By Agatha Christie
THE SHORT:
'The Murder on the Links' is an extremely fun novel. The plot keeps you wondering for ages before Christie cleverly reveals her hand using Poirot, who, once again, is enigmatic and enjoyable to spend time with. However, Poirot's first explanation of the crime to Hastings is hard and unable to wrap around one's head. Perhaps Christie has decided on a new character for Poirot, as he is shown in a more active state in this book than the previous. This book certainly has its flaws and downfalls, but in the end the compelling mystery and its delightful solution will definitely satisfy readers.
THE PLOT:
After many a blog post, I have discovered that many readers simply do not have the time to read every single word of my reviews. In order to let them know of much of my review in a short amount of time, and also to give you readers a hint of the later review, I have introduced what I call 'The Short'. It is a condensed account of my review, that I promise will be no more than one paragraph. Of course, 'The Short' is still being tested, and I would appreciate it if you could leave your comments and suggestions below. Thanks and continue reading!
Captain Hastings meets a delightful girl named 'Cinderella' on a train back to England, and they become friends. However, Cinderella does not leave anything to contact her with, and Hastings parts reluctantly. Arriving in England, Hastings catches up with his friend Poirot. They receive a strange plea of help from a certain Monsieur Renauld, a millionaire, who implores that they hurry to Merlinville, because he is some strange danger. Poirot reaches France, but too late! When they arrive at Renauld's house they find out that Renauld has been found stabbed in the back in a shallow grave on a golf course. The dagger used to stab him was a gift from Renauld's son, Jack, to Madame Renauld. His wife had been bound and gagged by two masked men who apparently attacked her and kidnapped her husband. That must have been when Renauld was killed. Renauld has a passionate love letter in his overcoat, written to him by 'Bella'.
The neighbours of Renauld, Madame and Marthe Daubreil, mother and daughter, are questioned due to large amounts of sums sent to Madame Daubreil, which suggests blackmail of Renauld. Madame Renauld is questioned, but she told the story mentioned above. Hastings bumps into Cinderella on the golf course, and shows her the body. Cinderella faints, and, distressed, Hastings brings her to her hotel. They split up, but then the knife with which the murder was done disappears! It had been kept in the same place as the body. Hastings realises that he forgot to lock the door to the body, and someone must have stolen it then. They interview the gardener, and Renauld's secretary Stonor, when Jack suddenly reappears. He was supposed to have gone to South America, but his father never told him why.
Then, a second body is found in the gardener's shed, a complete stranger, one that no one can identify. He has been murdered in the exact same way, with a dagger through his heart. Even though the theft of the dagger had only occurred the previous day, the doctor pronounces the body as having been dead 48 hours. Poirot notices foam at the mouth and concludes that he had died of an epileptic fit. He had then been stabbed with the dagger. Poirot says that he had noticed the similarity between Madame Daubreil and Madame Beroldy. The latter had been involved in the Beroldy case, a murder case of fantastic proportions, with details similar to that of the story told by Madame Renauld. In the Beroldy case, Beroldy's lover, Georges Conneau, had been accused of the crime.
They find out that Jack had been in Merlinville in the night of his father's murder, but he says that he had only been to visit Marthe, his lover. Marthe reveals that she had seen the stranger quarreling with Renauld on the night of Renauld's death, and is sure that the stranger is the one lying in the shed with the dagger through her heart. Jack is suddenly arrested by the officer against Poirot, Giraud, but he does not offer any defence at all. Poirot tells Hastings that they have forgotten Georges Conneau, whom he knows to be Renauld. Madame Daubreil was blackmailing Renauld to keep her mouth shut, as she knew who she was. Jack then fell in love with Marthe, and Renauld wanted to stop him from marrying Marthe. Renauld and his wife plan to fake his own death and escape to South America, in order to escape Daubreil. A rough tramp, then found his way into the garden, had a quarrel with Renauld, and fell down dead, an epileptic. The mysterious girl, Bella, then came to Renauld's house, but Renauld got her out of the way. He began digging the grave for the tramp's body, but then he is stabbed in the back by an unknown person and falls down dead in the grave. Poirot tells Hastings that Bella must have been Jack's other lover, and the letter in the overcoat was Jack's.
