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Product Description
Review
‘Agatha Christie never lets you down’
The Sketch
‘The plot is really clever.’
Literary Review
‘A remarkably good detective story which can be warmly recommended.’
New York Times
Review
'Agatha Christie never lets you down' The Sketch 'The plot is really clever.' Literary Review 'A remarkably good detective story which can be warmly recommended.' New York Times
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This was to be Hercule Poirot's 2nd 'major' case after the Mysterious Affairs at Styles. In this story a man who asked for Poirot's assistance in an unknown matter was found dead before Poirot arrived. Before Poirot has time to unmask the murderer a second body was found, killed in the same way as the first, at the same spot.
The Murder on the Links was a very raw effort, but it is enjoyable because there is not much 'character-building' as in Christie's later works. The clues were straight to the point and you will have a fun time having a go at it too.
One point to mention is that Hastings found the woman of his dream in this story too :o)
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
(3.5 stars) Written in 1923, Agatha Christie's third mystery features Poirot working with Capt. Arthur Hastings, who acts as his assistant, despite Hastings's greater interest in pursuing charming young ladies. In this novel, Poirot is summoned to France by Paul Reynaud, a wealthy businessman with interests in Chile. By the time Poirot arrives, however, Reynaud is dead, stabbed and then pushed into a makeshift grave on the golf course beside his house. Mme. Reynaud bears bruises from being tied up by two intruders, who, she says, forced her partly clothed husband from the house and then killed him. Soon another death takes place.
Poirot, investigating is not the Poirot of later novels. Here he is not so much a caricature as he later becomes, even poking fun of his relationship with Hastings, as in the title's quotation. His contempt for the local police is typical, as is his arrogance, but he seems somewhat more human than usual here. Unfortunately, the nature of the mystery prevents much character development for any of the characters. Three young women, all with dark secrets (slowly revealed in the conclusion), act as the love objects of Capt. Hastings and Jack Renaud (the victim's son), while the secret histories, going back twenty years, of several other characters, including the victim and his wife, complicate relationships and hide the solution to the murders.
The plot strains credulity, though that is not necessarily a fatal fault with Christie, whose primary interest is in developing devious plots with minimal clues which still allow Poirot to deduce the murderer. This mystery is so complex and has so many characters, however, that readers will be hard pressed to keep track of them, their secret identities, their look-alikes, and their past histories. Though the plot is clever, there is too little characterization to keep the reader involved in Poirot's adventures here. Not one of Christie's most memorable novels. n Mary Whipple
Poirot, investigating is not the Poirot of later novels. Here he is not so much a caricature as he later becomes, even poking fun of his relationship with Hastings, as in the title's quotation. His contempt for the local police is typical, as is his arrogance, but he seems somewhat more human than usual here. Unfortunately, the nature of the mystery prevents much character development for any of the characters. Three young women, all with dark secrets (slowly revealed in the conclusion), act as the love objects of Capt. Hastings and Jack Renaud (the victim's son), while the secret histories, going back twenty years, of several other characters, including the victim and his wife, complicate relationships and hide the solution to the murders.
The plot strains credulity, though that is not necessarily a fatal fault with Christie, whose primary interest is in developing devious plots with minimal clues which still allow Poirot to deduce the murderer. This mystery is so complex and has so many characters, however, that readers will be hard pressed to keep track of them, their secret identities, their look-alikes, and their past histories. Though the plot is clever, there is too little characterization to keep the reader involved in Poirot's adventures here. Not one of Christie's most memorable novels. n Mary Whipple
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In her second novel featuring Poirot, the peculiar private investigator from Belgium, Christie fails to illustrate the main trait that made her famous. The author had the ability to constantly "fool" us in connection with who the culprit was in each case and at the same time dangle the truth in front of our eyes, without us realizing it. In this novel, that is not the case, and as the story progresses we are immersed into a tangle of complicated connections that go against the aforementioned simplicity.
As is usually the case in Poirot's novels, the events are described by Hastings, a charming character, who serves as the punching bag that tries to make sense of things, only to be beaten down by Poirot's brilliant deductions. The Belgian detective is bored out of his mind, with obvious cases that present no challenge to him, until a letter from Monsieur Renauld arrives. The missive comes from France, and carries a palpable sense of urgency. The sender is convinced that his life is in danger and requests that Poirot gets there to assist him as soon as possible. Thus, the detective, together with Hastings, embarks on a journey to France, towards a new challenge.
