Evil Under the Sun is my fourth Hercule Poirot novel. I started to read it in a clinics.
This time, Agatha Cristie used conversations to profile characters at the beginning. Based on the questions and replies, readers can get some ideas about characters' personality. With this understanding, readers can appreciate the story and plot more.
The location of this story is in an island. People go there to relax themselves. People go there for vacation. People go there to escape. People go there for fun. Many people, including Poirot, a British couple, and an American couple, were enjoying sun bath. Lots of beautiful people were there.
Arlena Marshall, a famous retired model, arrived. Of course, this super model attracted men's appreciation and women's dislike. A good way to say would be that she was a huge magnet that attracted all surrounding nails regardless of types. The super model enjoyed men's praise for her beauty. One thing did not make sense for most readers was that Arlena's husband, Kenneth Marshall, seemed quite calm to Arlena and Patrick Redfern's flirting (or he pretended?) The flirting got worse. The flirting developed to a love affair. The obvious affair made people around uncomfortable. Rumors rose. Jealousy came in. Hatred sneaked in.
Then, a murder occurred. Arlena was found dead in a small island by Patrick and Emily Brewster, another guest in this island. The cause of death was strangle. On the morning of the murder, Arlena bumped into Poirot before she disappeared. Arlena looked so secretive, Poirot recalled. During Poirot's investigation, readers found more and more unpleasant facts. Unlike local police, Poirot did not assume Kenneth murdered his wife even though Kenneth could inherit a huge amount of money. Instead, he focused on some small instances. These instances looked irrelevant to the death. But was it true? Poirot took Kenneth's typing alibi, Kenneth's missing pipe, the American couple's complaint, the flying bottle, the mysterious shower and Linda Marshall's unusual behavior seriously.
Linda Marshall was Kenneth and his first wife's daughter. Her hand size was like men's. Would these unusual big hands have something to do with the murder?
Rosamund Darnley's friendship with Kenneth was a side story in this murder. Would the friendship be the main reason of why Kenneth was so calm to his wife's obvious affair? If so, would these two be suspects?
Patrick's flirting with Arlena by all means irritated his wife. Would the irritation and hatred drive this elegant woman crazy? Would the sympathy toward her blind everyone so that no one detected any unusual things in this little wife?
The dramatic turns and creativity in this book amazed me completely. Indeed, this time, the murder was an evil under the sun.
