see is that she has “anxious eyes”.
There are also two theatrical sisters, called Dubeen, who are acrobats, and their theatrical agent, Joseph Aarons. Bella Duveen is much talked about in the novel.
Captain Hastings is teased periodically by Poirot who observes that he seems to fall in love with every young woman he sees. Poirot promises him that “Papa Poirot” will find Hastings a suitable wife. We learn through Hastings’s narration, that this, unsurprisingly, makes Captain Arthur Hastings disinclined to share confidences with Poirot. He attempts to conceal facts about his encounter with Cinderella which he considers irrelevant, but which actually prove to be material to the case. Of course, to our delight, Poirot discovers them anyway.
Meanwhile, Poirot has travelled to Paris to research
We know full well that Poirot and Giraud will disagree about this latest development, and are not disappointed. It is also amusing to watch as Hastings switches between his loyalty to Poirot, and his worry that Poirot is actually making a fool of himself. We, the readers, of course have total faith in the diminutive Belgian detective.
Jack has come across as a very suspicious character.
During a couple of expositions, which use a whole chapter, Poirot relates the history he has discovered to Hastings, and explains his theory:
“Man is an unoriginal animal. Unoriginal within the law in his daily respectable life, equally unoriginal outside the law. If a man commits a crime, any other crime he commits will resemble it closely.”
He does not take anyone into his confidence: not even Hastings, who remains nonplussed by this development — as do we. Poirot had deliberately engineered events to make the killer try something desperate, thereby showing their hand.
Sure enough, in an exciting climax,
“I had learned, with Poirot, that the less dangerous he looked, the more dangerous he was.”
This plot is fiendishly difficult to fathom, and the murderer probably impossible to deduce, although the clues are all there. The story draws us in, with all the bantering one-upmanship between the various detectives, and the appealing subplot of Captain Hastings’s true romance. We feel like giving a cheer when Poirot’s theories are revealed to be the correct ones, and the arrogant sneering Girauld is firmly put in his place:
“‘You speak of my manner to you being insulting. Well, once or twice, your manner has annoyed me.’
‘I am enchanted to hear it,’ said Poirot.”
There is an excellent television dramatisation of this novel starring David Suchet, who has recorded all the Poirot stories. Hugh Fraser also regularly stars as Captain Arthur Hastings. Several of the details of the plot are different, but perhaps the most odd change is that the location has been switched to Deauville.
If anything, the plot is just a little too complex, but this golden age mystery deserves four stars for its entertainment value. Hercule Poirot was still a new character to the reading public, and one reviewer said he was: “a pleasant contrast to most of his lurid competitors; and one even suspects a touch of satire in him.”
This is still what springs to mind for the modern reader, who has the whole oeuvre of Poirot books to choose from. The plots of all Agatha Christie’s novels are ingenious, complex and satisfying, but in addition, these early novels are far more amusing and droll than any she wrote later, when her writing style seemed to become more mechanical.
Moreover, by now we are well and truly hooked into reading other stories chronicled by Captain Arthur Hastings, about his friend Hercule Poirot, the diminutive detective who solves case after case purely by using: “the little grey cells, my friend, the little grey cells! They told me.”
“Arrange your ideas. Be methodical. Be orderly. There is the secret of success.”
“Height, five feet four inches, egg-shaped head carried a little to one side, eyes that shone green when he was excited, stiff military moustache, air of dignity immense!”
The Murder on the Links could be thought of as “the French one”, as it takes place in northern France. Additionally, the style is “high-flown and fanciful”, as Agatha Christie readily admitted, owing something to “The Phantom of the Opera” author, Gaston Leroux, and even, apparently, the 17th century tragedian, Jean Racine. She had based the book very closely upon a real-life French murder case, and one critic noted that some of the plot twists seemed to have been inspired by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s short story featuring Sherlock Holmes , “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange”. Hercule Poirot’s regular side-kick and amanuensis, Captain Arthur Hastings, is in place, and the setting leaves the field wide open to potentially antagonistic French professionals from the Paris Sûreté.
Writing about a talented amateur detective who reasons things out, accompanied by his rather more pedestrian side-kick, are certainly reminiscent of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Contemporary reviewers at the time noted this, and compared the two favourably. Hastings of course plays the same role as Watson in the Sherlock Holmes novels, and Monsieur Giraud, the investigating officer in this novel and a detective of the Paris Sûreté takes the part of Inspector Lestrade.
“Two people rarely see the same thing.”
To add a little spice to the action, Monsieur Giraud is arrogant, and resents Poirot’s involvement in the investigation, treating him with contempt as his rival. To ameliorate this slightly, we have Monsieur Hautet, who is the examining magistrate, and assistant to Monsieur Giraud. He respects Poirot because of his reputation, and is therefore more helpful. These two are like amplifications of Inspector Lestrade, who has different attitudes towards Holmes at different times, in the Sherlock Holmes novels. Later on we are to meet Lucien Bex, the commissary of police for Merlinville, and Monsieur Marchaud, a police sergeant in his force.
