Rating: 
Summary: A COMPLICATED MYSTERY WARRANTS A COMPLICATED ANSWER
Review: 'Murder on the Links' is a fine story. There's the necessary murder/s, a semi-feasible plot, and, may I say, quite a turn of events that lead up to capturing the killer. Such a turn that no one--unless they've cheated and read to the end--will guess the murderer. But the thing that hinders me from giving this book a complete five stars is a matter of sheer detail.It seems Christie felt the need to accentuate the foriegn-ness (if there is such a word) of her characters. Poirot has uncharacteristically halted speech, Hastings is ridiculously British, and the French police are fumbling in their splotchy and nonsensical English. This makes for a trying read. However, if you can wade through the ridiculous parts and find the meat of the story, you'll find a suitable mystery. Not the best of our Agatha, but certainly worth a look.
Rating: 
Summary: Hercule vs. Holmes?
Review: A body that should be discovered and a variety of possibilities make this book a solid Poirot mystery. The competition between Poirot and a young detective who uses "scientific methods" such as investigating tobacco ash appears to be a shot at another famous detective. More could have been done with this but Christie usually wastes little time with character development. Hastings is even dimmer than usual in this one, but the mystery is a good one and not too obvious.
Rating: 
Summary: Poirot Wins the 1923 French Open
Review: Another Hercule Poirot thriller with more plot twists, unusual characters, unexpected relatonships and motives than a typical Christie who-done-it. Take this one to the beach this summer and bring a scorecard to keep track of all the players. Of course, there are twins who suffer from mistaken identities, and a chance meeting of adversaries from a long ago time in a remote location. Murder on the Links actually features two murders and two detectives. Poirot is summoned to France by a wealthy businessman apparently in need of security, who turns up dead only hours before Poirot's arrival. Then another body turns up near the same golf course, but perhaps the death is due to natural causes. Then a younger detective appears, convinced that Poirot is a dottering old fool, with obsolete methods lacking the modern scientific approach. Of course, Captain Hastings (from the Affair at Styles) is back as the narrator. Unfortunately here, Hastings becomes captivated by a young nameless woman and blunders in ways injurious to the solving of the crime. Ultimately, Poirot resolves the thing and shows up the young pretender.
Rating:
Summary: confusing
Review: Don't expect golf to play a prominent role in this novel. Murder on the Links was about a dead body discovered in a small town in France on the grounds of a golf link under construction. The victim was a prospective client of Hercule Poirot who thoughtlessly died before the detective arrive to answer his summons. The widow gave a story of suspect regarding the couple being roused out of bed by masked men, tying her up and him being abducted. The French authorities, represented by the rivalling local magistrate and Parisian detective, jumped on a series of clues thoughtfully left behind to assist their investigation, but could not agree on the verdict. Meanwhile, Poirot did his own investigation, drawing attention to clues which neither the French and Poirot's companion Hastings could not imagine any significance of. The mystery was cleverly thought out. However, Christie failed to tie up loose ends, several of the deductions made by Poirot in the middle of the story were inexplicably ignored and forgotten at the unravelling of the case, causing certain inconsistencies. The primary significance of this book though was on how Hastings got his girl. The love stories in the novel was sweetly done.
Rating:
Summary: Spotches of mediocrecy amidst brilliant pioneering
Review: Don't expect golf to play a prominent role in this novel. Murder on the Links was about a dead body discovered in a small town in France on the grounds of a golf link under construction. The victim was a prospective client of Hercule Poirot who thoughtlessly died before the detective arrive to answer his summons. The widow gave a story of suspect regarding the couple being roused out of bed by masked men, tying her up and him being abducted. The French authorities, represented by the rivalling local magistrate and Parisian detective, jumped on a series of clues thoughtfully left behind to assist their investigation, but could not agree on the verdict. Meanwhile, Poirot did his own investigation, drawing attention to clues which neither the French and Poirot's companion Hastings could not imagine any significance of. The mystery was cleverly thought out. However, Christie failed to tie up loose ends, several of the deductions made by Poirot in the middle of the story were inexplicably ignored and forgotten at the unravelling of the case, causing certain inconsistencies. The primary significance of this book though was on how Hastings got his girl. The love stories in the novel was sweetly done.
Rating:
Summary: Poirot's second case
Review: Hercule Poirot and Captain Hhastings are in France when they are called on to investigate a murder on a golf course. The story is not really centered on golf so don't let that put you off if you're not a fan of the sport. Poirot, of course, solves the mystery in his inimitable way. The polt is pretty well constructed and the solution to the crime is not too obvious. This is a pretty good Christie book but not up there with her best.
Rating:
Summary: a confusing christie
Review: I found this book to be just as delightful as most of christie's mysteries. Poirot is at his best, Hastings muddles along complicating things and there's plenty of bright young people in love to make this a cozy mystery. The end however is a bit confusing. Without spoiling it for other readers, I found the plausible motives and cast of villians to be a little disconcerting, especially given Poirot's propensity to blame each innocent attendant before finally throwing the curtain back and revealing the true murderer.
Rating:
Summary: Not her best, but not bad
Review: I have read many Poirot novels, and I think this falls into actually the 3 1/2 star category. It has an interesting story and being one of the earlier Poirot novels you see the development of Poirot into the shining beacon (and more than a little pompous) he becomes later in christie's books. I think this is well worth the read, and I would rate it higher if it weren't for the issue I have with Hastings which I describe in the last paragraph. If you have not yet read a Christie or Poirot book then you are missing one of the finest mystery writers ever. If you are only going to give one book a chance I would recommend the Murder of Roger Ackroyd & ABC Murders over this book, but if you want a good quick read I suggest this book. If you are familiar with Christie, jump right in and see if you might not agree with what I think. I think in large part my opinion of this book is somewhat marred by my opinion of the narrator character, Hastings, who appears in many of the Poirot stories. Since this is the second Poirot novel this behavior is excusable however I have read several of the books later on and I get annoyed by the major tendencies of Hastings to : 1. doubt Poirot's abilities. 2. Fall in love with some beautiful woman in each novel and think that woman is always angelic. 3. draw the wrong conclusions everytime. #1 is alright here, because he is chronologically not as familiar with the exploits of Poirot. #2 This annoyed to no end in this book, and portrays Hastings as the hormonal equivalent of a 15 yr old. #3 This is to be expected as with the Holmes stories that to accentuate the brilliance of the detective he must have a less deductive sidekick, but it would be nice if the sidekick drew the right conclusion every once in a while (I much prefer Watson to Hastings). I know that this opinion does not help anyone evaluate the merits of this particular book, but I thought it as good a place to state my opinion as any other. If you can see through this, which you more than likely can you should rush right through the book.
Rating:
Summary: Not her best-but still very good
Review: I think overall that the "Queen of Crime" overdid herself in this one. There are a few too many plotlines outlined at once and overall it becomes a LITTLE too complicated for my liking. That said however the characters were as fun as ever and a welcome romance for Hastings! (warning.this book contains identical twins-always a problem!)
Rating:
Summary: Great Mystery!
Review: I usually love Agatha Christie in general, and Poirot is my favorite detective; well, he's done it again! This is the book that has it all: How Hastings meets his wife and how they move to Argentina, a rival detective, an interlapping story, and as usual - an unpredictable ending. A truly awesome book for any true fan of Agatha Christie!
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