Taken at the Flood

A Hercule Poirot Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Hugh Fraser

Length: 6 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

A few weeks after marrying an attractive 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 afterward, 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.

This title was previously published as There is a Tide...

©1948 Agatha Christie Limited (P)2002 HarperCollins Publishers

Not a Good Message to Be Delivering

What made the experience of listening to Taken at the Flood the most enjoyable?

Hugh Fraser is an amazing narrator and actor. He brings you into the story and keeps you there.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

I REALLY did not like the message that the end of the story gave. I love Agatha Christie and in particular Hercule Poirot Mysteries. But in my opinion, her ending in this particular novel was a major societal faux pas. While it might have been accepted in days long past, it certainly isn't now.

Which character – as performed by Hugh Fraser – was your favorite?

Hercule Poirot

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I listened to this book over a period of days.

That Ending

I don’t know if it’s just me, but Christie has a tendency to write some pretty toxic relationships, at least by today’s standards. Both Taken At the Flood and Evil Under the Sun have left me with a bad taste in my mouth in regards to her treatment of female characters. Nothing really to do with the plot itself, just something a bit upsetting. That said, I managed to solve a portion of the mystery and I had some inkling as to the others, but I didn’t pursue my line of thing kong far enough to really let things fall into place. A bit unfortunate. The mystery itself wasn’t terribly interesting. As I continue reading the Poirot novels, I’ve grown to miss Christie’s early works. It’s been a while since I’ve read the locked-room or country home murders and I’ve grown to miss them.

Excellently done!

I absolutely love Hugh Fraser for a narrator! He's brilliant! Agatha Christie mysteries have been my favorite for years and I love having them read to me!

Loved it

Best Agatha Christie yet. Very surprised at the end....loved it so much I said thank you out loud at the end

Another Steller Agatha Christie

Another great Agatha Christie mystery. Once again, I thought I had figured it out and was completely wrong. Nice length and and an easy listen.

Ingenious

One of Agatha's more complicated mysteries. There's no way you can guess how the story wraps up!

Don't be deterred

I write this review primarily to respond to concerns raised about the sexism and "message" at the end of the book. I absolutely 100% see why those reviewers were bothered by the end of the story, and it's hard to imagine a female novelist ending a story in that way today. That said, I'm not sure how helpful it is to look for the purported message in a fiction. I actually think the events between the male and female character are quite accurate psychologically --at least for some individuals. That dynamic is often true to life, whether we like it or not. (In fact, probably more true than many other parts of Agatha Christie novels!)

Other than that one issue, I personally think this was a very good Poirot story, and Hugh Fraser is wonderful as always. The perfect narrator for the work.

one of Christie's best

Hugh Frasier gives another great performance of one of Agatha Christie's best stories. This story keeps you guessing to the end.

Not my favorite Poirot, but still great

I’m an avid fan of Poirot and all of Christie’s amazing works, but this particular story just isn’t a favorite of mine. I can’t put my finger on why. That being said, Hugh Fraser does an impeccable job narrating, as always, so it’s still worth the listen!

Twists and turns

As always, a great ride through crime. Loved having it read to me! Highly recommend.