The Murder on the Links
Crime
Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot, Book # 2
HarperCollins Publishers
May 1923
Paperback
320
English
July 8, 2020 July 14, 2020
Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is summoned to France after receiving a distressing letter with a urgent cry for help. Upon his arrival in Merlinville-sur-Mer, the investigator finds the man who penned the letter, the South American millionaire Monsieur Renauld, stabbed to death and his body flung into a freshly dug open grave on the golf course adjoining the property. Meanwhile the millionaire's wife is found bound and gagged in her room. Apparently, it seems that Renauld and his wife were victims of a failed break-in, resulting in Renauld's kidnapping and death.
There's no lack of suspects: his wife, whose dagger served as the weapon; his embittered son, who would have killed for independence; and his mistress, who refused to be ignored - and each felt deserving of the dead man's fortune. The police think they've found the cumprit. But Poirot has his doubts. Why is the dead man wearing an overcoat that is too big for him? And who was the impassioned love-letter in the pocket for? Before Poirot can answer these questions, the case is turned upside down by the discovery of a second, identically murdered corpse...
About the book
Second book in the series dedicated to Poirot. Since I am borrowing these books (virtual, no paper for now) from my library, I have to read them as soon as they are available.
Here the crime is committed in France and Poirot is contacted directly by the victim. The man is killed with a stab in the back, but who is the killer among the many characters in the story?
What I think
I liked the book a little more than the first. I did not expect the final twist even if I had already bet on that killer. But I thought I was wrong, however, in the end I guessed it right.
Here too the style is smooth, the only flaw is the insta-love as they call it today between Hastings and Cinderella. I have always found it ridiculous and I will continue to think so, but this does not mean that the book is not worth it. It could have been 5 star but it isn’t for that reason.
I must say that my reviews on these dated books are always so long, eh!! But I honestly do not know what to say to entice you to read these books also because if I had not set up a personal challenge to read them, I would not have read them … BUT I will continue the series!
