Taken at the Flood (aka There is a Tide...) [Paperback]

Agatha Christie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 6, 2004

When a widow tries to collect on her inheritance, her late husband's family is unpleasantly surprised. They're even more horrified by the news that this lovely stranger may be a bigamist. Now murder shakes the family tree, and it's time for Hercule Poirot to investigate.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Hercule Poirot fans will be pleased to hear Hugh Fraser, who plays Captain Hastings on PBS's Mystery! and A&E's Poirot, recount Christie's intriguing 1948 novel (published in the U.S. as There Is a Tide). The celebrated Belgian sleuth visits the sleepy English village of Warmsley Vale to check into the background of Gordon Cloade, supposedly a victim of the London Blitz. He had wed an attractive young widow, the former Mrs. Underhay, now the sole possessor of the Cloade family fortune. The deceased's sister-in-law told Poirot that "spirits" informed her that the widow's first husband is still among the living, raising suspicions about Cloade's demise. Fraser's tone at once reassures listeners that, just as on television, they are in capable hands. He does a fine job creating a variety of character voices, distinguishing one from another with clarity but without excessive flamboyance. The release of any Christie is an event, and it does not taken an abundance of "little gray cells" to deduce that this audio will be well-received. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Review

Don't miss it! -- New York Herald Tribune

No one...does it better than Christie. -- New York Times

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Product Details

• Paperback: 231 pages
• Publisher: Berkley (January 6, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 042506803X
• ISBN-13: 978-0425068038
• Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 4.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,018,784 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Agatha Christie was born in 1890 and created the detective Hercule Poirot in her debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). She achieved wide popularity with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) and produced a total of eighty novels and short-story collections over six decades.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Maze of Mystery, Murder, Death, Suicide Is Classic Christie, May 16, 2001

By 

Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Taken at the Flood (aka There is a Tide...) (Paperback)

If you like intricate and complex plots, lots of red herrings, characters who are not who they say they are, murders disguised as suicides and accidents, this could be your favorite Christie.

At the center of this intruiging book is wealthy Gordon Cloade, eldest brother of a family he is devoted to and has promised to always look after. He has amassed a fortune in business and has always maintained that his money also belongs to his family. Although they are also successful, the other family members have come to depend on Gordon and the security he and his fortune offer.

And now for the fly in the ointment: Gordon meets Rosaleen, a young Irish widow, on an Atlantic crossing and their shipboard romance leads to a quick marriage. Before he can bring her home to his family, Gordon is killed during a bombing raid. Because he has not changed his will, his entire fortune passes to Rosaleen. She and her brother go to live in his family home and, needless to say, are the target of much resentment by the family.

The alternate title of this book is "There Is A Tide" and both titles come from the line in Julius Caesar which says " There is a tide in the affairs of men when, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune." Fortune is definitely the key to this novel and the lengths to which men and women will go to obtain one.

This is vintage Christie as she proves once more that murder is always exciting when it's kept all in the family.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprises to the very end, May 4, 2005

By 

Jeanne Tassotto (Trapped in the Midwest) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Taken at the Flood (aka There is a Tide...) (Paperback)

While taking refuge in a London Club during an air raid Poirot tries to take his mind off the bombing going on outside by listening to the club bore tell yet another of his endless stories. Years later the subjects of the story and the bore re-enter Poirot's life as he tries to sort out past fictions from fact to solve more recent murders.

The Cloade family had always relied on Uncle Gordon and his money to make their lives more comfortable. In post war England life was most uncomfortable so they needed Uncle Gordon (and his money) more than ever. Unfortunately for them Uncle has married a much younger woman, then died before making provisions for any of them. Now they needed to ask his young wife and her bother (or IS he her brother?) for help...or did they?

Surprise twists happen every few pages making what is seemed certain suddenly uncertain - rather like the post war turmoil many of the characters were experiencing. In typical Christie fashion though, all the clues are there for the reader to ferret out before Poirot reveals all.

Please note that this book is also available as THERE IS A TIDE

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars It's good but she's written better, March 11, 2002

By 

K. H. ZAINAL (Malaysia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Taken at the Flood (aka There is a Tide...) (Paperback)

Like many murder mysteries, this one revolves around money. You see, the Cloade family was promised by their bachelor uncle that they would inherit his wealth when he dies seeing as that he has no heirs himself. Imagine their disappointment when he suddenly marries a young woman and then goes and gets himself killed in a German air-raid. Now the young bride inherits all the money...the money that the Cloades sorely need.

'Taken at the Flood' was not one of Christie's best although it is enjoyable enough for a quick afternoon read. Red herrings are piled right and left to confuse the reader as per usual. And if you can spot the major clue which Christie practically signposted on page.....well, all I'm saying is that if you can spot it then you'll probably have a good hunch who did the dirty deed.

Or would you?

For the case IS puzzling as more bodies begin to pile up (three people die in the book). Poirot himself is confused and asks, "If A has a motive to kill C and B has a motive to kill D, would it make sense if A killed D and B killed C?"

Perfect book for that 2-3 hour plane, train or car ride.