Christie, Agatha - The Murder on the Links (1923)
Review by Nick Fuller
3/5
An early, but not outstanding, Poirot tale. The plot is dated melodrama, composed of mysterious millionaires, midnight visitors, South American conspirators, and romantic and "sensational" complications — pure AEW Mason bumf, with a lavish helping of Conan Doyle's "The Abbey Grange" thrown in for good measure. Several gaping holes are left in the plot, the most noticeable being why Conneau should have thought a repeat performance would fool his former accomplice for a minute. Only the contest between Poirot and the French Sherlock Holmes, Giraud, and Poirot's clever deductions as to the Conneau case, are particularly exciting. It is also doubtful whether the reader could reach a solution on the clues given, as Poirot's solution is almost pure guesswork. Poirot's Watson, the singularly obtuse Captain Hastings, acts out of character throughout; the romantic sub-plot is maudlin and awkward.
Comments (1)
Jon said
at 8:41 am on Jan 27, 2010
Blurb: M. Poirot, the hero of The Mysterious Affair at Stiles and other brilliant pieces of detective deduction, comes out of his temporary retirement like a giant refreshed, to undertake the investigation of a peculiarly brutal and mysterious murder. Geniuses like Sherlock Holmes often find a use for faithful mediocrities like Dr. Watson, and by a coincidence it is the local doctor who follows Poirot round, and himself tells the story. Furthermore, as seldom happens in these cases, he is instrumental in giving Poirot one of the most valuable clues to the mystery.
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