Product Description

A man returns from the dead, and the body of a mysterious stranger is found in his room! A few weeks after marrying an attractive young widow, Gordon Cloade is tragically killed by a bomb blast in the London blitz. Overnight, the former Mrs Underhay finds herself in sole possession of the Cloade family fortune. Shortly afterwards, Hercule Poirot receives a visit from the dead man's sister-in-law who claims she has been warned by 'spirits' that Mrs Underhay's first husband is still alive. Poirot has his suspicions when he is asked to find a missing person guided only by the spirit world. Yet what mystifies Poirot most is the woman's true motive for approaching him!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #24772 in Books
• Published on: 2002-07-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
'One of the best! her gift for blending the cosy with the macabre has seldom been more in evidence than it is here.' Elizabeth Bowen, Tatler 'Told briskly, vivaciously, and with ever-fertile imagination.' Manchester Evening News 'One of the better Christies! Don't miss.' New York Herald Tribune

About the Author
Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and became, quite simply, the best-selling novelist in history. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, written towards the end of the First World War, introduced us to Hercule Poirot, who was to become the most popular detective in crime fiction since Sherlock Holmes. She is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in over 100 foreign languages. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 19 plays, and six novels under the name of Mary Westmacott.

Customer Reviews

A sparkling whodunnit
This is one of Agatha Christie's lesser known murder mysteries, which is surprising given the ingenious plot. The criticism that Christie's characters are generally two-dimensional caricatures cannot be levelled here. The fates and intentions of tragic Rosaleen, misguided Rowley Cloade and ambiguous David Hunter will keep you guessing until the final revelation, which will leave you gasping for breath.

Agatha Christie's Taken at the Flood
Taken at the flood is a vivaciously told book, a story of romance and murder.
The plot of the murder is hidden by romance full of parts that will make you happy, scared, surprised and even sad.
Some parts even will make you laugh with the thought of "how can anyone do that!"
Travel from London to the country with Hercule Poirot and see if you can crack the murder before him.

Entertaining Mystery
Shortly after her second marriage, the former Mrs Underhay finds herself widowed and in possession of her late husband's considerable fortune, a fortune on which several members of his family were counting.

This is a post-war novel, and there are signs in it that the world of safety and comfort is gone forever. Several mentions are made of increasing prices, higher taxation and the like, and the fact that the war has changed everyone, not always for the better.

This is not one of Ms Christie's lighter reads: the book is full of well-drawn characters with complex identities and motivations. It shows that people, no matter how good they may seem, can have conflicting emotions, and that, under the right circumstances, almost anyone can commit the most terrible crimes.