Book Club

Poirot Stories

Poirot is Agatha Christie's most famous and popular detective.  No doubt he would agree that he deserves that accolade!

Here is the place to discuss all of his stories in detail with other fans.  The most insightful comments will be added to the Stories pages.  But remember to beware spoilers!

If you can't find your favourite Poirot story here, don't worry - we'll be adding them all soon.

Warning: These discussions may contain spoilers!

Murder on the Links

Moderator1 04 Nov 09 at 5:53 p.m. GMT

When Poirot receives an urgent letter from P T Renauld in Northern France he, and Hastings leap into action.  However when they get there they find that M. Renauld has been murdered; his body found on the unfinished golf course outside his villa.  Despite the fact there seem to be few suspects, Poirot is faced with a challenging case; particularly when a further body turns up.

Given that this is only her second Poiort novel was Chistie successful in stepping away from her knowledge of poisons and using a different murder method?  Should Christie have pitted Poiort against Giraud in more stories?

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20 replies

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MissQuin 19 Jan 10 at 5:41 p.m. GMT

I'm a bit mixed over Murder on the Links. I think the twins complicated an already complex plot. I thought Hastings married Dulcie, then another book said he was was her twin Bella! I think this was a mistake? I think the twins complicated an already complex plot- 2 switched bodies, 2 twins, 2 sleuths, a kidnap plot gone wrong, blackmail.

I don't think Poirot should have had Giraud as a rival sleuth again, as it would get old. Poirot really would win everytime. I liked the forfeit idea in the Suchet version, where he would have to shave off his mostache if he didnt solve the case first! Just added some humour and shows that Poirot is vain.

Mr_Graves 02 Sep 10 at 9:57 p.m. GMT

I happen to think this mystery was brilliant. It could have been her second, it could have been her 52nd, it was just a great Agatha Christie book. I loved the solution, I would never have guessed! And the clues, so baffling on their own, made so much sense to Poirot. He may be vain, but he is brilliant. 

MissQuin, which book did it say HAstings married Bella? I must read it, how intriguing! Unless... Is it Peril at End House? I think I remember that....Anyway, there was mention of Bella. And yet in Curtain, he definitely was married to Dulcie. How very confusing. Well I am glad that in Links he had more of a role than just jumping to silly conclusions. 

MissQuin 03 Sep 10 at 11:09 a.m. GMT

spoilers! In The Big Four, poirot refers to Hasting's wife as Bella! Then Hasting's does nothing to correct him. I was SO puzzled. After I read Anne Hart's Life of Poirot, it cleared it up. It was an error, although Anne Hart impishly questioned what exactly was going on on at the ranch!

To confuse things futher, in the TV series Hasting DID marry Bella and there was no twin!

Littlegirl 03 Sep 10 at 8:30 p.m. GMT

I think that I remember something that will clear up the mystery. I believe that Dulcie and Bella are the same person. When Hastings first met her, she said her name was Bella, and Hastings got used to calling her that. Later on she confessed that her name was Dulcie, but he continued to call her Bella. At least I think that was what it was.

MissQuin 04 Sep 10 at 11:17 a.m. GMT

SPOILERS!!! No,  Bella and Dulcie are two different people. Remember the stage act The Dulcie-Bella kids? There were two of them, one wore a blonde wig. But they were indentical twins. Bella had a relationship with Renauld's son. Whereas Duclie met Hastings on the train.

Dulcie thought Bella had murderered Renauld. So Duclie pretended to be Bella to take the blame!!!

That sounds a mite confusing, but I'm sure that's what happened.

At the very end Hastings and Dulcie (aka Cinderella) marry. Then Bella and Paul? Renauld marry.

Then in Curtain it does say that Dulcie was Hasting's wife, clearing up any confusion. I was ok with the story until I read The big Four, which meant I had to go recheck Murder on The links!

NightRayDuck 12 Oct 10 at 4:06 a.m. GMT

Yay, thanks for the review, MissQuin! Now I don't have to keep wondering about this story!  Quite honestly, although I feel a bit curious about the plot, and I don't remember anything from my first reading of this novel, I have an irrational fear of stories where one character successfully impersonates, or repeatedly attempts to impersonate another character.

That's what's been holding me back from getting at Elephants Can Remember... I heard that there were identical twins and four wigs... to me, that's worse than any spooky story. 

Cicely 09 Nov 10 at 2:51 a.m. GMT

Just finished reading MOLinks again after a couple of years.  I did not like the character of Dulcie for someone Hastings would fall in love with.  She seemed crude with her bad language and she was very young.  Hastings was a middle aged man, or almost middle aged, and more cultured and refined than Dulcie.  I didn't understand his attraction to her.  I also think the twin character could have been omitted as she was in the movie.  Inspector Giraud was a nice bit of competition for Poirot and added some humorous moments that the movie capitalized on.  Yes, it would have been nice to see Giraud in another story or two competing with Poirot! I usually don't care for the movie versions because they change so many details, yet, I did like the movie version of Links with the character of Bella as a very feminine singer. The love story line with Hastings was much more suited to his persona than the Dulcie character.  I have always wondered if the actress who played Bella actually sang Je tendrai (not sure about that spelling), but it was beautifully done.  I really love the very end of the movie where Poirot brings Bella to Hastings where he is so deep in thought and low.  That was a very romantic scene.  Way to go Hugh Fraser!

