A Caribbean Mystery

Christie makes clever use of Miss Marple's age: everyone assumes she is a harmless old lady, so people talk freely in front of her. She notices small things, a stray remark here and an odd detail there, and patiently pieces them together. The resort's guests, including two couples who travel together, a young hotel-owning pair and a wealthy, irritable invalid, all have secrets.

The wealthy Mr. Rafiel, rude, shrewd and surprisingly perceptive, becomes Miss Marple's unlikely ally, and their partnership is one of the book's pleasures. The tropical setting is drawn lightly but effectively, and the tension tightens nicely as Miss Marple realises the killer may strike again.

The solution is clever, though some readers may guess part of it, and the island setting is seen mainly through the eyes of English visitors. Mr. Rafiel returns in Nemesis, which makes a good follow-up. Christie keeps the cast small, which makes guessing the culprit a real challenge, and the final chapters build to a tense, well-staged climax at night. Miss Marple's quiet determination is at its most admirable here, despite her frailty. About 240 pages in the William Morrow paperback.