Reviews with content warning for Murder - The Murder on the Links

I loved this whodunit, the murder was even more interesting than Book One- and the journey to discovering the murderer was so fun! I almost read this whole book in 1 day it hooked me so much-

But Hastings.

Hastings- That abomination of a man ruined this book, and I was tempted to give it only 2 stars because of his behavior. At chapter 22, I found I could not go on and it took me over a year to actually finish that last leg. Spoiler below on why he is the WORST.

He is the worst friend and Partner- he thinks with his dick, and the girl doesn't even have to sleep with him for him to utterly betray his friends and throw away morality.

1. If the girl is pretty, no matter how suspicious she is, he'll gladly take her to a crime scene, and then leave her alone there to tamper with evidence. 2. In Book One, he proposed to a girl he knew for 2 days. In Book Two, he attacks his friend to let a ‘pretty killer’ get away because she made out with him for 2 minutes and therefore he has ‘fallen utterly in love with her’. FYI, he didn't even know her name until Poirot told him. 3. Even when knowing a man will be sentenced to death for a murder he did not commit (and the pretty girl confessed to doing), he refuses to say anything or let Poirot pursue her. Because she kissed him and he met her like 3 times so their love is forever.

All in all, Poirot deserves better, Hastings needs to die, and Agatha Christie writes awesome murder plots.

Content Warnings

bellaguiliano's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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thebakerbookworm's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

This was my third Hercule Poirot book, the first two being Murder on the Orient Express and Mysterious Affair at Styles. For some reason, I thought I’d read more, but I’m on a role now!

I did like this one—it has plenty of twists and the mystery was engaging. Poirot, as ever, is utterly amusing, and I greatly enjoyed his interactions and competition with Detective Giraud. It was also very readable, with short chapters and a fast-moving plot.

That being said, Hastings is so annoying in this book! He acts like a lovestruck teenager for most of it, and I really just wanted to give him a good thump on the head to knock some sense into him haha. Thankfully Poirot is there to make sure Hastings doesn’t derail the investigation too much. But seriously, he needs a better investigative buddy.

I watched the TV episode of this story soon after reading, and the changes they made had me laughing—but it made for good TV!

Content Warnings

anna_hepworth's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I've not read this one of Christie's before, but I can see some of the patterns that are common within other stories, and was interested in seeing how the plot came together.

Thoughts on finishing - this is one of the good ones. There are lots of fascinating twists and turns, there are people faking alibis all over the place (for themselves and others), Hastings gets to show what a twit they are while still being a generally good egg. There is a scathing commentary on modern policing which puts the police in a bad light.

I'm giving this one a 4, because unfortunately, it is showing its age, and I doubt that I would rate many of the Christie's as five star reads these days, even if I might have when reading as a more naive individual. Other than classism and misogyny that seems in keeping with the setting, I didn't notice any isms, but that doesn't mean they were there (I was reading this on a plane as something that didn't require a lot of focus; I would not call myself at all a discerning reader in this context)

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