“The place looked like an earthly paradise. With its sunshine, its sea, its coral reef, its music, its dancing, it seemed a Garden of Eden. But even in the Garden of Eden, there has been a shadow—the shadow of the Serpent”
Miss Marple is vacationing on the Caribbean island of St. Honoré, courtesy of her nephew Raymond West. The island is warm, pleasant and, to Miss Marple, “a trifle monotonous”. But that quickly changes when the retired Major Palgrave is found dead shortly after telling Miss Marple that he has a snapshot of a murderer.
A murder mystery with a bit of a melancholy undertone. Miss Marple is away from her home and familiar surroundings and feeling her age, and she is not the only one there doing so. The setting may be glamorous and exotic, but the characters who have assembled there all carry their own burdens with them even when they are on vacation. Just like the smallest, cosiest of English villages, the luxurious Caribbean island of St. Honoré isn’t safe from dark secrets, simmering resentment and, of course, murder.
Miss Marple, who is often a rather passive observer, takes a very active role in this one, investigating and even physically exerting herself in her hunt for clues. She also gains a surprising ally in Mr Rafiel, a curmudgeonly elder guest at the hotel with ailing health but a mind as sharp as ever. Together they exercise their brains, pondering who among their fellow vacationers did away with Major Palgrave, and Mr Rafiel proves to be a great sleuthing partner, helping Miss Marple see through the rumours and lies to arrive at the solution to the mystery of who killed Major Palgrave and why.
What would be your dream destination for an all-expenses-paid holiday?
Agatha Christie – Crime classic
Mostly Murders 
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