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A review by obsidian_blue
A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
5.0
If you have to take a vacation in the sun, make sure you bring, A Caribbean Mystery with you.
The novel takes place in the Caribbean. Miss Marple's nephew Raymond (see The Thirteen Problems) sends her off for a rest after she has been ill.We have Miss Marple sitting next to a Major Palgrave who tends to go on about past adventures that she finds boring but listens to anyone. Mr. Palgrave ends up telling Miss Marple about having a picture of a murderer and then unexpectedly changes the subject when two couples they know approach. The following day Major Palgrave is found dead from what many believe is his high blood pressure. However, Miss Marple has her doubts about the Major's death and starts investigating.
I thought that this entire novel was very well done and we are introduced to some characters who will re-appear in subsequent Miss Marple novels such as Mr. Jason Rafiel (Nemesis).
I was also very happy that this novel is definitely showing Miss Marple at her best. A few of the older stories such as 4:50 from Paddington treated Miss Marple as a tertiary character. This novel has Miss Marple front and center and the reader actually gets to see how her mind works.
I am sad to see the end to my Miss Marple To Be Read 2014 pile but I already went ahead and finished reading At Betram's Hotel (loved it) and Nemesis (This one was probably a 3 star read to me due to certain comments made my Miss Marple and other characters about lesbianism and rape. I have really loved all of Agatha Christie's novels to date but this one was so antiquated about women being in love with one another and how most women grow out of it and decide to settle for a male and have children that I taken out of the story a bit just thinking about how old fashioned opinions like Miss Marple and others had in this novel).
The novel takes place in the Caribbean. Miss Marple's nephew Raymond (see The Thirteen Problems) sends her off for a rest after she has been ill.We have Miss Marple sitting next to a Major Palgrave who tends to go on about past adventures that she finds boring but listens to anyone. Mr. Palgrave ends up telling Miss Marple about having a picture of a murderer and then unexpectedly changes the subject when two couples they know approach. The following day Major Palgrave is found dead from what many believe is his high blood pressure. However, Miss Marple has her doubts about the Major's death and starts investigating.
I thought that this entire novel was very well done and we are introduced to some characters who will re-appear in subsequent Miss Marple novels such as Mr. Jason Rafiel (Nemesis).
I was also very happy that this novel is definitely showing Miss Marple at her best. A few of the older stories such as 4:50 from Paddington treated Miss Marple as a tertiary character. This novel has Miss Marple front and center and the reader actually gets to see how her mind works.
I am sad to see the end to my Miss Marple To Be Read 2014 pile but I already went ahead and finished reading At Betram's Hotel (loved it) and Nemesis (This one was probably a 3 star read to me due to certain comments made my Miss Marple and other characters about lesbianism and rape. I have really loved all of Agatha Christie's novels to date but this one was so antiquated about women being in love with one another and how most women grow out of it and decide to settle for a male and have children that I taken out of the story a bit just thinking about how old fashioned opinions like Miss Marple and others had in this novel).