Poirot finds a picture of Cinderella in Jack's drawer signed: With love from Bella. Hastings then realises that Cinderella was Bella, and that she must have waited around the golf course, then upon seeing him, killed him because he was preventing her marriage with Jack. He and Poirot sail back to England to track down Bella. They find out that she is part of an acrobatic act with her sister. After watching her performance, Hastings goes to a nearby bar, where Bella is. He declares his love for her and kisses her, but then unexpectedly, Poirot breaks in. Hastings restrains him and thus allows Bella to escape. The next day, Hastings suddenly remembers Jack and his arrest, and Bella's escape would mean death for Jack, because he wasn't offering any defence! Poirot receives a plea for help from Marthe, and reveals Monsieur Renauld's true identity to her.
At Jack's examination, all seems lost when Jack lies obviously and says nothing to defend himself. Then, a lady in black arrives in the court and says that she is Bella Duveen, and she wished to give herself up for the murder of Monsieur Renauld. In a letter to Hastings, Cinderella tells him that her real name is, not Bella Duveen, but instead Dulcie Duveen. She says that Jack had given Bella an identical dagger to the one used to kill Renauld. On the night of Renauld's death she had tried to dissuade Bella from going to Merlinville, but Bella refused. Then, when she saw the dagger with the body, she knew Bella must have killed him and there were fingerprints on it. She stole the dagger and dropped into the sea, thinking that was the end. However, that didn't stop Bella giving herself up for the crime. When Jack is released, he says that on the night of Renauld's death he had been walking over the golf links to Marthe, when he heard a loud scream. Running to the spot, he saw Bella with a look of horror on her face. Bella then ran, and Jack quickly took a car back to Cherbourg.
However, Madame Renauld loudly disowns Jack, and he faints and falls terribly sick. Leaving him in the care of Marthe and Madame Daubreil, Poirot and Hastings find a certain 'Mrs. Robinson', who is actually Cinderella. She gives Poirot another identical dagger, then accompanies them to Madame Renauld's house to wait outside her room. Suddenly, a mysterious attacker enters a different room, as Madame Renauld must have changed her room. Rushing in, Poirot and Hastings are unable to enter, but Cinderella, being an acrobat, swings her way inside. The attacker falls down and hits the marble fender, dead. The attacker is revealed as Marthe Daubreil, who had tried to kill Madame Renauld.
Poirot says that Jack had three daggers made, one for his mother, one for Bella and one for Marthe. Marthe, he tells Hastings, suffered from the same mental disorder as her mother, making her cold-blooded and cruel, only pretending to love Jack so that she could have the money. She overheard Renauld's plan to fake his death and is angered. On the night itself, when Renauld is digging the grave, she stabs him in the back with her own dagger. Bella and Jack, therefore, happened on the crime at the same instance. Thus, if the dagger Cinderella dropped into the sea was Marthe's, then Bella's own dagger would still be intact! Poirot asked Madame Renauld to disown her son to force Marthe into the open, and Marthe made one last attempt at the Renauld millions by trying to kill Madame Renauld.
Jack marries Bella, and with his mother, they move to South America. Hastings kisses Cinderella once again at the close of the book.
Captain Hastings meets a delightful girl named 'Cinderella' on a train back to England, and they become friends. However, Cinderella does not leave anything to contact her with, and Hastings parts reluctantly. Arriving in England, Hastings catches up with his friend Poirot. They receive a strange plea of help from a certain Monsieur Renauld, a millionaire, who implores that they hurry to Merlinville, because he is some strange danger. Poirot reaches France, but too late! When they arrive at Renauld's house they find out that Renauld has been found stabbed in the back in a shallow grave on a golf course. The dagger used to stab him was a gift from Renauld's son, Jack, to Madame Renauld. His wife had been bound and gagged by two masked men who apparently attacked her and kidnapped her husband. That must have been when Renauld was killed. Renauld has a passionate love letter in his overcoat, written to him by 'Bella'.
The neighbours of Renauld, Madame and Marthe Daubreil, mother and daughter, are questioned due to large amounts of sums sent to Madame Daubreil, which suggests blackmail of Renauld. Madame Renauld is questioned, but she told the story mentioned above. Hastings bumps into Cinderella on the golf course, and shows her the body. Cinderella faints, and, distressed, Hastings brings her to her hotel. They split up, but then the knife with which the murder was done disappears! It had been kept in the same place as the body. Hastings realises that he forgot to lock the door to the body, and someone must have stolen it then. They interview the gardener, and Renauld's secretary Stonor, when Jack suddenly reappears. He was supposed to have gone to South America, but his father never told him why.
