|
|
 |
by David J Miller
|
|
|
|
|
by Swami Kriyananda
|
|
|
|
|
by Don Bousquet
|
|
|
|
|
by John Wesley Howard
|
|
|
|
|
Evil Under the Sun
by Christie
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Pocket (1990-04-15)
ISBN: 0671706128
EAN: 9780671706128
Paperback
SKU: mon0000030843
Condition: Good
|
Editorial Reviews
|
Product Description
Hercule Poirot is enjoying a well-deserved break on Smugglers Island and, through habit, paying close attention to his fellow holidaymakers. When glamorous actress Arlena Stuart is found strangled on the beach of a small out-of-the-way cove Poirot becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. With his clever and methodical questioning he discovers that nearly all the guests have a connection to Arlena. But which of these suspects, including her family, felt strongly enough about Arlena Stuart to kill her?
|
Customer Reviews
|
nothing like an old-fashioned, character/psychology-driven mystery
Rating  (4)
Date: 2008-03-17
(part of the Lost Literary Reference Marathon) Agatha Christie is always good for a character-driven murder mystery. Sure, it's all the typical stuff: a lone hotel on the sea, a dead body strangled on the beach. But it's the characters and psychology--especially of the sleuth Hercule Poirot--that sets her apart. Arlena Marshall is a rich, pretty woman that attracts the scorn of women and the attention of all the men--except her husband. She is found strangled, and her stepdaughter's room contains relics of witchcraft. The setting and the theme of evil and its definition, as well as the mysterious characters, make it perfect for a Lost reference. Grade: B+
|
|
One of Christie's Very Best
Rating  (5)
Date: 2007-10-19
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Evil Under the Sun takes place at a secluded seaside resort in England. Arlena Stuart Marshall, is young and beautiful and one of those Agatha Christie characters who seems to inspire all she meets to wish her dead. So it is small surprise when she is killed and none other than Hercule Poirot is called upon to solve the case using little more than his famous little grey cells.
This is a very typical Christie novel in many ways. It happens in a "bottle" environment where no one else comes and goes, it has an eclectic cast of characters almost all of whom seem to have a motive, and the crime seems impossible to solve. It is, however, different from many of Dame Agatha's works in the sense that it is executed so very well. Not to say that most of her novels are poor, but this one really shines. The suspects are both interesting and entertaining. Poirot is at his best as he works through things in his fashion with his little remarks raining dry humor at just the right moments. And the mystery itself definitely kept me engaged from start to finish.
I've read a number of Hercule Poirot novels, and found some very good and a few not so good. Evil Under the Sun is an excellent mystery novel that I would recommend as a great starting point to readers new to Agatha Christie as well as established fans of her work. It's both funny and compelling and features one of the great fictional detectives at his very best.
|
|
Classic Christie
Rating (4)
Date: 2007-07-28
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Classic Christie abounds in this Hercule Poirot mystery. Sex, violence, wealth and murder all hidden behind a veneer of civility at the tranquil English seaside getaway the Jolly Roger. The usual suspects abound; a beautiful, egocentric, enchanting woman, another woman's husband who's enamored with her, a frustrated, jealous wife, the adoring husband who seems oblivious to his wife's naughty behavior and the step daughter who loathes her. Throw this dangerous cocktail together with some eccentric secondary characters and the result is murder. Only Hercule Poirot can solve this one, because nothing is as it really seems. The "little gray cells" do not disappoint with a particularly unseen twist that satisfies and shocks readers once again proving that Agatha Christie is the queen of mystery.
|
|
Christie? DISAPPOINTING? How the heck do those words come together??
Rating  (3)
Date: 2007-02-28
Having already read the excellent MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD, and being slapped in the face with one of the biggest twists I've ever read in any novel, I was really looking forward to another good mystery from this legendary author, and featuring the underrated and entertaining Inspector Hercule Poirot. Sadly, however, I was actually disappointed with this one, and as a result, I was disappointed - disappointed that I was actually disappointed with an Agatha Christie novel. How did--how *could*--THAT happen??
The mystery took so long to really start dropping clues, and by the time I was nearly done with it, things started to actually getting mysterIOUS. A major (though false) lead appeared halfway through, and while there was speculation as to how it tied in to everything, there was no real resolution to it. And when the revelation happened, it was done in a sort of offbeat way, and the last chapter was just a giant, lengthy explanation from Poirot as to what actually happened and why, which was interesting...until the last page and a half were taken up by a conversation between two characters that really could have been a lot shorter.
Why am I even breaking down the book into the reasons I didn't like it?? How could I have this much negative stuff to say about an Agatha Christie novel? She's AGATHA CHRISTIE!
Hopefully this was, much like Poirot's vacation in the novel, a sort of temporary lull in the bigger adventures. I'll still read other novels, but sadly, my second Christie read left much to be desired.
|
|
Poirot uncovers more than shells on the beach
Rating (5)
Date: 2005-08-07
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
Hercule Poirot, Belgian mystery solver extroindinare, seems to be a magnet for non-violent murders. At a fun seaside resort, Poirot is in the midst of relaxing among the gossiping guests (what else have they got to do?), with the main subject being stunning ex actor Arlena Marshall, who beguiles men and sucks them dry. Cruel and gorgeous, she may be useless, but that doesn't mean she had to die. So Poirot begins investigating the death of the strangled woman (she really was drop-dead gorgeous). And thus begins my first ever Christie novel, and I enjoyed it through and through. Christie gives dozen of red herrings and has you guessing who-dun-it constantly, each time differently, and by the time it was over, I was still wrong. Really, really enjoyable.
|
|
|
|
|