Abandoned by Booklikes

I will say that "Evil Under the Sun" has some great quotes throughout, and the atmospheric setting is well done by Christie (she loves her island murder mysteries), but the why behind the murder of a character equaled me feeling baffled and I hate what Christie did to a strong female character. I actually kept trying to push forward on my Kindle hoping that was not the way that Christie ended the book, sadly it was.

"Evil Under the Sun" is the 24th Hercule Poirot book. We find our egg-shaped detective on vacation at the Jolly Roger in Devon. He and other vacationers are watching a tragic story play out between two couples (the Marshalls and the Redferns). Arlena Marshall is the type of woman that men just can't help being drawn to. When Patrick Redfern runs into her at the Jolly Roger, many people are just waiting for when the twosome finally get caught inflagrante delicto somewhere. The long suffering spouses (Kenneth and Christine) are just sitting around putting up with and in turns lashing out at others who are all wondering "so you just going to sit and watch? Or?" 

When Arlena Marshall is found strangled to death on a secluded cove, many wonder if her passive husband finally snapped. 

The characters in this one are very memorable. We have Rosamund Darnley, a successful business woman, Kenneth's young daughter, Linda, a couple that cracked me up due to the husband going yes darling through most of the book (the Gardeners), a reverend that creeped me out, a retired officer, another man named Horace Blatt, a spinster (eyeroll) named Emily Brewster, and of course the police who come on to the scene that Poirot investigates with. 

I really enjoyed Rosamund until Christie ruined her in the end. I was so annoyed the way this character ended up and why she was so devoted to Kenneth made no sense to me. She hadn't seen the man in decades it seemed and she seemed to be focused solely on her dislike for his wife. 

The Gardeners were welcome comic relief. I thought they were funny and I loved that the husband was devoted to her and didn't seem to mind her carrying on about things. 

Linda I felt sorry for through this whole book. Her father was pretty awful and when Rosamund frightens her at one point to be quiet and stop thinking about Arlena being murdered I was worried for her. And then at one point when Linda is in danger her dad is all well that's fine then. Seriously. 

I did love the writing in this one. Christie sets the stage so to speak with the beginning of the location and the tragedies that befell those who lived there. The remote island and murder made me think about "And Then There Were None."

I always love reading these books to see how it was that back in the day many people just seemed to constantly be on vacations at resorts. 

The flow was really good in this one. The story moves along at a quick pace and I didn't find myself getting bored at all. I loved it in the end how Poirot put things together. That said, the why behind the murder didn't work for me at all. It sounded flimsy as anything. 

The ending set me off the most though. Guilty party(ies) are called out and the romance between two characters seems set.

Spoiler discussion about that ending: