Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie

Val Penny ♦ July 14, 2013 ♦ 1 Comment

Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, England, U.K.  She was the youngest of three children.   She wrote romance novels under the pseudonym  Mary Westmacott and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan but it is for writing crime mysteries as Agatha Christie that she is best known.

Evil Under The Sun is a traditional crime story solved by one of the author’s most famous characters, Hercule Poirot.  (Play the game “Name 10 famous Belgians and I’ll give you good odds that some one will mention this fictional character!)  Approached as a game, reading this books and trying to beat Poirot is a lot of fun.

It is hard to deny the achievement of Agatha Christie.  For many years, a “Christie for Christmas ” was one of the staples of the book trade, and this prolific author is often said to be the best exponent of the classic “whodunnit”.  This is where the reader is given all the clues to solve the mystery and pits their wits against the detective (Poirot) to see if they can beat him to the solution of the case.  This story is set at the Jolly Roger, a fancy vacation resort for the rich and famous on the southern coast of England.   Evil Under the Sun is one of Agatha Christie’s most well-known and intriguing mysteries.

It focuses on a gorgeous young bride, Arlena Stuart, brutally strangled to death on the beach.  Only Hercule Poirot can sift through the secrets that shroud each of the guests and unravel the macabre mystery at this playground by the sea.   With his particular interest in the human character, Poirot analyses each personality and it is really interesting to see them all through his eyes.

Arlena originally appears to be involved with another visitor of the resort, a married man staying there with his wife.   So when Arlena is found murdered it seems obvious that the murderer has to be one of the guests.   Several people have motives; Arlena’s cuckolded husband, the betrayed wife, the unhappy stepdaughter.   Also there are more suspicious behaviours.   Poirot has to rely on his “little grey cells” to discover what really happened and who the murderer is and,  of course, he does that brilliantly.

Although I had read the book before, many years ago, I was still surprised by the conclusion.   I thought that there were some characters with a suspicious behaviour and a real motive.  I kept thinking one or another had been the guilty one.   The fun thing is that they were really likeable characters so I kept wishing that I was wrong.  Fortunately, regarding my guesses, Poirot proved me wron!

Evil Under The Sun is full of suspense.  It is a real page turner, with lots of clues being given but I did not really connect the dots till Poirot comes along with the solution.   I really enjoy this kind of book.  If the genre appeals to you too, I recommend this book.

I have also reviewed Christie’s Peril at End House,  https://bookreviewstoday.info/2013/06/16/peril-at-end-h…gatha-christie/ and The Hollow, https://bookreviewstoday.info/2013/04/11/the-hollow-by-agatha-christie/, Five Little Pigs, http://bookreviewstoday.info/2014/06/26/five-little-pi…gatha-christie/.

Valerie Penny   ‎