Susan's Reviews > A Caribbean Mystery

This mystery sees Miss Marple relocated from her usual setting, of villages and vicarages, and deposited on a Caribbean holiday by nephew Raymond. The preceding winter had seen Miss Marple suffering from pneumonia and, with sunshine advised to aid her recovery, she is treated to a stay at the Golden Palm Hotel in St Honore, Trinidad. The hotel has been taking over by a young couple, Molly and Tim Kendal, who are keen to keep returning guests happy and ‘make a go’ of it.

Among the guests are the wealthy Mr Rafiel, attended by assistant Esther Waters and valet/masseur Arthur Jackson, Canon Prescott and his sister, Dr Graham, Major Palgrave and two married couples – Colonel Edward Hillingdon and wife, Evelyn, and Greg and Lucky Dyson. Major Palgrave is the type of elderly man who loves to tell stories about his past and Miss Marple is listening to him one day when he tells her about a murderer and, shortly afterwards, he is found dead…

Truth be told, Miss Marple has been finding her Caribbean holiday slightly monotonous, even without Major Palgrave’s interminable tales. When there are more odd happenings on the island, Miss Marple teams up with Mr Rafiel to investigate. This is an enjoyable mystery, although it is not one of Christie’s best plots and Miss Marple suffers from a lack of her usual sounding boards and cast of village characters. If you enjoy this, Mr Rafiel is mentioned in a further mystery, “Nemesis.”