Title: A Caribbean Mystery
Author: Agatha Christie
Type: Fiction
Page Count/Review Word Count: 288
Rating: 4*/5
This book was fun because we get to see Miss Marple out of her element, in the middle of the Caribbean instead of in her armchair in St Mary’s Mead. In fact, the setting was the best part of this for me because while the characters were pretty believable and the plot was full of twists and turns, they weren’t so good that they alone could make this book stand out amongst the rest of Christie’s ouevre.
I’m not saying this isn’t worth reading, though. Far from it – in fact, it’s probably in her top 30%. I did feel as though the whole idea of a crime being committed in the present to stop the truth about a historic crime from coming out to be a little bit over–used, but Christie was probably the originator of it in the first place.
That said, this is also one of her later books, and what’s kind of cool about that is that Miss Marple is a little older as a result of it. It’s strange to think of that, as I think it’s only natural to picture Miss Marple as a lovely old pussy (Christie’s words, not mine), and thinking of her as being “older” is almost difficult to do. But Christie nails it through her characterisation, as she always does, and it’s probably helped by the fact that she herself was getting on in years when she wrote it.
All in all, this was a cracking little murder mystery but not quite her best. Worth reading if like me you’re working your way through her back catalogue. Enjoy it.