Vintage Golden Age Mystery
Just the Facts Category: Where — On an Island
Cloak and Dagger Challenge #18
TBR #14
Date Finished: February 7, 2018

While on vacation at a hotel on an island off the Devon coast, Hercule Poirot encounters a murder. The ex-actress wife of a stoic British man play around with other men, including the husband of another couple at the hotel, and is profoundly disliked by the other women present. The wife is found strangled on the beach of a hidden cove and Poirot must investigate their alibis and find the explanation for some puzzling clues.

Another excellent Christie mystery seems fairly standard to begin with, partially because I’m sure I’ve one, of not both, of the 1982 movie or 2001 TV versions. Nevertheless, the solution is surprising and very well done, as the various items of misdirection lead the reader to focus on other possibilities than Poirot does. Perhaps this one focuses less on Poirot’s quirks, and he has no Hastings here to point them out, but his cleverness is unmatched. After the incredible stupidity of a couple of recent reads (ahem, David Alexander) this is a joy.