Agatha Christie seems to revel in introducing new characters, to complicate matters even further, and this is just one example. None of these police officers is particularly pertinent to the plot, but the interchanges and frictions between Girauld and Poirot makes for most entertaining reading. We also enjoy the frustration experienced by Hastings, who occasionally bursts out with something like:
“I neither see nor comprehend. You make all these confounded mysteries, and it’s useless asking you to explain. You always like keeping something up your sleeve to the last minute.”
The novel begins with Captain Hastings narrating in an amusing fashion about a train journey in which he meets a young girl. He is clearly attracted to her, yet has ambivalent feelings, as she seems to exemplify all the aspects of modern young women of which he disapproves:
“Now I am old-fashioned. A woman, I consider, should be womanly. I have no patience with the modern neurotic girl who jazzes from morning to night, smokes like a chimney, and uses language which would make a billingsgate fishwoman blush!”
She leaves without divulging her name, fancifully calling herself “Cinderella”.
The “case proper” begins with a message received by Hercule Poirot from a Paul Renauld, who has requested his help urgently. We are treated to an analysis of this letter by Poirot, who considers it deviously written, with a suspect addition, designed to ensure that Poirot would come. Sure enough, he is intrigued, and he and Captain Hastings travel to Paul Renauld’s home, the Villa Genevieve, in Merlinville-sur-Mer.
But when they arrive, the local police have beaten them to it.
We meet Monsieur Giraud of the Sûreté, a confident young man who is leading the police investigation, and watch his pompous efforts to upstage Poirot. Whenever Poirot picks up small details, such as piece of lead piping found near the body, Monsieur Giraud delights in mocking him. Poirot remains calm, although Hastings is most indignant at the way he is being treated. Monsieur Hautet, the examining magistrate, is less resentful, and more inclined to welcome Poirot’s experience, and even to share important information with him.
In between the entertaining descriptions of Poirot by Hastings, we are introduced to various people connected with the family. The son, Jack Renauld, is not present, as he had been sent away on a trip by his father, Jack has an interesting history, which may or may not be significant. He had been born in South America, lived both in that country and in France, and has a complicated romantic life.
Paul Renauld’s secretary, Gabriel Stonor, seems keen to be helpful to both the police and Poirot. He had been absent in England at the time of the murder, and suggests his own theory. Because his employer’s past is a complete mystery, prior to his time in South America, Stoner suggests that blackmail may be at the heart of it. Certainly South America seems to keep cropping up in this story.
Doctor Durand is the local doctor and police surgeon in Merlinville. There are several servants: the elderly Françoise Arrichet, who was present at the Renauld’s house during the crime, and Léonie and Denise Oulard, two young maids who are sisters, and had also been there. In addition there is the gardener Auguste, who was not present.
Other key players are two neighbours, Madame Daubreuil, and her daughter. Hastings is taken immediately with the attractive daughter, Marthe Daubreuil:
“By Jove, Poirot,’ I exclaimed, ‘did you see that young goddess?’ ”, yet all Poirot see is that she has “anxious eyes”.
There are also two theatrical sisters, called Dubeen, who are acrobats, and their theatrical agent, Joseph Aarons. Bella Duveen is much talked about in the novel.
Captain Hastings is teased periodically by Poirot who observes that he seems to fall in love with every young woman he sees. Poirot promises him that “Papa Poirot” will find Hastings a suitable wife. We learn through Hastings’s narration, that this, unsurprisingly, makes Captain Arthur Hastings disinclined to share confidences with Poirot. He attempts to conceal facts about his encounter with Cinderella which he considers irrelevant, but which actually prove to be material to the case. Of course, to our delight, Poirot discovers them anyway.
Meanwhile, Poirot has travelled to Paris to research
We know full well that Poirot and Giraud will disagree about this latest development, and are not disappointed. It is also amusing to watch as Hastings switches between his loyalty to Poirot, and his worry that Poirot is actually making a fool of himself. We, the readers, of course have total faith in the diminutive Belgian detective.
Jack has come across as a very suspicious character.
During a couple of expositions, which use a whole chapter, Poirot relates the history he has discovered to Hastings, and explains his theory:
“Man is an unoriginal animal. Unoriginal within the law in his daily respectable life, equally unoriginal outside the law. If a man commits a crime, any other crime he commits will resemble it closely.”
He does not take anyone into his confidence: not even Hastings, who remains nonplussed by this development — as do we. Poirot had deliberately engineered events to make the killer try something desperate, thereby showing their hand.
Sure enough, in an exciting climax,
“I had learned, with Poirot, that the less dangerous he looked, the more dangerous he was.”
This plot is fiendishly difficult to fathom, and the murderer probably impossible to deduce, although the clues are all there. The story draws us in, with all the bantering one-upmanship between the various detectives, and the appealing subplot of Captain Hastings’s true romance. We feel like giving a cheer when Poirot’s theories are revealed to be the correct ones, and the arrogant sneering Girauld is firmly put in his place:
“‘You speak of my manner to you being insulting. Well, once or twice, your manner has annoyed me.’
‘I am enchanted to hear it,’ said Poirot.”
There is an excellent television dramatisation of this novel starring David Suchet, who has recorded all the Poirot stories. Hugh Fraser also regularly stars as Captain Arthur Hastings. Several of the details of the plot are different, but perhaps the most odd change is that the location has been switched to Deauville.
