Abcde BLOG

Agatha Christie (1923)

Murder on the Links is the second Poirot/Hastings novel, and it actually takes place in France, though the victim is English.  It is a complicated and well-paced tale with new twists around every third corner and interesting/believable characters.  That said, it's not my favorite of the Christie books, probably because Hastings is still in that irritating "Poirot should be looking for clues on hands and knees on the ground" phase.  I cannot remember whether I read this in Autobiography: Agatha Christie or John Curran's Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks or Charles Osborne's The Life and Crimes of Agatha Christie, but I remember reading that Christie herself was none too pleased with having committed herself (a) to a foreign detective (it's received wisdom that Ariadne Oliver is a portrait of Christie and her detective, Sven Hergsson is a constant irritant to her) and (b) to Hastings as his Watson.  I do find Hastings sort of obnoxious here, but the plot and pacing make up for it.

I particularly find the opening of this novel interesting.  Christie writes:  "I believe that a well-known anecdote exists to the effect that a young writer, determined to make the commencement of his story forcible and original enough to catch and rivet the attention of the most blase of editors, penned the following sentence.  '"Hell!" said the duchess.'  Strangely enough this tale of mine begins in almost the same fashion."

Compare this to the opening of Dorothy L. Sayers' first Lord Peter Wimsey novel:  "'Damn!' said Lord Peter at Piccadilly Circus.  'Hi, Driver!'"

It's these sorts of sly nods and winks that make me so very fond of Christie--well, that and the fact that I only figured out one of her crimes before the last 50 or so pages.

In Murder on the Links we are introduced to Inspector Giraud, who is an insufferable ass, but just the sort of detective that Hastings admires.  He scours the ground looking for clues to the death of M. Paul Renauld.  M. Renauld had written to Poirot that he was in great distress, but when Poirot and Hastings arrive, the police are already at the house because M. Renauld has been stabbed to death and his widow found bound and gagged.  Poirot surprises Hastings, shows up Giraud, and earns the thanks of the victim's wife and son.