“Murder on the Links” by Agatha Christie involves famous detective Hercule Poirot and is the perfect read when you’re stuck inside on colder days. This book sees Poirot and his friend Captain Hastings travel to Deauville, France, for a holiday… or so they think.

Murder, blackmail and kidnapping are afoot in this seaside sports town with the kidnapping appearing strangely familiar to Poirot; it is almost as if he’s seen it before, but how? With seemingly everyone having a motive, the case will test Poirot’s ‘little gray cells’ as he and Captain Hastings race to solve the case before the murderer kills again. Eventually, the French inspector on the scene claims to have solved the case, leaving readers to wonder if Poirot failed.

Christie expertly weaves the events together within her novel by throwing in false clues and witness statements that seem contradictory to the point where you think you might have the case solved yourself. In the end, she reveals the true solution and baffles even the most studious of readers.

For those who have never read an Agatha Christie mystery, this is not a cheap thriller, but instead, an expertly woven web of clues and suspects that will keep you guessing until the very end. Any of her books can be picked up and easily read, with most under 200 pages and no continual plot line between books. The only link involves the same recurring main characters being forced to figure out a new group of suspects and cases. This book, like all of Christie’s works, will be hard to put down once you start reading.