Taken at the Flood (1948) by Agatha Christie

💜 It was during a raid in The World War II, that Hercule Poirot, sheltering in a club, had heard an interesting story from a Major Porter. He was reading a news about the death of one Gordon Cloade, and how his new wife would inherit his estate. He - Major Porter - befriended the wife's former husband, a man named Robert Underhay, who was believed to be dead in Africa, though Major Porter was sure the man wasn't dead, and surely, one day he would appear in England. The story quite intrigued Poirot, and he was reminded to it several months later when he was asked to identify a mysteriously murdered man.

💜 The Cloade family (the late Gordon Cloade's siblings and their family) had been dependent to Gordon; he financed their expenses, provided them with capitals to start a venture - in short, he always told them to never think about money, as his wealth would someday be divided amongst them all. And so, his sudden death left the family vulnerable, and in want of ready money for their household expenses, or to continue on their ventures. They started asking Gordon's widow - a young and naive Rosaleen - for money. Her brother David protected his sister like a lioness protecting its cub.

💜 One day a stranger called Enoch Arden came to the village's inn and blackmailed David that he knew how to find Rosaleen's first husband. This conversation was heard by the landlady, who then told one of the family members. The next day, the man was found dead with his head smashed. Of course, David was instantly suspected. He had the strongest motive, since, if Robert Underhay was found alive, his sister wouldn't inherit the estate after all. But was he the real murderer? And why did Rowley Cloade asked Poirot to find the whereabout of Robert Underhay? Has that something to do with the fact that Lynn Marchmont, his fiance, seemed to be attracted to David Hunter?

💜 All in all, it was an interesting case. I loved that Poirot was not involved in the case until about half the story. If gave Christie ample opportunity to focus on the family dynamic, giving each character (suspects) to reveal their true selves, but without giving up too much to keep us in the dark of the murderer's identity until almost at the end. 

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐1/2