Evil under the Sun Agatha Christie

The scene of the crime for Evil under the Sun is the Jolly Roger Hotel on Smugglers Island off the coast of Devon. So to a certain extent this is a locked room mystery with our cast of characters all on an island with the only access over a private causeway. Our cast is the glamorous actress Arlena Marshal, her husband Captain Marshall and his teenage daughter Linda. Further cast members are Patrick Redfern & his wife Christine, Poirot, Emily Brewster, Rev. Stephen Lane who has a mania about sin, Horace Blatt a loud mouth with no real reason to be there, Rosamund Darnley previous Beau of Marshall and the owner of the hotel Mrs Castle.
The location setting was based off the real island of Burgh off the Devon coast  which was a popular holiday resort in the 1930’s. This was one of the first Christie novels brought to our screen in 1981 with an all star cast including Maggie Smith, Diana Rigg, James Mason and  Roddy McDowall.
So our story starts with Arlena arriving on the island and immediately turning the head of married Patrick Redfern with our full cast of characters seeing the triangle form. Soon after she is found murdered but was it the jealous husband? The vengeful lover? His wife? A priest with a religious mania? Stepdaughter who never liked he? Or was it a random stranger?

For those long time fans of Agatha Christie – who love a twist, a locked room situation and a murder who’s every possibility hinges on timings and possibilities this is the book for you.

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