Taken at the Flood (There is a Tide)

First Published: 1948
Setting: Warmsley Vale, London

Starring: Hercule Poirot, Lynn Marchmont, David Hunter, Rowley Cloade, Enoch Arden

Important Other People: Rosaleen Cloade, Jeremy and Frances Cloade, Lionel and Katherine Cloade, Adela Marchmont

I have to start by saying that even though I love this book, I don't love a lot of the characters. First of all, David. I know we're supposed to hate David, and I do, but that's not what bothers me about him. We keep getting this idea from Agatha about all those men who are only suited for wartime and can't seem to fit back into British society afterwards. David falls into that category, which is one reason why I don't like him. If you can't follow peacetime rules and societal norms, go back into the army. Or go somewhere else. Don't just sponge off of other people. This is really the crux of my issue with David: he keeps saying that the Cloades aren't entitled to Gordon's money, but it's okay for him to spend the money that technically belongs to his sister (I know this isn't totally accurate, but I don't want to give away any important plot twists). First of all, I think the Cloades ARE entitled to Gordon's money. He told them to rely on him, and so they did. It's not like they didn't work or do anything for themselves. There's lots of characters in lots of her other books that really don't do anything because they or their relative has a lot of money. The Cloades all work, at least to some degree. But why does David think the Cloades can't sponge, but he can? That is my least favorite thing about him, and it makes me really mad every time I read this book. He doesn't work! At all! He gets all of his money from Rosaleen. The Cloades all do work. The double standard he yells about to Lynn all the time makes me angry. Someone, please tell me why he thinks it is okay for him to use her, but it wasn't okay for the Cloades to use Gordon. I really don't understand it at all.


Lionel has no backbone, Adela is weak, and Jeremy just messed everything up for him and Frances. Frances is awesome, though. I wish more of her characteristics were in Lynn, so that Lynn would be a little bit more awesome. 


Let's talk about Lynn. I like a strong female lead (obviously, since Sad Cypress is my favorite). I admire Lynn for her strength and her loyalty, but both of those qualities disappear throughout the book! She throws them by the wayside (and pretty much turns her back on her family) when she starts getting closer with David. She was a WREN, for goodness' sake, but with David, she becomes a totally different person. Secret assignations, cheating on her fiancee, sneaky phone calls. I don't like it. Lynn, you know better, and you know he's a scoundrel. She loses her head and her sense of self, and I don't like it. 


Don't read this if you haven't read the book! But I do have to complain about something really quickly. Rowley tries to strangle Lynn. For real. As in, to kill her. Why exactly does she go back to him? David is a rotter, and she shouldn't be with him (especially since he's going to prison or to get hanged), but Rowley tried to KILL her. At the end, she says that she wants danger in her life, and that she will always be a little bit afraid of him, so that will be the danger in her life. Are you kidding??? Go skydiving, eat raw eggs, or run off to Africa if you want danger. Don't stay with him, Lynn! That ending really makes me mad. And before that, I had really liked Rowley! Except that he tried to make someone commit perjury. Maybe I don't like Rowley all that much.


I've come to a conclusion. I don't really like any of these characters (except Frances and Hercule). They all have some good characteristics, but they all pull these smarmy moves that I really don't like. So maybe I like this book because it's about unpleasant people whose lives are worse than mine? Maybe not. I don't think I'm going to like this book as much next time I read it, and that makes me really sad.

Interesting facts: The title is taken from a line in Julius Caesar by Shakespeare. Japp is mentioned. Matthew Bunson tells us, "...Christie took the unusual step of using World War II as the backdrop for Taken at the Flood. At the start of the novel, London is suffering through the Blitz."

Favorite? YES. I love Frances. I love the plot, and the twists. I love Hercule in this book. 

Death by: Head bashed in (cosh), shooting, morphia

Body Count: 3; Cumulative: 104

The Count: Poirot-22, Miss. Marple-3, Tommy and Tuppence-2, Hastings-7, Japp-7, Colonel Race-4, Superintendent Battle-5, George-2, Goby-1, No Recurring Character- 4, Mrs. Oliver-1, Albert- 2

Agatha's Life Lessons: There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. One should never struggle against the inevitable. Ill-will is the aftermath of war. Some people thrive only in war- they are dangerous otherwise. What a person really is, is only apparent when the test comes. What happens to the ivy when the oak round which it clings is struck down? Nobody is cut off from the mercy of God. The world is becoming a difficult place to live in, except for the strong. The tragedy of life is that people do not change. Where you are not, there you will want to be. One can't blame anyone else for the things one decides to do with one's eyes open. 

Up Next: Crooked House