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A review by thaurisil
Taken at the Flood by Agatha Christie
4.0
While I read through Agatha Christie's novels with the Appointments with Agatha group, I'm putting a templated synopsis of each novel in my review. It has spoilers!
Book: 38 of Christie's novels, 25 of Hercule Poirot novels
Setting: Warmsley Vale, a village near London
Detective and Companions: Hercule Poirot, Superintendent Spence, Sergeant Graves
Crime: Gordon Cloade dies in an air raid during WWII. His young wife Rosaleen inherits his fortune, depriving his family of it. Two years later, a man named Enoch Arden, who may or may not be Rosaleen's first husband, Robert Underhay, who presumably died in Africa, appears.
Suspects:
- Rosaleen Cloade, Gordon's young wife who is terrified and under the thumb of her brother David
- David Hunter, a rebellious and obnoxious young man who intends to keep Gordon's fortune for him and Rosaleen
- Lynn Marchmont, a Wren officer during the war who has just returned to Warmsley Vale. She is engaged to Rowley but falls in love with David
- Adela Marchmont, Lynn's fussy, widowed mother and Gordon's sister who has difficulties paying her bills
- Jeremy Cloade, a solicitor and Gordon's brother, who has recently turned to fraud
- Frances Cloade, Jeremy's shrewd wife
- Lionel Cloade, a doctor and Gordon's brother, who developed a morphia addiction during the war
- Katherine Cloade, referred to as Aunt Kathie, Lionel's wife and a believer in the spirit world
- Rowley Cloade, a farmer who remained on his farm throughout the war and is engaged to Lynn
Twists and Turns:
- When Enoch Arden dies, we think he was murdered, and the prime suspect is David Hunter who stood to lose the most if Arden was truly Robert Underhay. But actually, Arden's death was a mistake. Rowley realised that Arden was Frances' relative and was angry at the trick that his relatives were playing, and punched Arden, not expecting him to fall backwards, hit his head on a kerb and die.
- When Rowley comes to Poirot looking for a friend who would recognise Arden and Poirot produces Major Porter, it seems like a big coincidence, and Poirot is smug about it. But actually, Rowley knew that Poirot had heard Porter talking about Underhay two years prior, and conspired with Porter to declare that Enoch Arden was Robert Underhay.
- Rosaleen seems like a terrified little girl plagued by a guilty conscience who eventually commits suicide. But actually, she is killed by David Hunter, who feared that her identity as Eileen Corrigan, a housemaid, would eventually be uncovered.
I greatly enjoyed this. It was a different sort of murder mystery, that didn't seem so much of a murder mystery than a mystery of identities and motives. The setting is post-WWII London where taxes are high and people who used to get by relatively comfortably are struggling to make ends meet. This theme appears repeatedly, in people's struggles, their motives for crime, and the impact it has on their habits and food. Christie also explores the change in identity people had when some, like Lynn, returned from the war and found herself listless with peacetime, and others, like Rowley, struggled with a low self-esteem after not having been through the adventures of war, and stayed behind to work on the farm under orders by the British government. Overall an interesting read.
Book: 38 of Christie's novels, 25 of Hercule Poirot novels
Setting: Warmsley Vale, a village near London
Detective and Companions: Hercule Poirot, Superintendent Spence, Sergeant Graves
Crime: Gordon Cloade dies in an air raid during WWII. His young wife Rosaleen inherits his fortune, depriving his family of it. Two years later, a man named Enoch Arden, who may or may not be Rosaleen's first husband, Robert Underhay, who presumably died in Africa, appears.
Suspects:
- Rosaleen Cloade, Gordon's young wife who is terrified and under the thumb of her brother David
- David Hunter, a rebellious and obnoxious young man who intends to keep Gordon's fortune for him and Rosaleen
- Lynn Marchmont, a Wren officer during the war who has just returned to Warmsley Vale. She is engaged to Rowley but falls in love with David
- Adela Marchmont, Lynn's fussy, widowed mother and Gordon's sister who has difficulties paying her bills
- Jeremy Cloade, a solicitor and Gordon's brother, who has recently turned to fraud
- Frances Cloade, Jeremy's shrewd wife
- Lionel Cloade, a doctor and Gordon's brother, who developed a morphia addiction during the war
- Katherine Cloade, referred to as Aunt Kathie, Lionel's wife and a believer in the spirit world
- Rowley Cloade, a farmer who remained on his farm throughout the war and is engaged to Lynn
Twists and Turns:
- When Enoch Arden dies, we think he was murdered, and the prime suspect is David Hunter who stood to lose the most if Arden was truly Robert Underhay. But actually, Arden's death was a mistake. Rowley realised that Arden was Frances' relative and was angry at the trick that his relatives were playing, and punched Arden, not expecting him to fall backwards, hit his head on a kerb and die.
- When Rowley comes to Poirot looking for a friend who would recognise Arden and Poirot produces Major Porter, it seems like a big coincidence, and Poirot is smug about it. But actually, Rowley knew that Poirot had heard Porter talking about Underhay two years prior, and conspired with Porter to declare that Enoch Arden was Robert Underhay.
- Rosaleen seems like a terrified little girl plagued by a guilty conscience who eventually commits suicide. But actually, she is killed by David Hunter, who feared that her identity as Eileen Corrigan, a housemaid, would eventually be uncovered.
I greatly enjoyed this. It was a different sort of murder mystery, that didn't seem so much of a murder mystery than a mystery of identities and motives. The setting is post-WWII London where taxes are high and people who used to get by relatively comfortably are struggling to make ends meet. This theme appears repeatedly, in people's struggles, their motives for crime, and the impact it has on their habits and food. Christie also explores the change in identity people had when some, like Lynn, returned from the war and found herself listless with peacetime, and others, like Rowley, struggled with a low self-esteem after not having been through the adventures of war, and stayed behind to work on the farm under orders by the British government. Overall an interesting read.