Redirection

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Taken At The Flood

I'm one of the ladies who lunch:) So today I ate lunch at my friend's and then we spent some time visiting different shops where my friend bought a new skirt, and myself, being of a rather intellectual nature went for another Agatha Christie story. I bought it in a second-hand shop and it cost me all of the 1 euro.

When I came home I right away started reading and I regret to tell you that the book was so thrilling that it caused dereliction of duty in our household, but at 10 p.m. I finally finished it. The book is titled Taken At The Flood/There Is A Tide and it was originally published in 1948 while the events described chiefly take place in 1946.

Just like in most Agatha Christie mysteries there is one person in the story whom everybody hates - the rich young golddigger of a widow whose unexpected marriage with a much older childless widower brings his whole family into financial troubles, especially after his untimely death during an air strike, without leaving a testament.

The tension in the village where the consequent events take place grows when it becomes generally known that the first husband of the lady in question is probably not dead, which means that her second marriage was not valid and she has no right to the money at all...

 In addition to this we have also a love triangle between a pretty self-assured girl, her boring farmer fiance and a dashing stranger of a war hero. Luckily, Hercule Poirot interferes just on time to prevent a crime, solve the mystery and bring the lovers together. The justice triumphs and the murderer gets his deserved lot on the gallows.

The book has a refreshingly politically incorrect minor character who violently dislikes foreigners and also, makes an astute observation that it was probably not such a good idea of the government to force women to work in the factories and leave their teeenage daughters without any supervision. In short, that was quite an amusing book in the typical Agatha Christie style and it will take its deserved place in my collection.

2 comments:

  1. Hercule Poirot is one of my favorite Agatha Christie characters. I think I have watched every Hercule Poirot mini movie there is; BBC use to have a series.

    Question: are you in Sweden? I love things Nordic. I've been collecting old cookbooks as of late. I just bought a old Sweden Cookbook called "Notes From a Scandinavian Kitchen". I also love Nordic knitting designs too. It would also explain why you are so gracious. It really comes through in your writing. American women are wonderful females and we definately have our positives but we don't have quite the same charm as european woman do. It is my bias, I've traveled a bit.

    You must wonder, how does this lady have all this time to read and comment on my blog? I multi-task!!! I'm writing this while I'm waiting for a casserole to finish baking. When I was working I did a gillion things at once, I have actually learned to slow down quite a bit since those days.

    Now I have to go, I might be burning the casserole! :-D

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  2. Dear Shaolin, you are too kind to yours truly:) No, I'm not in Sweden, though I live in North Europe, Holland, to be precise. Multi-tasking certainly helps, as for Agatha Christie, she is one of my favourite authors. The series you mention was here on a cable channel, and it's also on YouTube now.

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