The Murder on the Links / Agatha Christie

 

The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Popular opinion would have you believe that women are the sentimental, romantic gender and that men are rational and matter-of-fact. How Ms Christie must have enjoyed turning this notion on its ear! This may be only the second Poirot novel, but we are already familiar with Captain Hastings, who has never seen an attractive woman that he wasn't dazzled by and who simply cannot believe that women are capable of crime!

The contrast between Hastings and Poirot was a brilliant idea. Dame Agatha gives us the emotional Hastings as our guide to these adventures, a deliberate hampering of our own deductive abilities. As we identify with him, we are as confused and off track as he is. I think her talent for misdirection is what makes it so difficult for me to finger the correct criminal so frequently in her novels.

And contrary to popular belief, the women in this novel prove to be cold and calculating (Mme Dubreuil), strong and smart (Mme Renaud), daring and manipulative (Mlle Dubreuil), and strong and good hearted (Mlle Duveen). They don't back down from challenges and they are pretty clear about what they want and what they are willing to do in order to get it. Compare that to our narrator, who “falls in love" with a girl whose name he doesn't know, compromises a crime scene to gain her favour, and falls for a simple ploy which results in the theft of the murder weapon. Then he spins himself a story about this Cinderella and tries to thwart Poirot with it!

I was warmed by the obvious affection that Poirot has for Hastings. We can overlook many weaknesses in our good friends (even if Poirot does comment at one point that his friend should have a harem!) And the two men share a good moment when the French detective who wants to be Sherlock Holmes gets his comeuppance.

This was written very early in Christie's career, but already her skill at this genre is very much on display. I am very much enjoying this one per month Christie reading project.


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