Read Christie‘s July Theme is Love of the dangerous, even deadly kind. The book selected for this theme is Evil Under the Sun. Alternative stories that one can read for this challenge include The Hollow, The Body in the Library, A Caribbean Mystery, The Mysterious Mr. Quinn, and They Came to Baghdad.
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie also fits this month’s British Crime Classics Challenge‘s theme – Favorite Detective and British Crime Classics Challenge BINGO: Detective on vacation.
Arlena Stuart, an actress, is vacationing at Jolly Roger Hotel, Smugglers’ Island, Leathercombe Bay, with her husband Kenneth Marshall, and stepdaughter Linda Marshall. All eyes are on Arlena, much to the frustration of married women at the hotel.
Her eyes fluttered. “Well, of course, I know people do go crazy about me: But it’s not my doing. They just get like that.”
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
Hercule Poirot is at Jolly Roger Hotel to spend the holidays and enjoy himself. The other guests at the hotel include Patrick Redfern and his wife Christine Redfern, Rosamund Darnley – one of London’s best-known dressmakers and a childhood friend of Kenneth Marshall, Reverend Stephen Lane, Mr. and Mrs. Gardner (isn’t that right, Odell? Yes, you are, darling!), Miss Brewster, and Mr. Blatt.
The local detectives/police force on case are Inspector Colgate and Chief Constable Colonel Weston (who first met Poirot while working on a case in St. Loo’s.)
Some of the guests at the hotel seem to be a fan of Poirot’s previous cases. Mrs. Gardner heard from her friend Cornelia Robson about Poirot’s sleuthing business in Egypt when Linnet Ridgeway was killed. (Death on the Nile.)
Patrick’s infatuation with Arlena becomes quite obvious to both their spouses as well as the other guests at the hotel. Poirot fears the worst is yet to come. He overhears an argument between the Redfern couple. Later on, when he tells Hastings about the case, he says: “it was a question of murder” to which Hastings replies that the murder hadn’t happened yet. Poirot responds saying “but it was clearly indicated.“
Meanwhile, Linda Marshall hates her stepmother. She wishes Arlena would just die. The teenager has seen a change in her father’s behavior since he married Arlena: at home, it’s as if he’s there and not there (for Linda.)
Soon, the spouses (Kenneth Marshall and Christine Redfern) question their significant others if they knew of each other’s arrival at Jolly Roger Hotel. As the two rumored lovers start spending time together, tongues wag. It’s a murder waiting to happen…
Then, one morning, Poirot sees Arlena trying to get onto a wooden float. Poirot helps her. Before rowing away, she asks Poirot not to tell anyone about her whereabouts. Poirot finds this strange but agrees.
Hours later, Patrick and Miss Brewster go rowing and reach the Pixie Cove. On the cliff that hangs over it, they see Arlena lying face down. Initially, they believe she’s sunbathing. But when she doesn’t respond to Patrick’s calls, it becomes clear that all’s not well with Arlena. Miss Brewster and Patrick rush to the spot, Patrick reaches first and tells Miss Brewster that Arlena is dead. Miss Brewster is to row back to the hotel and inform the police.
From start to finish, I completely enjoyed this murder mystery. From scene setting to eclectic mix of characters to murder mystery and denouement, Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie is a masterpiece.
I have read this book twice previously and also watched the TV adaptation twice (twice each featuring Peter Ustinov and David Suchet.) There’s something mysterious and eerie about the whole story – especially the second half which involves a lot of red herrings, double games, and much more.
The story begins with a brief history of what’s now called the Jolly Roger Hotel.
People said: “Ever been to Leathercombe Bay? Awfully jolly hotel there, on a sort of island. Very comfortable and no trippers or charabancs. Good cooking and all that. You ought to go.” And people did go.
Evil Under the Sun by Agatha Christie
Speaking of good cooking and all that, one guest mentions that they had a horrible experience with bathrooms at another place they stayed in. Jolly Roger hotel is quite good, decent bathrooms, hot water facility, and yes, good cooking.
Poirot’s introduction to the story is a done in a classic poirot-esque way: he’s wearing a white deck suit, a Panama hat tilts over his eyes; his moustaches are magnificently befurled. He’s lying on an improved type of deck chair and surveying the bathing beach. Poirot is a bit of old school and doesn’t like the way young men and women are carrying on these days. He finds their dressing sense and carrying ons ‘deplorable’.
Poirot also talks about his seasickness and detests traveling by sea. I also happen to be watching David Suchet’s Poirot right now and I don’t remember which story it is, but when questioned how he arrived in the country, Poirot says he was young (than he is now) so he did cross the channel via the sea (seasickness wasn’t that bad back then eh, Poirot?).
If you haven’t read this book yet, please skip the next paragraph as it contains spoilers.
*Spoiler* When Miss Brewster mentions the bottle that almost missed her that morning, I knew this incident plays a significant role in the story later on. The same goes for Linda’s visit to the library and her buying candles later on. The poor girl thought it was through her ‘doings’ that Arlena died. *end of spoiler*
As I am re-reading Christie’s novels, I can now truly understand why she was called the Queen of Crime. Each detail, no matter how insignificant it might seem at the beginning ends up being the ‘missing piece(s) of the puzzle.’
Poirot’s eccentricities don’t bother me much as it used to before – unless he gets cranky about the perfect shape of boiled egg and whatnots. He’s one of the best detectives out there – cannot be compared with Holmes or Littlejohn or Miss Marple either. Each one of these detectives are best in their unique way. But when there’s police and a private detective involved (working together), I like Poirot the best.
If you have been planning to re-read Christie’s novels, consider this post as a reminder to do so ASAP. 🙂 If you haven’t read Christie’s novels yet, or are looking forward to reading your first Poirot novel, you can start with Evil Under the Sun. (I will always remember my first Christie + Poirot read: Murder on the Orient Express.)
There was an interesting post on Instagram by Agatha Christie Ltd. I am sharing it below.
References to Christie’s other novels (featuring Poirot):
Peril at End House (Colonel Weston)
Death on the Nile (Mrs. Gardner is a friend of Cornelia Robson (who appeared in Death on the Nile))
Second Opinions:
Kate @cross examining crime ; Bev @ my reader’s block; Golden Age of Detective Fiction; Mallika @ Literary Potpourri 2015; Fanda @klasikfanda
The Book Decoder 
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