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leaflibrary's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I liked this one pretty well. The story - both past and present - felt very familiar, so much so that I wondered if I had seen an adaptation years ago. There truly is tragedy in this one, even if the characters who die "had it coming" due to past or present villainy.
My favorite character was Cinderella/Bella/Dulcie, an underage manic pixie dream girl who eventually marries Hastings. Much like the surprise of meeting a Poirot already in retirement last book, this end game pairing caught me off guard so early in the series. Apparently Christie later agreed, because Cinderella is barely - if at all - mentioned in the Hastings stories ahead. How disappointing! Dulcie is such a bold, rascally, risk-taking character, with a love of true crime and acrobat skills to boot. She could have been a youthful, plucky third in at least a few of the Poirot/Hastings pairings ahead!
I also wish she weren't SO much younger than Hastings - that weird old womanizing stick in the mud. She's "little over seventeen," and he's at least 30 (his age in Styles). Speaking of Styles, it's interesting how Christie covers that topic: she references it almost immediately, but without giving anything (other than the initial death) away for someone who hasn't read it yet.
My favorite character was Cinderella/Bella/Dulcie, an underage manic pixie dream girl who eventually marries Hastings. Much like the surprise of meeting a Poirot already in retirement last book, this end game pairing caught me off guard so early in the series. Apparently Christie later agreed, because Cinderella is barely - if at all - mentioned in the Hastings stories ahead. How disappointing! Dulcie is such a bold, rascally, risk-taking character, with a love of true crime and acrobat skills to boot. She could have been a youthful, plucky third in at least a few of the Poirot/Hastings pairings ahead!
I also wish she weren't SO much younger than Hastings - that weird old womanizing stick in the mud. She's "little over seventeen," and he's at least 30 (his age in Styles). Speaking of Styles, it's interesting how Christie covers that topic: she references it almost immediately, but without giving anything (other than the initial death) away for someone who hasn't read it yet.
“Do you remember the Styles Case?” I asked.
“Let me see, was that the old lady who was poisoned? Somewhere down in Essex?”
I nodded.
“That was Poirot’s first big case. Undoubtedly, but for him, the murderer would have escaped scot-free. It was a most wonderful bit of detective work.”
Warming to my subject, I ran over the heads of the affair, working up to the triumphant and unexpected dénouement.
So who knows how much time has passed. Near that section, Hastings, as narrator, announces, "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!" This particular misogyny is hypocritical, given his immediate attraction to and eventual romance with a woman who does all of the above. The concept of "jazz[ing] morning til night" is now hilarious, and Hastings, as in Styles, is at his funniest while trying to be galant with ladies. The scene where Hastings gives Cinderella time to escape by fending off Poirot is especially funny:
It was a sound in the doorway that made us look up. Poirot was standing there looking at us.
I did not hesitate. With a bound I reached him and pinioned his arms to his sides.
“Quick,” I said to the girl. “Get out of here. As fast as you can. I’ll hold him.”
With one look at me, she fled out of the room past us. I held Poirot in a grip of iron.
“Mon ami,” observed the latter mildly, “you do this sort of thing very well. The strong man holds me in his grasp and I am helpless as a child. But all this is uncomfortable and slightly ridiculous. Let us sit down and be calm.”
The combination of awkwardness, earnestness, sarcasm, and homoeroticism (“It is that you have the strength of a bull when you are roused, Hastings!") adds fun to an otherwise rather grim murder mystery.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
victoria_2002's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
Sadly I found it all very confusing and hard to keep reading. It almost felt like a chore to finish this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
manu_k's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Well written, but loses pacing in the middle, and becomes a bit slow. Not the best of Christie but not the worst either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Infidelity and Sexism
savvyrosereads's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
In Hercule Poirot’s second novel, the detective and his friend Hastings are urgently summoned to France by a letter from one Paul Renauld, but arrive to find their client already dead. Poirot must piece together the truth from a series of confusing facts and clues—including a second body that appears not long after the first.
This was Agatha Christie’s third book and her second Poirot story. In some ways, its clear that she was beginning to come into her own as a mystery writer with this novel—where The Mysterious Affair at Styles (the first literary appearance of Poirot) was straightforward and almost simplistic in parts, The Murder on the Links was complex and filled with twists and surprise reveals. While I definitely enjoyed it, including the hilarious banter between Poirot and his rival, the arrogant French detective Giraud, by the end I felt like there had actually been a couple twists too many, and I was left slightly confused by the various intricacies of the plot. This likely won’t go down as one of my favorite Christie novels, but it was a solid read overall and the heavily detailed plot was incredibly well-written.
The Murder on the Links was also my first time listening to Christie as an audiobook, and I can highly recommend this format! Hearing the accents and intonations added a fun layer to the story, and the narrator did an excellent job. I’ll definitely be continuing my Christie deep dive with audiobooks moving forward.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: Agatha Christie; twisted mysteries; family secrets and drama.
CW: Murder; death of a parent.
In Hercule Poirot’s second novel, the detective and his friend Hastings are urgently summoned to France by a letter from one Paul Renauld, but arrive to find their client already dead. Poirot must piece together the truth from a series of confusing facts and clues—including a second body that appears not long after the first.
This was Agatha Christie’s third book and her second Poirot story. In some ways, its clear that she was beginning to come into her own as a mystery writer with this novel—where The Mysterious Affair at Styles (the first literary appearance of Poirot) was straightforward and almost simplistic in parts, The Murder on the Links was complex and filled with twists and surprise reveals. While I definitely enjoyed it, including the hilarious banter between Poirot and his rival, the arrogant French detective Giraud, by the end I felt like there had actually been a couple twists too many, and I was left slightly confused by the various intricacies of the plot. This likely won’t go down as one of my favorite Christie novels, but it was a solid read overall and the heavily detailed plot was incredibly well-written.
The Murder on the Links was also my first time listening to Christie as an audiobook, and I can highly recommend this format! Hearing the accents and intonations added a fun layer to the story, and the narrator did an excellent job. I’ll definitely be continuing my Christie deep dive with audiobooks moving forward.
Recommended to anyone, but especially if you like: Agatha Christie; twisted mysteries; family secrets and drama.
CW: Murder; death of a parent.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Murder
possiblyeve's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
a solid Christie, didn't realise this was the 2nd Poirot! didn't guess the ending (i never have, for a christie) and i like hastings as a foil and fresh narrative perspective.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Sexism
silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Book three in my attempt to read through all Agatha Christie's mysteries in publication order!
The first third or half of this book, I expected to rate it three stars. Hastings is so much of an idiot as to be very annoying, and the mystery feels, if not quite predictable (hard to say for sure, since I did read this one in my teens and vaguely remembered parts of the solution), at least not gripping. Toward the end though, the mystery gets very twisty and complex, and Hastings once again makes me (grudgingly) like him through his good heart and well intentioned (if still often idiotic) actions.
The first third or half of this book, I expected to rate it three stars. Hastings is so much of an idiot as to be very annoying, and the mystery feels, if not quite predictable (hard to say for sure, since I did read this one in my teens and vaguely remembered parts of the solution), at least not gripping. Toward the end though, the mystery gets very twisty and complex, and Hastings once again makes me (grudgingly) like him through his good heart and well intentioned (if still often idiotic) actions.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Infidelity
josefinceh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Probably not my favourite of the Poirot stories that I have read but still a light fun mystery. Definitely enjoyed the mingling love stories that surrounds the main plot of the story.
Listened to an audiobook version read by Pheobe Judge on the podcast "Pheobe reads a mystery".
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief