readtoramble|
Click to listen!
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Title: The Murder on the Links (#2 Hercule Poirot)
Author: Agatha Christie
Published: First published in 1923 – 1st of Novembre 2015 – Harper Collins
Format: Paperback – 280 pages & Audiobook
“Some of the greatest criminals I have known had the faces of angels.” – The Murder on the Links
Hello Hello! How are you all?
I’ve had a really busy week so was unable to write any new posts, and I work on Saturdays, so I have taken this opportunity to dust off one of my reviews already written and (almost) forgotten in my drafts folder aha.
I read this book a few months ago with my buddies from the TWR Gang, and while it has probably been my least favourite Hercule Poirot instalment, it was still a good one. So keep on reading to find out my thoughts on this book!
GOODREADS SYNOPSIS
Belgian detective Hercule Poirot is summoned to France after receiving a distressing letter with a urgent cry for help. Upon his arrival in Merlinville-sur-Mer, the investigator finds the man who penned the letter, the South American millionaire Monsieur Renauld, stabbed to death and his body flung into a freshly dug open grave on the golf course adjoining the property. Meanwhile the millionaire’s wife is found bound and gagged in her room. Apparently, it seems that Renauld and his wife were victims of a failed break-in, resulting in Renauld’s kidnapping and death.
There’s no lack of suspects: his wife, whose dagger served as the weapon; his embittered son, who would have killed for independence; and his mistress, who refused to be ignored – and each felt deserving of the dead man’s fortune. The police think they’ve found the cumprit. But Poirot has his doubts. Why is the dead man wearing an overcoat that is too big for him? And who was the impassioned love-letter in the pocket for? Before Poirot can answer these questions, the case is turned upside down by the discovery of a second, identically murdered corpse…
MY REVIEW
The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie is the second book in the Hercule Poirot mystery series and a book I both read the physical and audiobook versions of a few months ago. It’s been a while since I read it and it wasn’t the most memorable book from this series, so I’m going to write a mini-review and just go over a few points.
As always, Poirot is for me one of the best characters ever. I love it as soon as he appears in the book and it always puts a smile on my face. He is SUCH a great detective with a massive personality and I love the quirky descriptions of him, his words, his actions, etc. I also love the fact that he is always 10 steps ahead of everyone else always and just waits for the other shoe to drop. It’s just so fun to read.
This is the second book I’ve read with Hastings so far and he comes across as such a massive dork. He really is fairly clueless and I just roll my eyes a million times at how he is always more interested in the women than the actual murder. He just makes me laugh a lot, to be honest.
I really can’t remember much from this book because I read it fairly quickly and a while ago. It was one that revisited a past crime that I found interesting, although not the best execution of the explanation of the murder and the revelation of the culprit.
I still like the writing style which is changing very subtly throughout each book and the pace is always fairly good, although a tad slow at times. I do like how easy these books are for me to read, so that’s a big plus as I always expected them to drag and be boring – they are the complete opposite.
MY THOUGHTS AND RATING
Overall, this was a quick but not very memorable Poirot mystery and not my favourite so far, Murder on the Orient Express still holds that spot! I love seeing more of Poirot and he is so quirky and just a great character to read about. Alongside Hastings who is such a moron, the duo makes up a great and very funny team.
I gave this book 3.5 stars as it was just a little bit of a letdown and too much focus on women seen through Hastings’s eyes, I just rolled my eyes and thought “oh Hastings you idiot” so many times aha. I do like how we always get more insight into Poirot with each book, so it was still enjoyable, just not as much as others I have read so far.
That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post, see you soon, stay safe,
Ellie xx
ASPECTS RATING
Atmosphere – 5
Start – 5.5
Pacing – 6
Ending – 5.5
Characters – 6
Theme – 5.5
Style – 6
Total = 39.5
This list includes some affiliate links. If you decide to purchase a book from one of my links, I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
If you would like to purchase this book, you can find it here: Amazon UK – Amazon FR – Amazon US – AbeBooks – The Book Depository – Audible FR – Waterstones – Barnes and Noble – Audible UK – Scrib’d – Blackwell’s – BetterWorldBooks – Wordery