#82 Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot, retired master detective, has decided to take a vacation to the seashore. Here he discovers Arlena Marshall, a devastatingly
beautiful woman who appears to have the ability to draw the attention of every man in the room, and the fury of most of the women. Poirot knows that evil is in the air, an evil that results in the murder of Arlena Marshall.
Evil Under the Sun is one of the many Hercule Poirot novels by Agatha Christie. Although I'm not a huge mystery fan, every now and then I get in the mood and the first place I reach is for a book is Christie. Evil Under the Sun follow a similar pattern. Poirot goes on a vacation (it amazes me how many Poirot books take place while he is on vacation. The second this man ventures too far from his home, a murder is bound to occur), and becomes acquainted with a colorful cast of characters. Then, a murder occurs and Poirot must work with the local authorities to determine the culprit. Poirot succeeds by his superior intelligence, and his ability to see how seemingly insignificant details fit into one seamless whole.
Evil Under the Sun is one of better Christie novels I have read. It's expertly plotted, and filled with plenty of twists and turns, including an ending that I did not see coming. Like always, I can determine the reasoning behind many of the little details, but not the whole picture, even when Poirot himself is pointing out the signifigant details. The book is short (just over two hundred and twenty pages) and moves relatively quickly from the start. I found the cast of characters this time around to be a lot of fun. My personal favorites were the talkative Mrs. Gardner and her more subdued husband. Their interactions made me laugh. One character I did have issues with was Rosamund Darnley, an independent business women. I enjoyed following her throughout the book, but was disappointed with the resolution of her story. I know that this is mostly my twenty-first century mindset, which doesn't always mesh well with books written in the early 1940s, especially when it comes to the deception of female characters.
Although Evil Under the Sun is not my favorite Christie novel (that belongs to Murder on the Orient Express) I found it to be a really fun read. Hercule Poirot will always remain my favorite detective, and I enjoyed tyring to solve this case with him, even if I couldn't really keep up.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 223 pages
Source: library book sale
Similar Books: For other Hercule Poirot books that occur while Poirot is traveling or on vacation, try Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, Appointment with Death, and Death in the Air ( my review)
Other books I've read by this author: The Tuesday Club Murders, Dead Man’s Mirror, They Came to Baghdad, 4:50 to Paddington, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Sleeping Murder, The Secret Adversary, The Secret of Chimneys, Hallowe’en Party, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Death Comes as the End, Appointment with Death, A Caribbean Mystery, A Murder is Announced, The Under Dog and Other Stories, Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express, Death in the Air ( my review), and Murder in Three Acts ( my review)
xposted to temporaryworlds , bookish , and goodreads
beautiful woman who appears to have the ability to draw the attention of every man in the room, and the fury of most of the women. Poirot knows that evil is in the air, an evil that results in the murder of Arlena Marshall.
Evil Under the Sun is one of the many Hercule Poirot novels by Agatha Christie. Although I'm not a huge mystery fan, every now and then I get in the mood and the first place I reach is for a book is Christie. Evil Under the Sun follow a similar pattern. Poirot goes on a vacation (it amazes me how many Poirot books take place while he is on vacation. The second this man ventures too far from his home, a murder is bound to occur), and becomes acquainted with a colorful cast of characters. Then, a murder occurs and Poirot must work with the local authorities to determine the culprit. Poirot succeeds by his superior intelligence, and his ability to see how seemingly insignificant details fit into one seamless whole.
Evil Under the Sun is one of better Christie novels I have read. It's expertly plotted, and filled with plenty of twists and turns, including an ending that I did not see coming. Like always, I can determine the reasoning behind many of the little details, but not the whole picture, even when Poirot himself is pointing out the signifigant details. The book is short (just over two hundred and twenty pages) and moves relatively quickly from the start. I found the cast of characters this time around to be a lot of fun. My personal favorites were the talkative Mrs. Gardner and her more subdued husband. Their interactions made me laugh. One character I did have issues with was Rosamund Darnley, an independent business women. I enjoyed following her throughout the book, but was disappointed with the resolution of her story. I know that this is mostly my twenty-first century mindset, which doesn't always mesh well with books written in the early 1940s, especially when it comes to the deception of female characters.
Although Evil Under the Sun is not my favorite Christie novel (that belongs to Murder on the Orient Express) I found it to be a really fun read. Hercule Poirot will always remain my favorite detective, and I enjoyed tyring to solve this case with him, even if I couldn't really keep up.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: 223 pages
Source: library book sale
Similar Books: For other Hercule Poirot books that occur while Poirot is traveling or on vacation, try Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, Appointment with Death, and Death in the Air ( my review)
Other books I've read by this author: The Tuesday Club Murders, Dead Man’s Mirror, They Came to Baghdad, 4:50 to Paddington, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, Sleeping Murder, The Secret Adversary, The Secret of Chimneys, Hallowe’en Party, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, Death Comes as the End, Appointment with Death, A Caribbean Mystery, A Murder is Announced, The Under Dog and Other Stories, Death on the Nile, Murder on the Orient Express, Death in the Air ( my review), and Murder in Three Acts ( my review)
xposted to temporaryworlds , bookish , and goodreads