The Murder on the Links by Agatha Christie (1923)
The second Poirot novel and third Agatha Christie overall, The Murder on the Links takes place in France, showing some knowledge of the culture and society of that country in the '20s. (Although Christie's novels tend to take place in a similar series of upper-middle-class rooms, be they French or Ancient Egyptian.) A millionaire with interests in South America is found stabbed to death, in an open grave on the golf course at his villa. Suspects include his wife, son, private secretary, and a mother and daughter who live in the neighbouring villa. Poirot becomes involved when he receives too late a letter from the dead man, pleading for his assistance to protect him from an assailant. The plot of this one, as critics tend to note, is extremely convoluted. A contemporary review accused it of making the brain reel, and Christie connoisseur Robert Barnard called it an instantly forgettable instance of ingenuity triumphing over common sense. Although the narrative is expertly struc