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Taken at the Flood

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Taken at the Flood

By: Agatha Christie
Narrated by: Hugh Fraser
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About this listen

Part of the new look for Hercule Poirot titles for the 21st century.

Read by Hugh Fraser, who plays Captain Hastings in the popular TV series.

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…

©1948 Agatha Christie Limited, a Chorion Company. All rights reserved; (P)2002 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London UK Fiction Mystery Traditional Detectives Crime Thriller Detective

Critic reviews

"Told briskly, vivaciously, and with ever-fertile imagination." (Manchester Evening News)

"One of the best...her gift for blending the cosy with the macabre has seldom been more in evidence than it is here." (Tatler)
All stars
Most relevant
Liked it, good twists and turns, handsome 'maybe vilans' and fun characters - had to wait a while for HC to turn up in the story, but was worth it

Another classic

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Hugh Fraser’s Irish accent doesn’t seem as good as his usual representations of characters from different backgrounds.
It’s a change for Christie to be so precise about time: just after WWII.
The story is improbable of course- the idea of a man without even a ration card to identify him stretches credulity! Even I, born in 1952, had a ration card!!
I suspect Christie had a degree of irony in regard to the characters she portrays. Or at least I hope so!
The social milieu that she describes is the best argument for revolution (or at least the Atlee government) that could be made!🌹
Even with the natural bias of an outsider in respect of a more numerous and richer people who live next door, I cannot actually believe the English were quite so obnoxious- at least not all of them!!

Escapism with violence

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Another Poirot novel expertly read by Hugh Fraser and great story - one of the lesser-known Poirot novels but an excellent one.

Plot kept me guessing to the end

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Clever plot and memorable characters, but some pretty nasty ideas about abuse that aged badly.

Very well plotted, but difficult to stomach

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This is typical Agatha Christie but with a more complicated plot than usual, which is a good thing. I enjoyed this more than most of her books.
The narration was extremely good.

Really very good!

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