A Caribbean Mystery
Ratings48
Average rating3.5
Oh that was good. I knew, owning a copy, that I must have seen the recent(-ish) PBS adaptation, but luckily I didn't really remember anything until right near the end. The set up, the characters, the solution are all brilliantly done. On to Nemesis.
I'm not too fond of the late mysteries. Agatha is, of course, brilliant, but I love the 20s, 30s, 40s... innocence, I suppose.
I think I want to reread all of these, in chronological order, to see properly the development of Agatha, and how her age and life influenced her writing.
Incredibly contrived opening chapter. A doctor suspected a man of murder, and just happened to accidentally take a snapshot of him. Then just happened to carry that snapshot around with him. Then just happened to pass that snapshot and the story on to the major, who then just happens to carry it around with him so that he can tell the story to Miss Marple.
Once you get past that, it's decent enough entertainment, and to be fair even though it was spelled out early on, I still didn't have a clue who the murderer was right up to the moment of reveal.
The pros: Miss Marple's personality and cleverness, the exotic location, the unpredictability.
The cons: Somewhat annoying secondary characters, outdated perspectives on other cultures, incompetent investigation, because Miss Marple is so old she can't get out and do very much herself.
Overall a good read, especially if you are a Marple fan. But not my favorite of hers.