Upon their arrival at the villa, they face the news that they got there too late, and that Renauld was murdered the night before. Naturally, Poirot offers to stay around and help solve the case. There are a good variety of suspects, including a lady that had visited the victim frequently, a wife that may feel disrespected, a son that fought with his father shortly before the murder and a mysterious young artist that had crossed paths with Hastings before.
As I already mentioned, the only drawback I found with this novel is the way in which the author twisted and turned the plot, but I understand that she was still at the beginning of her career. She does a few things very well though, like for example the way in which she continues to develop the character of Poirot. The detective's worship of the little gray cells and his preference for method and order over running around after clues make him a very special character; especially since in this case, he is pitted against a French detective from the Surete, Giraud, in a competition of contrasting styles that is exciting to witness.
Even though this is a sub par effort for Agatha Christie, it is still a decent novel. If this is by any chance your first attempt at reading her work, I recommend that you stick with it. The rewards are going to be worth it! - 3.5 stars
As is usually the case in Poirot's novels, the events are described by Hastings, a charming character, who serves as the punching bag that tries to make sense of things, only to be beaten down by Poirot's brilliant deductions. The Belgian detective is bored out of his mind, with obvious cases that present no challenge to him, until a letter from Monsieur Renauld arrives. The missive comes from France, and carries a palpable sense of urgency. The sender is convinced that his life is in danger and requests that Poirot gets there to assist him as soon as possible. Thus, the detective, together with Hastings, embarks on a journey to France, towards a new challenge.
Upon their arrival at the villa, they face the news that they got there too late, and that Renauld was murdered the night before. Naturally, Poirot offers to stay around and help solve the case. There are a good variety of suspects, including a lady that had visited the victim frequently, a wife that may feel disrespected, a son that fought with his father shortly before the murder and a mysterious young artist that had crossed paths with Hastings before.
As I already mentioned, the only drawback I found with this novel is the way in which the author twisted and turned the plot, but I understand that she was still at the beginning of her career. She does a few things very well though, like for example the way in which she continues to develop the character of Poirot. The detective's worship of the little gray cells and his preference for method and order over running around after clues make him a very special character; especially since in this case, he is pitted against a French detective from the Surete, Giraud, in a competition of contrasting styles that is exciting to witness.
Even though this is a sub par effort for Agatha Christie, it is still a decent novel. If this is by any chance your first attempt at reading her work, I recommend that you stick with it. The rewards are going to be worth it! - 3.5 stars
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Murder on the Links
This is the second major case for Poirot, following on from "The Mysterious Affair of Styles". For some reason I had never read this one - perhaps the link with golf put me off... Read more
Published 10 months ago by S Riaz
Par for the course
Agatha Christie's second novel is an entertaining read, but is spoiled by the trap that so many novels fall into, that of the incredible coincidence. Read more
Published 20 months ago by D. J. H. Thorn
Character development amid a confusing plot
In my opinion, a good mystery novel is one where you spend the entire narrative scratching your head, only to suddenly realise 'Of course!' as soon as the final revelation is made. Read more
Published on 19 Dec 2009 by J. R. Johnson-Rollings
Murder on the Links
One of the cleverest Agatha Christie plots I've come across.
Gripping from start to finish.
Gripping from start to finish.
Published on 23 Aug 2009 by Mr. L. G. Pettefar
Murder on the Links
I was rather surprised that this was a copy from a Library, so the 'new' title was somewhat curious. However, the tape itself worked perfectly.
Published on 11 Jun 2009 by Mrs. I. E. Allen
An Excellent Book for Learning How to Exercise "the Little Grey Cells"...
If you don't like cerebral problems or dislike reading a period piece (written in the period), you won't like this book nearly as much as I do. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2008 by Donald Mitchell
An Excellent Book for Learning How to Exercise "the Little Grey Cells"...
If you don't like cerebral problems or dislike reading a period piece (written in the period), you won't like this book nearly as much as I do. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2008 by Donald Mitchell
Fantastic Book
This was a brilliant book, and I find it difficult to find a flaw with it, as there is very little bad things to say about it. Read more
Published on 1 Sep 2007 by I AM ME
Murder by a sledgehammer.
Of course you would expect some heavy editing when translating from a book of some 300+ pages to a large format comic of less than 50, but the editing performed here make the... Read more
Published on 31 Aug 2007 by Simon Kavanagh
VERY GOOD
I think that this must be one of the most witty plots of Miss Christie's stories. Through obvious evidence it reveals to you the least likely murderer, yet the only possible one! Read more
Published on 29 Dec 2001
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