Lost Book Club - "Evil Under the Sun" by Agatha Christie

Oh Agatha Christie. She is the mystery master of disaster. Though I've not read many of works I will give her props for being a prolific writer and someone with super widespread appeal. Let's delve into today's selection, shall we?

Poirot is on vacation at an exclusive little resort on a lovely island off the coast. There's a cast of characters: an older American couple where the woman talks everyone's ear off, a successful dress designer from London who Poirot knows, a woman who really is only described as "mannish" and talking in a way that's more like "barking", a creepy pastor, a nice couple named Redfern, Captain Marshall, his awkward daughter Linda and Captain Marshall's wife Arlena.

Arlena is a showstopper, literally. An actress who has recently retired she is quite a beauty with quite the reputation. A random old man with whom she had a "questionable" relationship left her 50,000 pounds. She has a tendency to treat men like Kleenex. (She likes her men like she likes her Kleenex: "soft, strong and disposable". Movie quote anyone?). She turns a lot of heads on this little resort and it doesn't take long for all the women to decide she's a homewrecking harlot and almost all the men think that she looks like someone who would be fun to wreck a home with. (Except for the creepy pastor who declares that she is "evil personified!")

And then Arlena turns up dead. Who is a suspect? The women who hate her or the men who want to date her? Is it just a random psycho that turned up at the isolated resort? An angry servant? Don't worry, Poirot is there to help the local police solve the case.

So, here's the thing. This book reminded me why I don't read murder mysteries. It's the same reason I don't read spy novels (though I keep trying for some reason). It's too many people to remember all of their motives and relationships. And I hate it when I guess wrong. And I think it might have something to do with my hatred for unreliable narrators because you kind of have to assume everyone's lying right? Though I do like Ms Christie's "Ten Little Indians".


What does this have to do with LOST? : Murderous shenanigans with a limited pool of suspects?

I do like this cover though!