If anything, the plot is just a little too complex, but this golden age mystery deserves four stars for its entertainment value. Hercule Poirot was still a new character to the reading public, and one reviewer said he was: “a pleasant contrast to most of his lurid competitors; and one even suspects a touch of satire in him.”
This is still what springs to mind for the modern reader, who has the whole oeuvre of Poirot books to choose from. The plots of all Agatha Christie’s novels are ingenious, complex and satisfying, but in addition, these early novels are far more amusing and droll than any she wrote later, when her writing style seemed to become more mechanical.
Moreover, by now we are well and truly hooked into reading other stories chronicled by Captain Arthur Hastings, about his friend Hercule Poirot, the diminutive detective who solves case after case purely by using: “the little grey cells, my friend, the little grey cells! They told me.”
“Arrange your ideas. Be methodical. Be orderly. There is the secret of success.”
July 13, 2016
" !! يا بنت اللذين "
و دي جملة بتتقال فور انتهائك من قراءة رواية لأجاثا كريستي
April 29, 2024
[3.5⭐] 𝘼𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙣 𝙚𝙡 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙥𝙤 𝙙𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙡𝙛 es una novela escrita por Agatha Christie en el año 1923. La historia es narrada por Hastings (el amigo de Poirot) y, ahí, nos cuenta que Poirot recibió una carta proveniente de Francia en donde se le pedía su ayuda: un señor Renault teme por su vida y precisa de su ayuda. Hércules invita a Hastings a este caso y, cuando llegan, se encuentran con la sorpresa de que Renault fue asesinado la noche anterior. El nombre del libro hace referencia a que el cuerpo fue hallado en un campo de golf que estaban construyendo. A partir de ahí, los misterios, los secretos y el crimen inundarán por completo esta obra.
Nuevamente, nos encontramos con una maravillosa novela de Christie. Eso sí, he sido más exigente con este libro ya que, comparado con los anteriores que he leído de ella, sentí que este era un poco más “flojo”. De hecho, me costó mucho más terminarlo; suelo demorarme máximo 2 días en leerlo, pero acá no me animaba a seguir con la lectura, me demoré unas dos semanas en poder terminarlo porque lo encontré muy lento y no me atrapó este misterio.
Otro punto a tener en cuenta fue que me sentí un tanto decepcionada por la trama. Me dejé llevar por el nombre de la novela, lo interpreté como si se tratase de un crimen relacionado al golf, así que me desanimé por completo al enterarme de que no se trataba de eso, sino que de una construcción de un campo de golf. Tenía la ilusión de que habrían competidores golfistas y se trataría de un asesinato relacionado a una competencia, una trama mucho más interesante que esta.
También, me sucedió que yo no suelo adivinar los ‘plot twist’ o ‘giros’ que crea Christie, pero aquí sí logré dar con varios de ellos (los más importantes de la trama). Además, es la primera vez que logré dar con el asesino; supe quién era en cuanto me presentaron al personaje (es cierto que llegué a dudar un par de veces, pero siempre se mantuvo como mi principal sospechoso/a).
Por otro lado, no todo es negativo en este libro. Como siempre, hay una historia muy bien hilada y con buena trama, lo más probable es que me hubiese gustado más si no hubiese tenido tantas expectativas sobre este libro. Hay que agregar que tiene muy buenos giros; son realmente ingeniosos y muy coherentes con la trama.
También, un punto muy a favor para mí sería que mencionan todo el tiempo mi país y mi ciudad (Santiago de Chile). Le tomé cariño a este libro por nombrar en casi todos los capítulos a Chile, no tenía ni la más remota idea de que Christie se había referido a mi país en una de sus obras, así que fue una grata sorpresa para mí.
Por último, tiene un final realmente adorable y conocemos a la que será la pareja de Hastings en otras novelas de Christie.
Finalmente, puedo decir que es una obra realmente entretenida y para pasar el rato. La historia está muy bien construida y es coherente. Eso sí, si eres fan de Agatha Christie y tienes muchas expectativas sobre este libro, me temo que te decepcionarás un poco de él, pero considero que sí es relevante leerlo para poder conocer a uno de los personajes importantes del mundo de Poirot (la novia de Hastings).
Nuevamente, nos encontramos con una maravillosa novela de Christie. Eso sí, he sido más exigente con este libro ya que, comparado con los anteriores que he leído de ella, sentí que este era un poco más “flojo”. De hecho, me costó mucho más terminarlo; suelo demorarme máximo 2 días en leerlo, pero acá no me animaba a seguir con la lectura, me demoré unas dos semanas en poder terminarlo porque lo encontré muy lento y no me atrapó este misterio.
Otro punto a tener en cuenta fue que me sentí un tanto decepcionada por la trama. Me dejé llevar por el nombre de la novela, lo interpreté como si se tratase de un crimen relacionado al golf, así que me desanimé por completo al enterarme de que no se trataba de eso, sino que de una construcción de un campo de golf. Tenía la ilusión de que habrían competidores golfistas y se trataría de un asesinato relacionado a una competencia, una trama mucho más interesante que esta.
