 Dust-jacket illustration of the US true first edition. | |
| Author | Agatha Christie |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Series | Hercule Poirot |
| Genre | Crime novel |
| Publisher | The Bodley Head |
Publication date | 1923 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 298 (first edition hardcover) |
| Preceded by | The Mysterious Affair at Styles |
| Followed by | Poirot Investigates |
| Text | The Murder on the Links at Wikisource |
The Murder on the Links is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the US by Dodd, Mead & Co[1][2] in March 1923, and in the UK by The Bodley Head in May of the same year.[3] It is the second novel featuring Hercule Poirot and Arthur Hastings. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6),[3] and the US edition at $1.75.[2]
The story takes place in northern France, giving Poirot a hostile competitor from the Paris Sûreté. Poirot's long memory for past or similar crimes proves useful in resolving the crimes. The book is notable for a subplot in which Hastings falls in love, a development "greatly desired on Agatha's part... parcelling off Hastings to wedded bliss in the Argentine."[4]
Reviews when it was published compared Mrs Christie favourably to Arthur Conan Doyle in his Sherlock Holmes mysteries. Remarking on Poirot, still a new character, one reviewer said he was "a pleasant contrast to most of his lurid competitors; and one even suspects a touch of satire in him."
- ^ Cooper, John; Pyke, B A (1994). Detective Fiction – the collector's guide (2nd ed.). Scholar Press. pp. 82, 86. ISBN 0-85967-991-8.
- ^ a b Marcum, JS (May 2007), American Tribute to Agatha Christie: The Classic Years 1920s, Insight BB, retrieved 27 January 2016
- ^ a b The English Catalogue of Books. Vol. XI. Millwood, New York: Kraus Reprint. 1979 [A-L: January 1921 – December 1925]. p. 310.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
thompsonwas invoked but never defined (see the help page).