History Literature / TheMurderOnTheLinks

The story was adapted as an episode of ''Series/{{Poirot}}''.

* AccidentalMurder: When [[spoiler:Marthe Daubreauil]] attempts to murder Madam Renaud, Dulcie Duveen (or Stonor, in the TV adaptation) comes to the rescue, and accidentally kills [[spoiler:Marthe]] during the ensuing struggle.
* AdaptationalVillainy: Compared to the novel, TV portrayal of Jack Renaud is very selfish, arrogant and overall a unpleasant character.
** In the books, Jack loves both of his parents, including his father, despite having frequent rows with the latter. This aspect of his character is not seen in the TV, where Jack outright stated that he dislikes Paul (who is turned into his step-father, rather than his biological father).
** In both versions Jack did allow himself to get arrested to protect Bella from suspicion, but his response when [[spoiler:Bella arrives at his trial to confess to the crime]] was completely changed. In the books, he was distraught that his HeroicSacrifice for her was all for nothing, and sent Stonor to stay for her trial to help her defence. In the TV, he happily went on to celebrate his acquittal with Marthe, apparently forgetting about Bella.
* AdaptedOut: Jeanne Beroldy's rich lover Mr Hiram is omitted in the adaptation. There, she manipulates George Conneau into murdering her husband to claim his inheritance, whereas in the books she wanted to be "freed" so she can marry Hiram.

* TheBet: Poirot and Giraud makes one. In the TV episode, they wagered that if Poirot solves the case first, Giraud must give up his trademark pipe, whereas Poirot must shave his iconic moustache if Giraud wins. In the books, they bet 500 francs.

* CleaningUpRomanticLooseEnds: A likely reason for Jack Renaud's adaptational jerkass-ery in the ITV series: because the character of Bella Duveen, Jack's fiancee, is merged with Hastings' LoveInterest, Dulcie, it needs to give the audience some more plausible explanation to why Bella would choose Hastings over Jack. Poirot lampshades this by saying that Jack doesn't deserve Bella's love in the film's final scene (in the books, it was the other way around -- Jack feels that he doesn't deserve Bella because he tried to leave her for Marthe, but Poirot assures him that his willingness to die for Bella proves that he is worthy of her).
* CompositeCharacter: Dulcie is omitted in the David Suchet adaptation, and her sister Bella replaces her as [[spoiler:Hastings' future wife]].

* GracefulLoser: Giraud, in the TV adaptation. He acknowledges his defeat to Poirot by giving up his trademark pipe to uphold his end of the bargain. The two detectives then part ways in good terms.

* NamedByTheAdaptation: Madame Daubreuil's first name is never revealed in the books. In the TV, she's named "Bernadette". This is done so that the love letter found in Paul Renaud's pocket (signed by B.D.) could be attributed to her.

* PromotedToLoveInterest: Downplayed; in the TV adaptation, Madame Renaud shares a lot of intimate scenes with Stonor, which did not exist in the original books. Whether those moments are meant to be romantic is not really clear, however.
* RelatedInTheAdaptation: Inverted. Jack Renaud is Paul's step-son in the TV. In the novel, he's his biological son.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: Jack Renaud looks so similar to his father that, when he first arrived at the crime scene, Hastings briefly thought that the deceased had come back to live. This is averted in the TV series, where Jack is Paul's step-son, rather than his biological son, and they look nothing alike.

* AdaptationalVillainy: Downplayed; while he did not turn evil, Jack Renaud is much more selfish, arrogant and overall a more unpleasant character in the TV than he is in the books.
** In the novel, he genuinely loves his father despite their occasional rows, and part of the reason why he goes through with the trial is because he partially feels responsible for his murder. In the TV, Jack despises his step-father. Jack's loving relationship with his mother is also greatly toned down in the adaptation.
** Also, in the adaptation, Jack immediately goes to celebrate with Marthe after he was acquitted, ignoring/forgetting the fact that Bella would most likely be executed in his place. In the books, he was distressed by the circumstances of his acquittal, and expresses regrets that the his efforts to let himself take the blame for Bella's (apparent) crime was all for nothing, and had Stonor stay for Bella's trial to help her defense.
** Finally, after finding out about the truth, novel!Jack feels unworthy of Bella's love because he had tried to leave her for Marthe, and was also worried that no one would want to marry [[spoiler:a murderer's son]] like him. Poirot then assures him that someone like Bella, who is so willing to sacrifice her life for his sake, would look past those things. In the TV version, Jack seem to ''expect'' Bella to take him back, while Poirot says that he's not worthy of Bella's love.