También, me sucedió que yo no suelo adivinar los ‘plot twist’ o ‘giros’ que crea Christie, pero aquí sí logré dar con varios de ellos (los más importantes de la trama). Además, es la primera vez que logré dar con el asesino; supe quién era en cuanto me presentaron al personaje (es cierto que llegué a dudar un par de veces, pero siempre se mantuvo como mi principal sospechoso/a).
Por otro lado, no todo es negativo en este libro. Como siempre, hay una historia muy bien hilada y con buena trama, lo más probable es que me hubiese gustado más si no hubiese tenido tantas expectativas sobre este libro. Hay que agregar que tiene muy buenos giros; son realmente ingeniosos y muy coherentes con la trama.
También, un punto muy a favor para mí sería que mencionan todo el tiempo mi país y mi ciudad (Santiago de Chile). Le tomé cariño a este libro por nombrar en casi todos los capítulos a Chile, no tenía ni la más remota idea de que Christie se había referido a mi país en una de sus obras, así que fue una grata sorpresa para mí.
Por último, tiene un final realmente adorable y conocemos a la que será la pareja de Hastings en otras novelas de Christie.
Finalmente, puedo decir que es una obra realmente entretenida y para pasar el rato. La historia está muy bien construida y es coherente. Eso sí, si eres fan de Agatha Christie y tienes muchas expectativas sobre este libro, me temo que te decepcionarás un poco de él, pero considero que sí es relevante leerlo para poder conocer a uno de los personajes importantes del mundo de Poirot (la novia de Hastings).
February 29, 2020
“The little grey cells, my friend, the little grey cells! They told me.”
I am an old Poirot fan but I read Agatha Christie's books such a long time ago that I can't even remember which ones I read and which ones I didn't. So I decided to re-read the whole series from the first one, and I am enjoying this so much! I loved this second novel, much more than the first. The mystery is intriguing and Poirot is telling us of his little gray cells for the first time! What a pivotal moment ahah. Such a fun read!
I am an old Poirot fan but I read Agatha Christie's books such a long time ago that I can't even remember which ones I read and which ones I didn't. So I decided to re-read the whole series from the first one, and I am enjoying this so much! I loved this second novel, much more than the first. The mystery is intriguing and Poirot is telling us of his little gray cells for the first time! What a pivotal moment ahah. Such a fun read!
January 8, 2022
Agatha Christie Book Reading Challenge
BOOK 35 :- OCT 2021
3.5 STARS
BOOK 35 :- OCT 2021
3.5 STARS
December 15, 2019
I was much more impressed by this one when I first read it in my impressionable teenage self 25 years ago. Did this translation of Murder on the Links pass muster on any level?
For one, I really appreciated the character of Giraud. He was the main source of delight in the entire book. The latter, however, was too romantic in its structure.
Hastings gets the girl, Poirot gets the plaudits and pockets 500 francs, and Jack Renauld, a character of solely this book, gets his love and inherits millions. But it's all for naught. The mystery was not consummate in its artistic rendering.
For one, I really appreciated the character of Giraud. He was the main source of delight in the entire book. The latter, however, was too romantic in its structure.
Hastings gets the girl, Poirot gets the plaudits and pockets 500 francs, and Jack Renauld, a character of solely this book, gets his love and inherits millions. But it's all for naught. The mystery was not consummate in its artistic rendering.
July 5, 2025
I figured out some of what was going on with the murder and all the foibles of the accused. This is unusual for me with an Agatha Christie novel. I think it may have been because this was a Poirot and Col. Hastings affair. Poirot tries to nudge Hastings towards an understanding of what's what and this lets the reader into the workings of his "little gray cells" too.
Anyhoo, this was a very intricate and befuddling murder, with lots of red herrings to throw the police, even a detective from the Surete, off the trail, but not the little Belgian. Oh no! He has got his thinking cap on and he sees what others don't.
Anyhoo, this was a very intricate and befuddling murder, with lots of red herrings to throw the police, even a detective from the Surete, off the trail, but not the little Belgian. Oh no! He has got his thinking cap on and he sees what others don't.
January 11, 2017
The Murder on the Links: A Retrospective
It was almost fifty years ago I read my first Agatha Christie novel. I was fourteen. I bought it at a middle school book fair. It was an Hercule Poirot mystery, The Big Four, a Dell paperback that sold for $.45. A bargain at the price.
My First Poirot
Through the coming years I read all of the Poirot novels. A few of the Miss Marples. Miss Marple just didn't grab me as Poirot and his friend Hastings did. As far as Tommy and Tuppence, well, I could do without them. The stand alones did nothing for me, other than And Then There Were None, The Mousetrap: A Play, and The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories which I considered an absolute masterpiece.
Christie first wrote this as a short story, then the play, which became the blockbuster movie
In retrospect, I probably didn't get all of the nuances of Dame Christie's work at age fourteen. Poirot's use of French phrases drove me to distraction. Of course, in 1965, there was no thing as Google Translate. However, I doggedly followed Poirot's cases, understanding more and more as I grew a little older and a little wiser.
I had a pleasant surprise yesterday. Walking into a chain bookstore in Papamoa, New Zealand, I perused the bargain table and found a stack of Harper Collins 125th Anniversary Reprints of Hercule Poirot novels. Among them was The Murder on the Links published in 2015. With a price tag of Three for 25 NZ$, the lure to recapture a bit of my youth was too much to refuse. I bought all the early Poirots, leaving those written after the 1950s on the table.
