A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie

JetBlackDragonfly
Oct 2, 2023
2 min read

Updated: Apr 30

This is the ninth Miss Marple mystery written by the great Agatha Christie. While a slight and quick read, it fits the series nicely and elaborates on Marple's character well.

Raymond has sent his aunt Jane Marple to the West Indies for a beach vacation, so thoughtful. She is finding it a little dull, though. Nothing happens.

One day at the beach, her knitting is interrupted by Major Palgrave prattling on about his military career in Kenya. Older men like to tell their stories and so, Marple listens with courtesy, and maybe just one ear. The conversation turns to a story told to him second hand about a wife murderer who may have made it a habit. He was even going to show her a picture of this murderer, when he looks over him shoulder in shock, and returns the picture to his wallet. Whom did he see - and could it coincidentally be the same pictured murderer here at the hotel? Hard for Marple to tell where he was looking, with that glass eye of his...

That night Palgrave is murdered himself, starting the chain of revelations and inquiries Jane does so well. This time round, I found the emphasis was on her playing up the little old lady routine, both to throw some people off the trail and ensnare some others. Sharing detection work with her is Mr. Rafiel, whose wheelchair and wealth make him a bitter pill to be around. They form an unlikely team.

I won't go into the cast of characters, but there is a wife swapping quartet, a handsome masseur, a sharp secretary, a cannon and his gossipy sister, an exotic Senora, and the young owners trying to keep the hotel afloat. You'll be introduced to them all later when you read A Caribbean Mystery. As Evelyn sums up nicely "The truth is that one really doesn't know anything about anybody", and indeed that is a major theme of the novel. When you think of people, it is in the image you have made of them for yourself.

There is shortly another murder, a mental breakdown and near overdose. Things are looking up for Jane Marple's vacation!

Pictured above is a slightly misleading cover. It conjures up the idea there is a perhaps a murder on an ocean cruise (no.), there is an ocean liner in the story (no.), some kind of boat (no.). It all takes place at a resort hotel. Funny how a cover can make all the difference.

Light and entertaining, it's not one of the best Marple's I have read, but the plot certainly grew complex and there was much added to Christie's character of the senior detective to make this one I'd recommend.

1964 / Paperback / 287 pages