* StrongFamilyResemblance: Jack Renaud looks so similar to his father that, when he first arrived at the crime scene, Hastings briefly thought that the deceased had come back to live. This is averted in the TV series, where Jack is Paul's step-son, rather than his biological son.

** Also, in the adaptation, Jack immediately goes to celebrate with Marthe after he was acquitted, ignoring/forgetting the fact that Bella would most be executed in his place. In the books, he was distressed by the circumstances of his acquittal, and expresses regrets that the his efforts [[TakingTheHeat to let himself take the blame for Bella's (apparent) crime]] was all for nothing, and had Stonor stay for Bella's trial to help her defense.

* AdaptedOut: Jeanne Beroldy's rich lover Mr Hiram is omitted in the films. Here, she manipulates George Conneau into murdering her husband to claim his inheritance, whereas in the books she wanted to be "freed" so she can marry Hiram.
* TheBet: Poirot and Giraud makes one in the TV episode: if Poirot solves the case first, Giraud must give up his trademark pipe; if Giraud wins, Poirot must shave his iconic moustache.

* InTheBlood: [[spoiler: Marthe Daubreuil, daughter of an infamous murderess, becomes a gold-digger and murderess herself. Jack Renaud is afraid this will be true for him as well, as the son of a murderer. Poirot assures him that in addition to being his father's son, he's also his mother's, and his mother is a courageous and loving woman.]]

* KarmaHoudini: Jeanne Beroldy, [[spoiler: better known as Madam Daubreuil]], is a cold-hearted manipulator who is willing to tricks her one of her lovers to murder her husband so that she could marry a rich suitor. She manages to charm the entire jury to declare her as innocent, and she lives a peaceful and comfortable life afterwards. [[spoiler:She then blackmails her former lover, who had changed his identity and became himself a rich man. She also allows her daughter to seduce the man's son, and is implied that she knew of her daughter's scheme to murder the man so that she can cash in on the son's inheritance.]] Once again, she escapes justice and disappeared before the police could arrest her.

* WeNamedTheMonkeyJack: After receiving his payment for his services, Poirot bought himself a fox statuette, which he named "Giraud".

* KarmaHoudini: Jeanne Beroldy, [[spoiler: better known as Madam Daubreuil]], is a cold-hearted manipulator who is willing to tricks her one of her lovers to murder her husband so that she could marry a rich suitor. She manages to charm the entire jury to declare her innocent, and she lives a peaceful and comfortable life afterwards. [[spoiler:She then blackmails her former lover, who had changed his identity and became himself a rich man. She also allows her daughter to seduce the man's son, and is implied that she knew of her daughter's scheme to murder the man so that she can cash in on the son's inheritance.]] Once again, she escapes justice and disappeared before the police could arrest her.

* NamedInTheAdaptation: Madame Daubreuil's first name is never revealed in the books. In the TV, she's named "Bernadette". This is done so that the love letter found in Paul Renaud's pocket (signed by B.D.) could be attributed to her.

* LoveMartyr:
** Mrs Renauld knows all about her husband's shady past, and is very likely aware of his affair with Madame Daubreuil, but is completely devoted to him, and shows genuine sorrow when he dies.
** Jack Renauld and Bella Duveen to each other. When the police arrests Jack for the murder of his father, he quietly accepts his fate [[spoiler:in order to divert the suspicion from Bella, who possesses a knife identical to the murder weapon]]. Before the trial, Bella comes in to confess the crime, and taking his place in custody.