Within a day I devoured The Murder on the Links. In reading it so many years after I had first encountered it I found I still possessed the same love for the curious little man originally driven from his native Belgium by the Great War. And, once again I was drawn to Poirot's relationship with Hastings, Captain Hastings, invalided out of the war after the Battle of the Somme.
Theirs is a friendship based on true regard for one another. There is also a paternalistic attitude Poirot has toward the much younger Hastings. It is not unusual that in the course of events Poirot tells Hastings to "Trust Papa Poirot." You gotta love it.
Then there is the undeniable comparison of Poirot and Hastings to Holmes and Watson although Poirot and Holmes are detectives of decidedly different natures. Alas, Hastings possesses Watson's same inability to ever stay even with his companion when the game is afoot.
Hastings describes Poirot:
Of Poirot's method, Hastings tell us this:
Originally published in 1923, this is the second appearance of Poirot in novel form. Dame Christie introduced him in The Mysterious Affair at Styles published in 1920 to great success. In this novel Poirot is summoned to France at the urgent request of Monsieur P.T. Reynaud. However, Poirot and Hastings arrive too late, finding that Reynaud has been murdered, stabbed in the back and turned into a shallow grave on golfing links under construction. Mrs. Reynaud tells of having been bound hand and foot by two heavily bearded foreigners wearing masks.
The case is further complicated when a second body is found on the Reynaud estate. Another man has been murdered apparently with the same weapon which killed Reynaud.
Poirot must match wits with Chief Inspector Giraud of Le Surete, an investigator of the new breed, for whom only physical evidence holds the solution to any crime. Giraud, arrogant and rude, calls Poirot an "Old Fossil," provoking the more traditional investigator to wager he will solve the case before Giraud.
The stakes are high. An innocent man could be sentenced to death by the guilliotine. It is only a very small spoiler to say that Poirot wins his bet with Giraud. The innocent man is saved.
The Murder on the Links illustrates the rules of constructing a mystery which Dame Christie followed. The Detection Club was founded in 1930, Christie being a founding member. The club's ethics were created for the purpose of giving the reader a reasonable chance of solving the mystery. Those ethics include the following:
1. The criminal must be mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to know.
2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
3. Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.
5. No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.
6. The detective himself must not commit the crime.
7. The detective is bound to declare any clues which he may discover.
8. The "sidekick" of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal from the reader any thoughts which pass through his mind: his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
9. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.
10. No Chinaman must appear in any story. (Yes, at one time, the inscrutable Chinaman was a handy villain in poorly written mystery stories.)
Agatha Christie served as President of the Detection Club from 1957-1976. She never wavered from the rules. "The little grey cells. Remember always the little grey cells, mon ami."
Dame Agatha Christie during the early cases of Hercule Poirot
So with many more years of living behind me than when I first held an Hercule Poirot in my trembling hands, I have returned to the Golden Age of Mystery Writing. It's good to be back. I've obtained the newly revised copy of The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Ah, the first Poirot. It's been a very long time. Indeed.
It was almost fifty years ago I read my first Agatha Christie novel. I was fourteen. I bought it at a middle school book fair. It was an Hercule Poirot mystery, The Big Four, a Dell paperback that sold for $.45. A bargain at the price.
My First Poirot
Through the coming years I read all of the Poirot novels. A few of the Miss Marples. Miss Marple just didn't grab me as Poirot and his friend Hastings did. As far as Tommy and Tuppence, well, I could do without them. The stand alones did nothing for me, other than And Then There Were None, The Mousetrap: A Play, and The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories which I considered an absolute masterpiece.
Christie first wrote this as a short story, then the play, which became the blockbuster movie
In retrospect, I probably didn't get all of the nuances of Dame Christie's work at age fourteen. Poirot's use of French phrases drove me to distraction. Of course, in 1965, there was no thing as Google Translate. However, I doggedly followed Poirot's cases, understanding more and more as I grew a little older and a little wiser.
I had a pleasant surprise yesterday. Walking into a chain bookstore in Papamoa, New Zealand, I perused the bargain table and found a stack of Harper Collins 125th Anniversary Reprints of Hercule Poirot novels. Among them was The Murder on the Links published in 2015. With a price tag of Three for 25 NZ$, the lure to recapture a bit of my youth was too much to refuse. I bought all the early Poirots, leaving those written after the 1950s on the table.
Within a day I devoured The Murder on the Links. In reading it so many years after I had first encountered it I found I still possessed the same love for the curious little man originally driven from his native Belgium by the Great War. And, once again I was drawn to Poirot's relationship with Hastings, Captain Hastings, invalided out of the war after the Battle of the Somme.
Theirs is a friendship based on true regard for one another. There is also a paternalistic attitude Poirot has toward the much younger Hastings. It is not unusual that in the course of events Poirot tells Hastings to "Trust Papa Poirot." You gotta love it.
Then there is the undeniable comparison of Poirot and Hastings to Holmes and Watson although Poirot and Holmes are detectives of decidedly different natures. Alas, Hastings possesses Watson's same inability to ever stay even with his companion when the game is afoot.
