Customer Reviews

A Caribbean Mystery: A BBC Full-Cast Radio Drama (Miss Marple Mysteries)

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) is the best known mystery novelist of the 20th Century--and with good reason, for when it came to plots, truly fiendish plots, she could easily out-construct all competitors. Even so, as Christie entered her sunset years, the nature of her novels changed, often becoming less interesting for the complex plots that made her reputation than for a their chatty charm.

Such is the case with 1964 A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY, which finds Christie revisiting her favorite character Jane Marple--but in a unlikely setting. Suffering from arthritis, Miss Marple has been sent on vacation to a south seas resort by her nephew Raymond. The weather is lovely, the sea is lovely, and Miss Marple finds her incredibly bored... until the unexpected death of retired Major Palgrave forces her to wonder if there is, as the Major seemed to suspect, a killer in this island paradise.

The plot is entertaining but, for Christie, surprisingly transparent; most readers will spot the killer approximately two thirds of the way into the book. The great charm of the book is in its characters and the deftly amusing way in which Christie presents them. A visit with Miss Marple is always enjoyable, and she remains every one's favorite English spinster--and Christie presents several other characters, including the very wealthy and very gruff Mr. Raifiel and his ever-calm secretary Esther, both of whom will figure in the 1971 NEMESIS.

Hardcore mystery readers in search of one of Christie's truly mind-bender tales may be disappointed with A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY, but most Christie readers will find it unexpectedly light but none the less enjoyable for that. Recommended for fans.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

..Agatha Christie to read.

This is not a good example of her writing. The pace was slow, the characters were a bit too "cookie cutter" and it didn't contain any of the wonderful puzzles that AC is well known for.

Miss Marple is on a Carribbean vacation, where, suprise, a murder occurs. Or is it murder? Only Miss Marple can solve the mystery.

Is anyone really suprised that the happy couple really aren't? Is anyone really suprised that characters aren't what they appear? This book was too stereotypical for me. AC is not an author strong on character development, however she usually does a better job than this. Similarly, she sends Miss Marple to an exotic locale, then barely describes it or utilizes the locale for differences in her writing. It could just as easily have taken place in St. Mary Mead.

If you're an AC fan, you may like this book. I found it readable, but not great. If you're looking for a "classic" AC, try something else: And then there were none, Murder on the Orient Express, Death on the Nile, or The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Don't get this book unless/until you're a bonafide fan.

This story is set in the Caribbean - quite an unusual setting for Miss Marple who usually prefers to stay close to home. A garrulous major talks about various crimes he has observed over the years and says he may have recognized a killer...the next day he is found dead and Miss Marple finds herself called upon to solve the crime. Notable for its beautiful locales as well as the interesting dialogue among the various characters, the most interesting of which is the interplay between Miss Marple and Jason Rafiel, an old, ill millionaire who despite this failing powers, still comes to her assistance at a crucial moment. This also sets the stage for the sequel to this book, "Nemesis" where Mr. Rafiel asks for Miss Marple's help in solving another, much older crime. You should definitely read that as a followup to this one.

Caution!This Book Could Make You A Mystery Addict, too!
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I first read "A Caribbean Mystery" at age 12, when we were away from our home in Boston, MA, and staying in Israel for a year's sabbatical. I was desperate for anything in English to read and resorted to my mother's paperback mystery collection. I was so excited and intrigued by this story, that it started me on a Mystery book addiction, now going on 32 years worth of mystery reading.
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I remember the chill down my spine at the intricacy and "rightness" of the solution to the mystery. The story is very simple. Agatha Christie's sleuth Miss Marple has been sent on a vacation to the Caribbean, supposedly to relax, by her wealthy nephew. She meets an interesting group of fellow travelers at her hotel, and watches them carefully. A retired Military gentleman is ruffling the other guests feathers in his blunt way, and is with a group that includes most all of them when he is suddenly very upset by something he has seen or heard. When he becomes the victim of murder, Miss Marple must deduce what it was that had affected him so, in order to find the killer.
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This is a wonderfully entertaining example of the "Classic" mystery, with a fixed group of suspects, a circumscribed location, and a wonderful sleuth to follow. I like Helen Hayes in the movie adaptations of Miss Marple. She seems as endearing, and as seemingly muddle headed, shy, and retiring as the Miss Marple of the story.
This book follows the unwritten rules that the clues were there all along, but you just don't see them, until the case solution is revealed.
On reading the solution to this neatly done mystery, I felt that spine tingling sensation- and it remains the standard that I use to judge the success of a mystery.
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You don't have to be new to mystery stories to enjoy this light, easily read, entertaining book. You don't even have to be new to Miss Marple. Any mystery story lover will find this a nice, light but satisfying read.

This one fell a bit flat. The observant Ms. Marple, seeming out of place in the Caribbean and somewhat bored on her vacation, fortuitously gets a puzzle to solve from stock character Major Palgrave. Could it be murder?
For another Caribbean mystery, try Murder in the Raw: A Rex Graves Mystery (Rex Graves). It's a fast-paced, contemporary Agatha Christie set at an exclusive resort in the French West Indies--by C.S. Challinor, author of CHRISTMAS IS MURDER.

Kindle review -

Chapter navigation available. This is an actual Kindle version so the navigation and type-setting are appropriate to Kindle.

Book review -

Great story. This is one of my favorites (although you'll hear that about probably two thirds of the Agatha Christie novels that I review).

The puzzle is decent, the red herrings abound, and the characters are fun and interesting. If you are new to Agatha Christie the Miss Marple mysteries can have her as a main character or as a side note, basically working in the background. This one is actually as much about her, putting her in a new setting, making new friends, experiencing the world... basically taking her out of her comfort zone.

If you have not previously read any of her works I would recommend that you read one where the detective is the main character - whether it's Miss Marple or Poirot. The ones where they are incidental characters are not as satisfying if you are not familiar with their quirks and their methods.

This novel was written late in Agatha Christie's career when she was already well into her seventies. So, not too surprisingly, it's not as good as the novels written during her prime from the late 1920s through the mid-1940s. The book is a little short, at about 220 pages and somewhat sketchily written. Christie was never a great one for extensive descriptions of her settings, but here she dispenses with description almost completely. The novel is set at a Caribbean resort, but I never had a clear idea of what the resort was like because she doesn't bother to provide much description. The mystery is decent, but not exceptional, and the herrings are a little too red. There are too many suspects with more or less the same potential motive. Anyone who has not yet read all the Christie's from her classic period should read those books before this one. Anyone who is close to completing the Christie cannon will probably find this one at least mildly enjoyable. I will say I love these Black Dog editions, which at less than $10 on Amazon are a great bargain.

If this is your first Christie buy, don't do it. This is a story with a potential interest level but a mediocre turn-out. A somewhat slow read, something certain to give you a bad taste of Christie.

I first read this book about ten years ago and thought it was mediocre. I didn't pick up another Agatha Christie book (based on that experience of boredom) until very recently, and only because I really like the Poirot mystery series on TV. The Poirot character is far more interesting and entertaining than Miss Marple in this slow-paced mystery. I'd only read this if I were desperate (which I was when I read it again after all these years.

This is a good Agatha Christie, but it has a terribly slow pace. If this is your first time reading her work, don't read this book. Read one with excitement in it, so you can see Agatha's best side of her writing. There is a lot of imagery and description, but not a lot of suspense or dead bodies.