Lone_Wolf 09 Nov 10 at 6:58 a.m. GMT

I agree that I found the adaptation to be better then the book. The book itself I found to be very uninspired and confusing, but the film got rid of some of the book's stiltedness. Use of identical twins as a plot point had been already extremely cliched by the time Christie wrote MotL anyway, so kudos to Exton for dropping it. 

Hercuel_Poirot_7 29 Jun 11 at 6:18 p.m. GMT

The book was very good you cant believe that is her second book.

kieranlandregan 19 Aug 11 at 10:51 a.m. GMT

I must say, I much preferred her first. This novel was a tad slow and a glimmer boring. She made up for it with  her next Poirot novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

EMDN 01 Sep 11 at 5:14 p.m. GMT

I finished reading this book about two weeks ago, immediately after I read "The Mysterious Affair at Styles". I do not agree that the first was better than this second Poirot book of hers. I really liked the plot, it definitely was a good idea to drop the poisons in this novel. Yes, the storyline is very complex, for me mainly because of the twins' story. However, I really enjoyed this book, and the Giraud-Poirot competition was also pleasant, but I would not want to read it again in any other book of Christie.

I also thought that, as it has already been said here, it was nice to see Hastings in a plot of his own, where he doesn't have to serve only as Poirot's motive for fun and criticism.

I have read very few Poirot novels, but so far this is my favourite. I think that the plot's complexity has only helped the book gaining more suspense and, therefore, pleasure to read.

Epsilon14 08 Nov 11 at 7:26 a.m. GMT

MissQuin

SPOILERS!!! No,  Bella and Dulcie are two different people. Remember the stage act The Dulcie-Bella kids? There were two of them, one wore a blonde wig. But they were indentical twins. Bella had a relationship with Renauld's son. Whereas Duclie met Hastings on the train.

Dulcie thought Bella had murderered Renauld. So Duclie pretended to be Bella to take the blame!!!

That sounds a mite confusing, but I'm sure that's what happened.

At the very end Hastings and Dulcie (aka Cinderella) marry. Then Bella and Paul? Renauld marry.

Then in Curtain it does say that Dulcie was Hasting's wife, clearing up any confusion. I was ok with the story until I read The big Four, which meant I had to go recheck Murder on The links!

Dulcie didn't pretend to be Bella. She wanted the police to think she had comitted the murder. But they thought that Dulcie was Bella.

Epsilon14 08 Nov 11 at 7:30 a.m. GMT

This book really had me spellbound. The fact that Marthe killed Paul Renauld was very surprising. But there is quite a resemblance with this in 'Death in The Clouds'. Because Jack still loved Bella, Marthe was posed as the murderer. In the same way in 'Death in the Clouds', as Jean Dupont loved Jean Grey, Norman Gale was posed as thye murderer.

Epsilon14 08 Nov 11 at 7:30 a.m. GMT

This book really had me spellbound. The fact that Marthe killed Paul Renauld was very surprising. But there is quite a resemblance with this in 'Death in The Clouds'. Because Jack still loved Bella, Marthe was posed as the murderer. In the same way in 'Death in the Clouds', as Jean Dupont loved Jean Grey, Norman Gale was posed as the murderer.

Truman 10 Nov 11 at 9:51 a.m. GMT

This is the most complex AK's novel that I have read since now.

notguilty 25 Nov 11 at 7:31 p.m. GMT

Enjoyed the book very much.  Found it fast moving and quite interesting.  Only question is, how old was Marthe and M. Renauld's son?  She had to have some years on him. 

Particularly liked how Dame Agatha had Capt Hastings nicknamed Dulcie "Cinderella".  I thought that was a nice twist.  Cinderella being an clever opportunist and a parvenu, as mentioned in the musical "Evita" ("greatest social climber since Cinderella").  It gave her a nice motive. 

jakat 02 Dec 11 at 9:05 p.m. GMT

THIS  STORY IS AGATHA CHRISTIES BEST APART FROM AND THEN THERE WERE NONE, CROOCKED HOUSE, THE MOUSETRAP AND THE MURDER OF RODGER AKROYD

GKCfan 02 Dec 11 at 9:37 p.m. GMT

I'm adding a comment to prevent the spoiler from showing.

Moderator2 03 Dec 11 at 11:20 a.m. GMT

Sorry Jakat, I had to delete your post containing a spoiler. Please tick the Contains spoilers box when you post, if you are going to reveal murderers etc!

thanks

carlotta_adams 12 Dec 11 at 12:31 a.m. GMT

MissQuin

spoilers! In The Big Four, poirot refers to Hasting's wife as Bella! Then Hasting's does nothing to correct him. I was SO puzzled. After I read Anne Hart's Life of Poirot, it cleared it up. It was an error, although Anne Hart impishly questioned what exactly was going on on at the ranch!

To confuse things futher, in the TV series Hasting DID marry Bella and there was no twin!

SO many confusing things, I got incredibly confused as well. THERES NO TWIN IN THE TV SERIES???? OH TOOO confusing!!!