** Finally, after finding out about the truth, novel!Jack feels unworthy of Bella's love because he had tried to leave her for Marthe, and was also worried that no one would want to marry [[spoiler:the son of a murderer]]. Poirot then assures him that someone like Bella, who is so willing to sacrifice her life for his sake, would look past those things. In the TV version, Jack seem to ''expect'' Bella to take him back, while Poirot says that he's not worthy of Bella's love.

* EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Despite Renaud's past as a criminal, he seem to genuinely love his wife, and left all his inheritance to her.

* GracefulLoser: Giraud, in the TV adaptation. He acknowledges his defeat to Poirot by giving up his trademark pipe to uphold his end of the bargain. The two detective then part ways in good terms.

* AdaptationalVillainy: Downplayed; while he did not turn evil, Jack Renaud is made to be a much more selfish and overall an unpleasant character than he is in the books.
** In the novel, he genuinely loves his father despite their disagreements, and part of the reason why he goes through with the trial is because he partially feels responsible for the man's death. In the TV, Jack despises his step-father and doesn't seem to care about him.
** Also TV!Jack immediately goes to celebrate with Marthe after he was acquitted, seemingly uncaring that a girl is going to die in his place. In the books, he expresses regrets that the HeroicSacrifice he tries to pull for Bella was all for nothing when the latter comes to confess for the crime, and had Stonor stay for Bella's trial to help her defense (Jack himself only left because his mother had just regained consciousness after being injured, and he's anxious to visit her).

* DeepSleep: In the novel, Jack collapsed into a feverish sleep after going through arrest, only to have his mother publicly disown him afterwards.

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: When Bella finds out about Marthe, she's willing to let Jack go so that he can be with the woman he actually loves. [[spoiler: She even falsely confesses to murder in order to protect him, even knowing he wanted to marry someone else.]]

* AdaptationalVillainy: Downplayed; Jack Renauld is less sympathetic in the David Suchet version, and Poirot deems that he [[DidNotGetTheGirl does not deserve Bella]].

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Turns out Paul Renaud was the murderer of Madame Daubreuil's former husband.]]

%%* [[spoiler:BluffingTheMurderer: Poirot orchestrates this with the help of Madame Renaud.]]

* KarmaHoudini: Jeanne Beroldy, [[spoiler: better known as Madam Daubreuil]], is a cold-hearted manipulator who is willing to tricks her one of her lovers to murder her husband so that she could marry a rich suitor. She manages to charm the entire jury to declare her innocent, and she lives a peaceful and comfortable life afterwards. [[spoiler:She then blackmails her former lover, who had changed his identity and became himself a rich man. She also allows her daughter to seduce the man's son, and is implied that she knew of her daughter's scheme to murder the man so that she can cash in on the son's inheritance.]] Once again, she escapes justice before the police could find her.
* LoveMartyr: Bella Duveen to Jack. She even attempts a HeroicSacrifice. [[spoiler: In the book, Jack returns the favor by proving himself willing to die to protect her as well.]]

** Madam Boldery was married to a much older gentleman, but is conducting two affairs with lawyer Georges Conneau and the wealthy Hiram Trapp. She arranges to have Conneau murder her husband, so that she could be free to marry Mr. Trapp. [[spoiler:20 years later, she encounters Georges Conneau, who has found success as Paul Renaud, and began blackmailing him]].
** [[Her daughter, Marthe Daubreuil]] is much the same. She murdered her lover's rich father, who did not approve of the relationship, and anticipating that said lover would then be free to marry her, and she'd become rich from his inheritance.

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: Madam Daubreuil]], who was definitely in on [[spoiler: her daughter's plans]] but escaped justice in the end. And yet subverted in the TV adaptation, [[spoiler:when she herself gets arrested for her daughter's death.]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler:Marthe.]]

* FakingTheDead: [[spoiler:Paul Renaud tried this, but was KilledOffForReal in the process.]]
%%* GoldDigger: [[spoiler: Marthe Daubreuil.]]

* CompositeCharacter: Dulcie is omitted in the David Suchet adaptation, and Bella replaces her as [[spoiler:Hastings' future wife]].

