Book of the Month: A Caribbean Mystery

As Miss Marple sat basking in the Caribbean sunshine she felt mildly discontented with life. True, the warmth eased her rheumatism, but here in paradise nothing ever happened. Eventually, her interest was aroused by an old soldier’s yarn about a murderer he had known. Infuriatingly, just as he was about to show her a snapshot of this acquaintance, the Major was suddenly interrupted. A diversion that was to prove fatal.

To encourage the summer feeling that is currently hidden in rainy England, this July we are reading A Caribbean Mystery. We follow Miss Marple on her only foreign case which sees the sleuth take a holiday to the fictitious island of St Honoré where she stays at the Golden Palm Hotel. The settings for many of Christie’s stories take inspiration from her previous adventures, and A Caribbean Mystery is no exception. The Queen of Crime used fond memories from a trip to Barbados, where she stayed at the Coral Reef Club, as inspiration for the novel.

A most encouraging return to somewhere very near her best unputdownable form.

The Observer, 1964

A Caribbean Mystery was dedicated to Josh Cruickshank Rose ‘with happy memories of my visit to the West Indies.’ Christie and Max formed a friendship with Josh Rose at the archaeological site at Ur; a friendship that would last many decades.

This summer we’re encouraging you to take photos of the Agatha Christie story that you are taking on holiday with you. Tag us in your photos or use the hashtag #ChristieOnHoliday on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, telling us where you are enjoying your Queen of Crime story this holiday season.

Find out more about A Caribbean Mystery here.