Hastings describes Poirot:
An extraordinary little man. Height five feet four inches, egg shaped head carried a little to one side, eyes that shone green when he was excited, stiff military moustache. Air of dignity immense! He was neat and dandified in appearance. For neatness of any kind he had a passion.
Of Poirot's method, Hastings tell us this:
He had a certain disdain for tangible evidence such as footprints and cigarette ash, and would maintain, by themselves, they would never enable a detective to solve a crime. Then he would tap his egg-shaped head with absurd complacency, and remark with great satisfaction: 'The true work, it is done from within. The little grey cells--remember always the little grey cells, mon ami.
Originally published in 1923, this is the second appearance of Poirot in novel form. Dame Christie introduced him in The Mysterious Affair at Styles published in 1920 to great success. In this novel Poirot is summoned to France at the urgent request of Monsieur P.T. Reynaud. However, Poirot and Hastings arrive too late, finding that Reynaud has been murdered, stabbed in the back and turned into a shallow grave on golfing links under construction. Mrs. Reynaud tells of having been bound hand and foot by two heavily bearded foreigners wearing masks.
The case is further complicated when a second body is found on the Reynaud estate. Another man has been murdered apparently with the same weapon which killed Reynaud.
Poirot must match wits with Chief Inspector Giraud of Le Surete, an investigator of the new breed, for whom only physical evidence holds the solution to any crime. Giraud, arrogant and rude, calls Poirot an "Old Fossil," provoking the more traditional investigator to wager he will solve the case before Giraud.
The stakes are high. An innocent man could be sentenced to death by the guilliotine. It is only a very small spoiler to say that Poirot wins his bet with Giraud. The innocent man is saved.
The Murder on the Links illustrates the rules of constructing a mystery which Dame Christie followed. The Detection Club was founded in 1930, Christie being a founding member. The club's ethics were created for the purpose of giving the reader a reasonable chance of solving the mystery. Those ethics include the following:
1. The criminal must be mentioned in the early part of the story, but must not be anyone whose thoughts the reader has been allowed to know.
2. All supernatural or preternatural agencies are ruled out as a matter of course.
3. Not more than one secret room or passage is allowable.
4. No hitherto undiscovered poisons may be used, nor any appliance which will need a long scientific explanation at the end.
5. No accident must ever help the detective, nor must he ever have an unaccountable intuition which proves to be right.
6. The detective himself must not commit the crime.
7. The detective is bound to declare any clues which he may discover.
8. The "sidekick" of the detective, the Watson, must not conceal from the reader any thoughts which pass through his mind: his intelligence must be slightly, but very slightly, below that of the average reader.
9. Twin brothers, and doubles generally, must not appear unless we have been duly prepared for them.
10. No Chinaman must appear in any story. (Yes, at one time, the inscrutable Chinaman was a handy villain in poorly written mystery stories.)
Agatha Christie served as President of the Detection Club from 1957-1976. She never wavered from the rules. "The little grey cells. Remember always the little grey cells, mon ami."
Dame Agatha Christie during the early cases of Hercule Poirot
So with many more years of living behind me than when I first held an Hercule Poirot in my trembling hands, I have returned to the Golden Age of Mystery Writing. It's good to be back. I've obtained the newly revised copy of The Mysterious Affair at Styles. Ah, the first Poirot. It's been a very long time. Indeed.
February 10, 2024
The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie is Hercule Poirot #2!
Hercule Poirot receives a distressing letter from South American millionaire Monsieur Paul Renauld beckoning the Belgium detective to come to his aide at his home in France. Sensing the urgency of the request, Poirot and Hastings leave immediately.
Upon their arrival, Poirot and Hastings discover that Paul Renauld has been murdered and his body dumped into an open grave at a nearby golf course.
French detective Monsieur Giraud is assigned to investigate the case and views Poirot as a rival. A wager is made between the two detectives on who will solve the case first.
There's nothing wrong with friendly competition when endeavoring to solve a murder, right?...
As always there are plenty of suspects: M. Renauld's wife, Eloise, owns the dagger used as the murder weapon. His son, Jack, can't be located after the murder. And, his mistress visited the Renauld residence on the night of the murder.
The characters are aplenty here, so who knows, there may be more...
As in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Hercule Poirot #1, Hastings walks us through The Murder on the Links, as our narrator. His observations and speculations are often a tangled mess within Poirot's clear view. Their interactions are always interesting and appear to be challenging lessons for poor dear brow-beaten Hastings.
The 7H 27M audiobook is expertly narrated by Richard Armitage whose narration and voicing are an experience. Honestly, Agatha Christie's Mysteries has the best narrators. Really!
The Murder on the Links has multiple twists and turns, an extended cast of characters, and even a surprising romance. Agatha Christie is a master storyteller, writing genius, and magician at pulling it all together at the end. This is her third novel, published in the UK and US in 1923, and I highly recommend it!
4⭐
Hercule Poirot receives a distressing letter from South American millionaire Monsieur Paul Renauld beckoning the Belgium detective to come to his aide at his home in France. Sensing the urgency of the request, Poirot and Hastings leave immediately.
Upon their arrival, Poirot and Hastings discover that Paul Renauld has been murdered and his body dumped into an open grave at a nearby golf course.