* InspectorLestrade: Giraud is a parody of the type.

* [[spoiler:AssholeVictim: Turns out Paul Renaud was the murderer of Madame Daubreuil's former husband.]]
* [[spoiler:BettyAndVeronicaSwitch: Sweet GirlNextDoor Marthe seems like an obvious Betty, while vaudeville performer Bella is the Veronica. Until Bella pulls an IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy and tries to perform a HeroicSacrifice to save Jack, while Marthe turns out to be the murderer.]]

* [[spoiler:BluffingTheMurderer: Poirot orchestrates this with the help of Madame Renaud.]]

* GoldDigger: [[spoiler: Marthe Daubreuil.]]

* KarmaHoudini: {{Averted}}, even though it took a long time for some of the characters to get their just desserts.
** Played straight by [[spoiler: Madam Daubreuil]], who was definitely in on [[spoiler: her daughter's plans]] but escaped justice in the end. And yet subverted in the TV adaptation, [[spoiler:when she herself gets arrested for her daughter's death.]]

!!''The Murder on the Links'' providesexamples of the following tropes:

** Not averted by [[spoiler: Madam Daubreuil]], who was definitely in on [[spoiler: her daughter's plans]] but escaped justice in the end. And yet subverted in the TV adaptation, [[spoiler:when she herself gets arrested for her daughter's death.]]

** Not averted by [[spoiler: Madam Daubreuil]], who was definitely in on [[spoiler: her daughter's plans]] but escaped justice in the end. And yet averted in the TV adaptation, [[spoiler:when she herself gets arrested for her daughter's death.]]

* [[spoiler:BettyAndVeronicaSwitch: Sweet GirlNextDoor Marthe seems like an obvious Betty, while vaudeville performer Bella is the Veronica. Until Bella pulls a IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy and tries to perform a HeroicSacrifice to save Jack, while Marthe turns out to be the murderer.]]

* CompositeCharacter: Dulcie is omitted in the David Suchet adaptation, and Bella replaces her as [[spoiler:Hastings' future wife.]]
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: [[spoiler:Hastings' marriage at the end of the story is reminiscent of Watson's in ''[[SherlockHolmes The Sign of the Four]]''.]]

* GoldDigger: [[spoiler: Marthe Daubreuil]].
* InTheBlood: [[spoiler: Marthe Daubreuil, daughter of an infamous murderess, becomes a gold-digger and murderer herself. Jack Renaud is afraid this will be true for him as well, as the son of a murderer. Poirot assures him that in addition to being his father's son, he's also his mother's, and his mother is a courageous and loving woman]].

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: When Bella finds out about Mathe, she's willing to let Jack go so that he can be with the woman he actually loves. [[spoiler: She even falsely confesses to murder in order to protect him, even knowing he wanted to marry someone else.]]

** Not averted by [[spoiler: Madam Daubreuil]], who was definitely in on [[spoiler: her daughter's plans]] but escaped justice in the end.
* LoveMartyr: Bella Duveen to Jack. She even attempts a HeroicSacrifice. [[spoiler: In the book, Jack returns the favor by proving himself willing to die to protect her as well]].

* InspectorLestrade: Giraud.

Only the second of Agatha Christie's novels to feature HerculePoirot, ''TheMurderOnTheLinks'' was first published in 1923. Millionaire businessman Paul Renaud is found stabbed to death in an open grave in the golf course he was constructing. Poirot, who had received a letter from Renaud shortly before his death, tries to trace the murderer. There are several suspects: the widow who inherits Renaud's entire estate, the son who had recently quarreled with his father, the woman who might have been Renaud's mistress...However, the pattern of events in the murder of Renaud bear strong similarities to a case that happened 20 years ago. Is the same mind at work behind both cases?

!! This work contains examples of the following tropes:

* KarmaHoudini: {{Averted}}, even though it took a long time for some of the characters to get their just deserts.

* GoldDigger: Marthe Daubreuil.

* LoveMartyr: Bella Duveen to Jack. She even attempts a HeroicSacrifice.

* BitchInSheepsClothing