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

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!

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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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fraise's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

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manu_k's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Well written, but loses pacing in the middle, and becomes a bit slow. Not the best of Christie but not the worst either.

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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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mysterious relaxing slow-paced

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

4.0

Book three in my attempt to read through all Agatha Christie's mysteries in publication order!

The first third or half of this book, I expected to rate it three stars. Hastings is so much of an idiot as to be very annoying, and the mystery feels, if not quite predictable (hard to say for sure, since I did read this one in my teens and vaguely remembered parts of the solution), at least not gripping. Toward the end though, the mystery gets very twisty and complex, and Hastings once again makes me (grudgingly) like him through his good heart and well intentioned (if still often idiotic) actions.

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