French detective Monsieur Giraud is assigned to investigate the case and views Poirot as a rival. A wager is made between the two detectives on who will solve the case first.
There's nothing wrong with friendly competition when endeavoring to solve a murder, right?...
As always there are plenty of suspects: M. Renauld's wife, Eloise, owns the dagger used as the murder weapon. His son, Jack, can't be located after the murder. And, his mistress visited the Renauld residence on the night of the murder.
The characters are aplenty here, so who knows, there may be more...
As in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Hercule Poirot #1, Hastings walks us through The Murder on the Links, as our narrator. His observations and speculations are often a tangled mess within Poirot's clear view. Their interactions are always interesting and appear to be challenging lessons for poor dear brow-beaten Hastings.
The 7H 27M audiobook is expertly narrated by Richard Armitage whose narration and voicing are an experience. Honestly, Agatha Christie's Mysteries has the best narrators. Really!
The Murder on the Links has multiple twists and turns, an extended cast of characters, and even a surprising romance. Agatha Christie is a master storyteller, writing genius, and magician at pulling it all together at the end. This is her third novel, published in the UK and US in 1923, and I highly recommend it!
4⭐
March 2, 2024
This is a brilliantly written murder mystery by Agatha Christie. It is so cleverly done that I couldn't guess who the culprit was. There were interesting turns and plot twists that took me by surprise.
In this story our detective friend, Poirot has a rival; a fellow detective, who is famous and much younger from Paris Surete. It was very interesting to read how these two different detectives collected clues and evidence and formed their own theories as to the mystery underlying the murder and who the culprit was while trying to outsmart the other. But nobody can beat our brilliant Poirot, can they?
It was also interesting to see that in addition to the detective work, Poirot engaging himself in a bit of matchmaking! :)
Hastings, on the other hand, exasperated me to no end with his sentimental and witless inferences. But I suppose he is indispensable to bring out the intelligence and cleverness of Poirot as well as to provide a little comic relief!
Overall, it was an enjoyable read. And I'm becoming an Agatha Christie addict!
In this story our detective friend, Poirot has a rival; a fellow detective, who is famous and much younger from Paris Surete. It was very interesting to read how these two different detectives collected clues and evidence and formed their own theories as to the mystery underlying the murder and who the culprit was while trying to outsmart the other. But nobody can beat our brilliant Poirot, can they?
It was also interesting to see that in addition to the detective work, Poirot engaging himself in a bit of matchmaking! :)
Hastings, on the other hand, exasperated me to no end with his sentimental and witless inferences. But I suppose he is indispensable to bring out the intelligence and cleverness of Poirot as well as to provide a little comic relief!
Overall, it was an enjoyable read. And I'm becoming an Agatha Christie addict!
December 3, 2017
Really enjoyed this one! Had no idea about who was the culprit.
December 17, 2021
I enjoyed this adaptation by L.A. Theatre Works even if my brain could not process the new developments fast enough. It's only 1 hour, 38 minutes of listening time, so things move quickly. I might try the full-length audiobook, but this may also be one I should read instead of listen to so I can pause and have time to consider each reveal made by Poirot. I did enjoy hearing familiar actors (Simon Helberg, Adhir Kalyan) voice characters so different from their more famous comedic roles. I will wait before I pick up another edition, then I will have forgotten the details of who did it and why.
May 28, 2021
Arthur Hastings! My word he was a lot to take here. I usually love him but Arthur made this one hard. Poirot is his very wonderful self but Hastings and his narration are all over the place. His penchant for having retrograde ideas about women caused a lot more trouble than they were worth and he hampered the investigation. I wanted him to leave which is terrible because he was relating the tale!
And yet somehow, Christie makes this a book I didn't want to toss across the room even though I desperately wanted someone, anyone, to throw Hastings in a bunker on the links and leave him there! It was a well-done mystery (obvi) and was just what I was looking for. My next Christie mystery is going to have to feature Ariadne Oliver though. I'll loop back with Arthur later.
And yet somehow, Christie makes this a book I didn't want to toss across the room even though I desperately wanted someone, anyone, to throw Hastings in a bunker on the links and leave him there! It was a well-done mystery (obvi) and was just what I was looking for. My next Christie mystery is going to have to feature Ariadne Oliver though. I'll loop back with Arthur later.
May 5, 2025
„Убийство на игрището за голф“ е страхотен роман! Агата Кристи е създала изключително вълнуваща история, чието действие се развива във Франция, преплитайки криминални и любовни елементи. Еркюл Поаро извънредно е повикан от богат бизнесмен, но когато пристига, клиентът му вече е мистериозно убит. Поаро и Хейстингс се захващат със сложното разследване...
