Evil Under the Sun

When Agatha Christie is good, she\’s very, very good. This mystery about the strangulation death of a beautiful young woman on holiday at the beach with her husband and teen-age stepdaughter is filled with plausible suspects, drug smuggling, blackmail, a mentally unbalanced parson, and violent jealousy and hatred. The famous detective Poirot is also on holiday at the beach side island hotel. He uses his masterful skills to solve the crime, but the reader is in suspense until the very end. The author does a magnificent job of scattering extraneous clues that arouse suspicion but that actually have no direct bearing on the murder, and as is usual in mysteries, characters and events are not what they seem. A fascinating read

Hercule Poirot goes about solving the case of Arlena Stuart\’s murder, in this book. Arlena Stuart is the kind of woman other women love to hate. She is attractive, and men are drawn to her like flies to honey. When she is murdered while on holiday, on a secluded island, the suspicion falls on the guests at the hotel. The main suspect is her own husband who seems to be lacking any emotions, even while Arlena carried on with another married man, also a guest at the hotel, under his very nose. I have to say this is not one of my favourite Christie books. The first reason is that even though the identity of the murderer is hard to guess, the final story seems too convoluted. In order to make sure no one gusses the real culprit, the writer has given a very far fetched solution. Thr second problem is the misogyny apparent in the book. I realize that at the time when these books were written, it was unacceptable for women to behave in a certain way. Hence in the book, strong, independent women lack a husband, and only the brainless, helpless women are married. I wouldn\’t have minded so much if the vampish, calculating victim had not been turned into a poor, unaware woman by the end of the book. All in all, a mediocre book by Agatha Christie.

Another of my favorite Christies. Like I said in another review, Christie does very well groups of people, be they family (Crooked House) or fellow travelers (Murder on the Orient Express). The characters are all individuals. Hercule Poirot is vacationing at the Jolly Roger Hotel, Smugglers’ Island, Leathercombe Bay, in southern England. Also present is Arlena Stuart Marshall, a beautiful former actress, her husband, Captain Kenneth Marshall, and his teenage daughter, Linda Marshall. Arlena loves men and men love her – and she sees no reason why just because she\’s married she shouldn\’t have some fun. Of course, for Arlena this means flirting – and more. Meanwhile, her taciturn husband – the epitome of the British gentleman – suffers in silence. Linda, though, is not so silent and her feelings are very obvious. To complicate matters, Kenneth Marshall\’s childhood friend, Rosamund Darnley, is also at the resort. Then there are the Redferns, Patrick and Christine. Patrick quickly begins a relationship with Arlena that sets the stage for murder. This is one of the more enjoyable Christies. The characters are well drawn and interesting. Linda lonely, unhappy, and struggling with her feelings about her stepmother\’s death. Even Arlena is sympathetically drawn. Once I learned her story, I could not help but feel sorry for her. There is an interesting twist at the end. The murderer and the motive are both rather surprising, and I really did not suspect either. Very well done.

Enjoyable cast of characters at the resort—particularly vociferous Mrs. Gardener and her husband, “yes, darling” Odell. The victim, the siren Arlena Marshall, was especially well drawn and deconstructed. Poirot is drawn into the investigation to work alongside the official investigators, and per usual outsmarts them all by cleverly arranging all of the puzzle pieces in the correct order. As in many Christie’s, much hinges on the *precise time* that this or that character took a bath or exited a location. Numerous competing murder theories kept me guessing until the end. A highly entertaining read.

Nice retro book made to be just like the original 1941 hardback edition of 256 pages. Dust jacket included. Poirot goes to a coastal hotel where a bitchy former celebrity gets killed. The husband and other guests are each suspected as our a few outside possibilities. It\’s interesting to note how involved the various vacationers are with each other. Nowadays, people rarely speak to each other at hotels let alone get to know each other. This is a rather fast paced and delightful novel by Dame Agatha.

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