Then, a second body is found in the gardener's shed, a complete stranger, one that no one can identify. He has been murdered in the exact same way, with a dagger through his heart. Even though the theft of the dagger had only occurred the previous day, the doctor pronounces the body as having been dead 48 hours. Poirot notices foam at the mouth and concludes that he had died of an epileptic fit. He had then been stabbed with the dagger. Poirot says that he had noticed the similarity between Madame Daubreil and Madame Beroldy. The latter had been involved in the Beroldy case, a murder case of fantastic proportions, with details similar to that of the story told by Madame Renauld. In the Beroldy case, Beroldy's lover, Georges Conneau, had been accused of the crime.
They find out that Jack had been in Merlinville in the night of his father's murder, but he says that he had only been to visit Marthe, his lover. Marthe reveals that she had seen the stranger quarreling with Renauld on the night of Renauld's death, and is sure that the stranger is the one lying in the shed with the dagger through her heart. Jack is suddenly arrested by the officer against Poirot, Giraud, but he does not offer any defence at all. Poirot tells Hastings that they have forgotten Georges Conneau, whom he knows to be Renauld. Madame Daubreil was blackmailing Renauld to keep her mouth shut, as she knew who she was. Jack then fell in love with Marthe, and Renauld wanted to stop him from marrying Marthe. Renauld and his wife plan to fake his own death and escape to South America, in order to escape Daubreil. A rough tramp, then found his way into the garden, had a quarrel with Renauld, and fell down dead, an epileptic. The mysterious girl, Bella, then came to Renauld's house, but Renauld got her out of the way. He began digging the grave for the tramp's body, but then he is stabbed in the back by an unknown person and falls down dead in the grave. Poirot tells Hastings that Bella must have been Jack's other lover, and the letter in the overcoat was Jack's.
Poirot finds a picture of Cinderella in Jack's drawer signed: With love from Bella. Hastings then realises that Cinderella was Bella, and that she must have waited around the golf course, then upon seeing him, killed him because he was preventing her marriage with Jack. He and Poirot sail back to England to track down Bella. They find out that she is part of an acrobatic act with her sister. After watching her performance, Hastings goes to a nearby bar, where Bella is. He declares his love for her and kisses her, but then unexpectedly, Poirot breaks in. Hastings restrains him and thus allows Bella to escape. The next day, Hastings suddenly remembers Jack and his arrest, and Bella's escape would mean death for Jack, because he wasn't offering any defence! Poirot receives a plea for help from Marthe, and reveals Monsieur Renauld's true identity to her.
At Jack's examination, all seems lost when Jack lies obviously and says nothing to defend himself. Then, a lady in black arrives in the court and says that she is Bella Duveen, and she wished to give herself up for the murder of Monsieur Renauld. In a letter to Hastings, Cinderella tells him that her real name is, not Bella Duveen, but instead Dulcie Duveen. She says that Jack had given Bella an identical dagger to the one used to kill Renauld. On the night of Renauld's death she had tried to dissuade Bella from going to Merlinville, but Bella refused. Then, when she saw the dagger with the body, she knew Bella must have killed him and there were fingerprints on it. She stole the dagger and dropped into the sea, thinking that was the end. However, that didn't stop Bella giving herself up for the crime. When Jack is released, he says that on the night of Renauld's death he had been walking over the golf links to Marthe, when he heard a loud scream. Running to the spot, he saw Bella with a look of horror on her face. Bella then ran, and Jack quickly took a car back to Cherbourg.
However, Madame Renauld loudly disowns Jack, and he faints and falls terribly sick. Leaving him in the care of Marthe and Madame Daubreil, Poirot and Hastings find a certain 'Mrs. Robinson', who is actually Cinderella. She gives Poirot another identical dagger, then accompanies them to Madame Renauld's house to wait outside her room. Suddenly, a mysterious attacker enters a different room, as Madame Renauld must have changed her room. Rushing in, Poirot and Hastings are unable to enter, but Cinderella, being an acrobat, swings her way inside. The attacker falls down and hits the marble fender, dead. The attacker is revealed as Marthe Daubreil, who had tried to kill Madame Renauld.
Poirot says that Jack had three daggers made, one for his mother, one for Bella and one for Marthe. Marthe, he tells Hastings, suffered from the same mental disorder as her mother, making her cold-blooded and cruel, only pretending to love Jack so that she could have the money. She overheard Renauld's plan to fake his death and is angered. On the night itself, when Renauld is digging the grave, she stabs him in the back with her own dagger. Bella and Jack, therefore, happened on the crime at the same instance. Thus, if the dagger Cinderella dropped into the sea was Marthe's, then Bella's own dagger would still be intact! Poirot asked Madame Renauld to disown her son to force Marthe into the open, and Marthe made one last attempt at the Renauld millions by trying to kill Madame Renauld.
