Monthly Archives: November 2021

Amy Caudill’s Reviews > The Murder on the Links

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The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie

The Murder on the Links (Hercule Poirot, #2) by Agatha Christie
Amy Caudill‘s review

In this classic Agatha Christie novel, we see her most illustrious detective, Hercule Poirot, reunited with his loyal sidekick, Captain Arthur Hastings in a case that involves murder, blackmail, and multiple secret identities.

Poirot is summoned to the home of a millionaire expatriate in France, only to find his intended client has been murdered before he could arrive.  Thanks to his long term of service and contacts with the French police, he is invited to consult on the case, and soon finds obscure clues that elude the current “star” of the police force, Monsieur Girard. 

Girard scoffs at Poirot’s methods, and soon begins his own separate investigation, hunting for clues that fit his theories, and ignoring pieces of evidence that do not appear to tie in with these.  This leads to an arrest of an innocent man, and then the confession of an innocent woman to save the man, before a ruse perpetuated by Poirot in collusion with the widow of the original victim leads the real killer to reveal herself in the final chapter.  (Sorry, spoilers!)

But all is still not what it seems, as multiple personages have hidden pasts and dark secrets that will soon come to light, and there are multiple issues caused by cases of mistaken identity before the whole mess can be sorted.   In the end, Poirot will be triumphant, Hastings will be in love, and the real culprits either caught or on the run.

All in all, this is a very satisfying mystery, with enough twists and turns to satisfy the most diehard fan.  The Murder on the Links shows why Dame Christie is still the queen of mystery a century later.  While the reader must understand that the action takes place in the 1920s and so make allowances for different manners, clothing styles and vocabulary; the crimes are really timeless and could easily have occurred in a more modern setting.   I give this book five stars and recommend it to readers of mystery everywhere.

Amy Caudill’s Reviews : Dark in Death

Book Reviews, , ,
Dark in Death by J.D. Robb

Dark in Death (In Death, #46) by J.D. Robb (Goodreads Author)
Amy Caudill‘s review 

When a delusional aspiring novelist seeks to prove herself a better writer than her idol, she turns the bestselling author’s work into real-life murder.

In this latest book in the In Death series starring a cast of characters headed by Lt. Eve Dallas of the NYPSD in the not-very distant future, the antagonist believes her would-be mentor has stolen her manuscript, and begins a plot of revenge.  Taking the penname of A.E. Strongbow, the murderer, who we see only in shadows for the majority of the book, begins to act out the main scenes in her rival’s series, which is a set of bestselling police procedurals with similarities to J. D. Robb, otherwise known as Nora Roberts, own work.

 The misguided would-be writer plans to conclude her “series” of murders with the innocent author, Blaine Delano, and Dallas herself, as Dallas forces Strongbow to “write” her in by deliberately antagonizing her during a TV interview.

Unfortunately for our antagonist, Dallas and her team begin to figure out the intent of the criminal and alert her planned victims.  Reading, or in the case of some, re-reading the book series that is her inspiration helps the police pinpoint her probable next targets and warn them.  A near miss where Strongbow leaves evidence behind leads to a trail of clues that help pin down her identity, and then location. 

Still, in the end the fate of the killer comes down to a victim that fights back, and the timely arrival of Dallas, her husband Roarke, and her partner Peabody.  Once in interrogation the killer is only too happy to gloat about her success, and can’t comprehend her murder spree is done before she gets to write the final chapter.

Dark in Death, as always with this series, is highly entertaining.  One does not need to have read other novels in the series to enjoy it, but prior exposure does help the reader understand the relationships between the vast cast of secondary characters and situations in the series. The story flows even as events become complicated, and the scenes between the principals, Dallas and Roarke, Dallas and Peabody, and Dallas and her police squad and friends serve as relief from the often gruesome deaths that figure prominently in each book.

 I award this book 4 stars and recommend it to any readers who enjoy a good police procedural with a side of science fiction and romance.