A Caribbean Mystery by Agatha Christie
For me, this Miss Marple story was far superior to January's experience, and I think it's because she's away from St. Mary Mead and among people who don't know anything about her expertise in solving crime. Jane Marple is on vacation in the Caribbean when a mysterious death piques her interest. But to the hotel owners and other guests, she's just a pleasant old lady who likes to knit, not a potent amateur sleuth, and how Miss Marple exploits this in her investigation is part of the fun.
A Caribbean Mystery features the usual Agatha Christie colorful cast of characters/suspects/victims. The hotel owners are a young couple who have sunk their life savings into the venture and are desperate for it to succeed, and the last thing they need is a murder or two. Among the guests are a blustery, old-school British colonel who likes to regale others with wild tales from his glory days and who becomes the first victim, a pair of upper-class couples who travel together, but whose outer propriety hides two damaged relationships, and a very elderly (and very rich) man traveling with his masseuse and secretary. And how Miss Marple finally figured out the mystery was highly entertaining and very unexpected.
I'm still trying to catch up on #ReadChristie2026 (this was April's read). The theme for 2026 is "Biggest, Best, Beloved" and A Caribbean Mystery was chosen as "Beloved in Your Collection". For May we have The Labours of Hercules, a collection of Hercule Poirot short stories based on the mythological Labours of Hercules. If I can finish them by the end of the month I'll be caught up. June should be easy because it's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd, one of my all-time favorites that never gets old. If I can get caught up maybe I can work on the other book club I committed to this year and which has totally fallen by the wayside.
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