Jack marries Bella, and with his mother, they move to South America. Hastings kisses Cinderella once again at the close of the book.
THE REVIEW:
Once again, Christie manages to create a compelling plot. However, she may have chosen to reveal the mystery far too soon, as most of the mystery is cleared up at least three-fourths of the way in the novel, and she has to resort to more action-y sequences to fill up the rest of the book. Poirot's silence is singularly unpleasant and we readers are left with Hastings and his blundering along, making about half of the novel draggy.
Poirot is back! And he seems to be a bit more developed than in 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles', with Hastings describing him as more of an enigmatic, OCD detective. The evident chemistry and friendship between the two brings out Poirot's funny, and yet sometimes sarcastic, side. Poirot is set apart from other detectives with Christie's enjoyable writing that somehow lets us in on much of his character and yet keeps the rest in secret so that we don't know what to expect next. Treading the fine line between too much and too little details, Christie makes Poirot notice the small things that set apart this crime. His quick brain works it out better than most of us, and he looks like he's always 'in the know'.
Hastings finds love in the most unexpected of places, after his two love interests in the previous book, he realises that love isn't always beautiful and romantic, as Poirot puts it beautifully: "It is love that has come - not as you imagined it, all cock-a-hoop with fine feathers, but sadly, with bleeding feet." For the rest of the mystery, Hastings is the new Dr. Watson, yet somehow dumber, foolish enough to let Cinderella see the body and leave the door unlocked. Perhaps Hastings represents us, as one can certainly identify with his annoyance at Poirot's silence and his confusion at the crime. The love affair with Cinderella, while unnatural, is beautifully captured by Christie's masterful writing, and is just so true that it comes when unexpected.
The plot of the story is singularly one of a kind, as Christie captures a masterpiece in writing and gives it to us for us to devour. The cleverness of 'The Murder on the Links' is that when everyone is trying to find out who planned the crime and executed it, Poirot knows that he only needs to find out who spoiled the plan. Planning one's own death seems idiotic, but in this case it is enough to fill out an entire novel. After the mystery, there is the problem of Jack's arrest, and this is where things start heating up. The last part, the action sequence where Poirot shows more energy than in the previous novel, is exciting and tense.
The plot will certainly satisfy you, but then again, there are some flaws in this novel.
Hastings's meeting with Cinderella seems almost impossible, and him bumping into her again is just unbelievable. Perhaps Christie requires coincidence to craft a novel that we know shouldn't contain coincidence. Many minor characters clog up the story, and the similarity of the surnames are confusing for a reader, when Christie refers to Jack as 'Monsieur Renauld', and Marthe as 'Madame Daubreil'. While the device of twins Bella and Dulcie may be clever, Christie seems to rely on it far too often.
The rhythm of the book mostly remains the same, although things speed up at the end and then drop off sharply to the resolution. Red herrings abound in this novel, and Christie may have used far too much in this novel, leaving readers annoyed, but maybe still interested. A capital mistake of Christie's was to make Poirot remain silent for half of the novel. This leaves us in the darkness, and while little tidbits arrive sometime, they are far too little to sustain us, and personally, I was struggling along for the first half of the novel, for it was not interesting at all, except for the part where Poirot finds out that Renauld is dead.
All in all, Christie has learnt her lesson from 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles', and she has characterized both Poirot and Hastings and made them into firm friends, sticking with each other no matter what the cost. She has improved her writing skills and her plots, but there remain a few bumps that are to be solved. Yet, 'The Murder on the Links' is an excellent book and is evidence of a great writer in the making.
Rating: 8.6/10
Advice: Prepare for some disappointments, but a must-read if you want mystery, Poirot and Christie's excellent plots!
I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post and for those of you who enjoy mystery, leave a comment below about which book you want me to review next. And of course, I wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!
Next week: Harry Potter finds out more of his own history and goes up against a dangerous snake in 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'. Was simply a dragged-out disappointment? Or was it a fascinating fantasy? Find out in my review next week!
Next week: Harry Potter finds out more of his own history and goes up against a dangerous snake in 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets'. Was simply a dragged-out disappointment? Or was it a fascinating fantasy? Find out in my review next week!
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