My Impression: While I did not remember reading this somewhat complex Christie as a teen, I was certainly familiar with the quote from Julius Caesar which is the inspiration for the title:
There is a tide in the affairs of menBrutus uses this to argue that taking advantage of an opportunity at the right moment will lead to fortune and not making that move results in failure. There are various characters here who have taken advantage of situations: Rosaleen left a marriage that bored her and found a richer husband, the Cloades did not live within their means because they had a generous uncle who indulged them (well, how many people would decline such largesse?), war gave Lynn the excitement and travel of being a Wren, and David, apparently a war hero, plans to live off his sister’s inheritance. But it turns out the most daring move of all is none of the above, which Poirot reveals in a surprise ending, first soliloquizing:
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.
“What causes crime?” Hercule Poirot demanded rhetorically. “It is a question, that. What stimulus is needed? What inbred predisposition does there have to be? Is every one capable of crime – of some crime? And what happens – that is what I have asked myself from the beginning, what happens when people who have been protected from real life – from its assaults and ravages – are suddenly deprived of that protection?”When you put it like that, Hercule, I guess we’re all vulnerable to some stimuli! And Poirot turns out to be more sympathetic to some of those criminals than others . . . . I don’t think Miss Marple would bend any rules for criminals – does anyone recall if she does?
Taken at the Flood was the July book for ReadChristie2024.
This is book 18 for Carol’s Cloak and Dagger Challenge.
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