Taken at the Flood (aka There is a Tide...)
by Agatha Christie
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Book Summary Information
Author: Agatha ChristieEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1984-04-01
ISBN: 042506803X
Number of pages: 231
Publisher: Berkley
Book Reviews of Taken at the Flood (aka There is a Tide...)
Book Review: "I've Never Really Cared Very Much for Being Safe..."
Summary: 4 Stars
During the WWII, Hercule Poirot sits out an air raid in a London Club, trying to distract his nerves from the bombing by listening to the waffling story of a club member, who recounts the marriage of his friend Robert Underhay and the young Rosaleen Hunter. A strange sort of fellow, his old friend considers out loud the possibility of Underhay faking his own death in order to free Rosaleen from her less-than-happy marriage. It is not until several years after this little anecdote that the story will reemerge in Poirot's life in surprising circumstances.
Gordon Cloade has always promised his assorted brothers, in-laws, nephews and nieces that they would be well looked after during their lifetimes, both before and after his death. However, after an impulsive marriage to a much younger woman, Cloade is killed in an air raid before getting the chance to alter his will in order to continue his financial support of the rest of the family. Without a new will, his entire fortune is automatically inherited by his new wife, Rosaleen (and by proxy, her brother David). Needless to say, the rest of the family is not impressed.
The title of the novel is taken from Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar": "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads on to fortune..." and it is certainly this inexorable pull toward fortune that makes up the primary motivation of the suspects in the novel. The Cloades dearly need the money, but although Rosaleen is something of a pushover, her brother David is certainly not about to give up his newfound fortune (and in the meantime is finding the uncomfortable situation of the family rather amusing).
In the middle of all this is young Lynn Marchmont, a demobilized Wren who is engaged to Rawley Cloade, but has her head turned by David. Bored with the return to her humdrum life and caught in the usual "all girls want bad boys" mindset, Lynn watches the mystery unfold with interest as Hercule Poirot arrives on the scene and begins to investigate the murder of the man known only as `Enoch Arden', who seems to have contacted certain family members with pertinent information regarding Cloade's legacy and Rosaleen's marital status...
What unfolds is one of Christie's most sophisticated and complex plots, one that includes blackmail, mistaken identity, family secrets, conspiracies, lies and murder most foul. Although this is certainly a strong story, it does have somewhat weaker characterization, the suspects are thinly drawn stereotypes and even Poirot himself feels somewhat subdued this time around. As for Lynn Marchmont...well, by the end of the story I was wondering if perhaps she has some sort of mental disorder considering her taste in men. You'll know what I mean when you read the final pages (and no, I haven't given anything away).
Christie seldom made commentaries on the war, and yet here takes the chance to explore some of the problems of social and financial reconstruction during the war; such as young people returning from the war and finding life too dull in comparison, the rising post-war taxes that sapped away most family's nest eggs, and the resentment of those who were left behind to tend to the land whilst others took up the fighting. It creates an interesting little window on the past and those that lived through these particular years.
All in all, this is one of my favourite Christie mysteries: a swift pace, an intriguing setup, and yet another of her twist endings that caught me complete off-guard.
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