„Как умно отговори на следователя, когато той я попита дали няма някаква тайна в живота на мъжа ѝ. „Нищо чак толкова романтично, господине.“ Идеално беше, с този снизходителен тон, с леката печална ирония. Мосю Оте веднага се почувства глупав и мелодраматичен. Тя, тя е достойна жена! Може да е обичала престъпник, но любовта ѝ е била величествена!“
„Как умно отговори на следователя, когато той я попита дали няма някаква тайна в живота на мъжа ѝ. „Нищо чак толкова романтично, господине.“ Идеално беше, с този снизходителен тон, с леката печална ирония. Мосю Оте веднага се почувства глупав и мелодраматичен. Тя, тя е достойна жена! Може да е обичала престъпник, но любовта ѝ е била величествена!“
February 14, 2018
Well what can I say, I have just added this to my "favourites" and given it 5 stars, so erm it was good. Ok that was understatement, I really really enjoyed this. Astonishingly I have never read this before, nor do I remember the Suchet TV version, so it was a great experience to read a Poirot not knowing the answers.
As always with Christie the characterisation was fantastic. I find it very difficult to believe this was only the 2nd Poirot book as it was so "mature". Poirot was excellent and this was probably one of the best assists from Hastings.
Once again, a big shout out to Jessica for organising the Poirot challenge.
As always with Christie the characterisation was fantastic. I find it very difficult to believe this was only the 2nd Poirot book as it was so "mature". Poirot was excellent and this was probably one of the best assists from Hastings.
Once again, a big shout out to Jessica for organising the Poirot challenge.
August 4, 2025
Detached
I’ve always heard a lot about Agatha Christie, and The Murder on the Links was my first full-length novel by her. I had previously read a few of her short stories and didn’t find them particularly strong, so I came into this with mixed expectations.
To be fair, this book was a step up. The storyline, sequence of events, and especially the plot twist were well written. Christie clearly knows how to structure a mystery. I also liked the detective, Poirot, and his companion Hastings — they have a charming dynamic.
However, something felt missing. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I never felt captivated. I wasn’t racing through the pages the way I expected to from a writer so often referred to as the queen of mystery.
Perhaps it’s the pacing — which leans slow — but I normally enjoy that, especially in novels by Jean Harbor. The difference is that Jean delivers emotional complexity and depth, while Christie’s characters here felt a bit hollow. Their actions came across as either overly dramatic or strangely detached, rather than emotionally grounded or psychologically rich.
Another issue was the narrative style. Instead of feeling immersed in the investigation — as if solving the case alongside Poirot — the story felt distant, more like a recounting than an engaging puzzle. I was being told what happened, not invited to discover it myself.
Overall, it was enjoyable and competent, but not what I expected from such a major name in mystery fiction.
I’ve always heard a lot about Agatha Christie, and The Murder on the Links was my first full-length novel by her. I had previously read a few of her short stories and didn’t find them particularly strong, so I came into this with mixed expectations.
To be fair, this book was a step up. The storyline, sequence of events, and especially the plot twist were well written. Christie clearly knows how to structure a mystery. I also liked the detective, Poirot, and his companion Hastings — they have a charming dynamic.
However, something felt missing. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I never felt captivated. I wasn’t racing through the pages the way I expected to from a writer so often referred to as the queen of mystery.
Perhaps it’s the pacing — which leans slow — but I normally enjoy that, especially in novels by Jean Harbor. The difference is that Jean delivers emotional complexity and depth, while Christie’s characters here felt a bit hollow. Their actions came across as either overly dramatic or strangely detached, rather than emotionally grounded or psychologically rich.
Another issue was the narrative style. Instead of feeling immersed in the investigation — as if solving the case alongside Poirot — the story felt distant, more like a recounting than an engaging puzzle. I was being told what happened, not invited to discover it myself.
Overall, it was enjoyable and competent, but not what I expected from such a major name in mystery fiction.
March 1, 2024
Belgian Detective Hercule Poirot is at it again and he still marvels me, and Agatha Christie gets another 5-star review from me, whether she deserves it or not.
Hastings and Poirot are called to France. they are called for a murder of a rich noble man. Poirot and a French detective Monsieur Giraud are faced off to solve the mystery. Hastings the poor guy is really taken by Giraud methods. but of course, Poirot solves the case and Giraud has to give Poirot a tribute of his victory. Hastings is his normal dimwitted self. he of course is swept away with love! Poirot triumphs again!
Hastings and Poirot are called to France. they are called for a murder of a rich noble man. Poirot and a French detective Monsieur Giraud are faced off to solve the mystery. Hastings the poor guy is really taken by Giraud methods. but of course, Poirot solves the case and Giraud has to give Poirot a tribute of his victory. Hastings is his normal dimwitted self. he of course is swept away with love! Poirot triumphs again!
September 2, 2023
❄️تدور الأحداث في فيلا جينينييف حيث وجد السيد رينو مطعونا في الظهر وملقا علي وجهه في قبر مفتوح تم حفره في ملعب الجولف المجاور للفيلا .
❄️هل الرجلان اللذان وصفتهما السيدة رينو وإدعت أنهما أخذا زوجها وقيداها هما القاتلان حقا ؟
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❄️هل كان خلاف السيد رينو مع ابنه سببه المال أم سبب أخر وهل كان هذا السبب دافعا للقتل ؟
❄️هل بالجمال فقط يقع المرء في دوامة العشق ؟
❄️فلنعلم بأن الحب قد يودي بصاحبه إلي المقصلة .
❄️استمتعت بجرعة مميزة من الغموض والسؤال هنا هل ستعمل خلاياي الرمادية في وقت قريب أم لا ؟👀
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