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A Caribbean Mystery (Miss Marple #10)

3.72 of 5 stars 3.72 · rating details · 8,187 ratings · 287 reviews

There is no rest or relaxation for Miss Marple.

Miss Jane Marple, Agatha Christie's most appealing sleuth, returns in this classic baffler of a vacation-turned-deadly.

Paperback, 224 pages

Published March 1st 2000 by Signet (first published 1964)

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Jan 22, 2008 Santh memories rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: agathachristies, my-collections

Miss Marple was in her vacation day, staying in a hotel in West Indies. Many different people came there to enjoy the sun, the beach, birds, foods, dance, etc.
Kendals spouse run the hotel, the wife was a little bit unwell, feeling uncertain and afraid of being followed. A Latin lady with her gigolos. Two English spouses who like to observe and research birds and plants – love affair. An old millionaire – Mr. Rafiel – with his secretary and his odd massager. And old Major Palgrave – who always b...more

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Nov 23, 2012 Ioana rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, golden-age-mystery

I'm not sure if there's an Agatha Christie book that I would give less than a five star rating to, so I am quite biased (she is my favorite mystery writer of all time). Ms. Marple, however, is not my favorite character (personal preference, and nothing to do with Christie's writing).

Still, A Caribbean Mystery is great (my favorite Marple book): the setting is an idyllic seaside resort run by a seemingly happily married youngish couple where Ms. Marple is vacationing. One day she has an interest...more

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Mar 03, 2012 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

What would you expect on a Caribbean vacation...palm trees, steel bands, whitewashed sand, blue ocean? What about rumors, snooping, liasons, and murder!

With Spring on the horizon, plan a hammock stay with your favorite reading device and A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY in hand for all the charms of an island holiday plus Miss Marple's "mind like a bacon slicer" and "ruthless forensic brain" to entertain and challenge your wits.

Who was Major Palgrave looking at with one false eye when he spotted a serial ki...more

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Jan 16, 2012 Eustacia Tan rated it 5 of 5 stars

A Carribean Mystery is one of the Miss Marple mysteries. Although Agatha Christie herself preferred Miss Marple to Poirot, I, like many of her readers, prefer Monsieur Poirot. Why? I have no idea. I certainly started reading his mysteries first, and I think it's also because he amuses me more than Miss Marple. But then again, I've only read, what, two books involving her.

Basically, the plot involves Miss Marple coming across as suspicious death, which starts to escalate. After reading this book...more A Carribean Mystery is one of the Miss Marple mysteries. Although Agatha Christie herself preferred Miss Marple to Poirot, I, like many of her readers, prefer Monsieur Poirot. Why? I have no idea. I certainly started reading his mysteries first, and I think it's also because he amuses me more than Miss Marple. But then again, I've only read, what, two books involving her.

Basically, the plot involves Miss Marple coming across as suspicious death, which starts to escalate. After reading this book, I'm actually really interested in reading the other books involving her. Miss Marple is on smart lady. Her weapon of choice is her conversational talents and that is something she has in spades. While there aren't any direct interrogations, the winding, conversational style is charming.

Well, there isn't much to say about this book. It's fairly short and a really quick read. And of course, being written by Agatha Christie, classifies as a cozy. But in an ironical fashion, the book also talks about the very things a cozy is supposed to avoid. Miss Marple muses on how the she is expected to be ignorant about things, because her nephew considers her old. But she remembers show even in small villages, the underside of life can be seen, and some are things that even the most modern authors haven't written about (or thought off). And it's ironic how she, as a first-rate detective, is considered to be doubly sheltered because she is a. a woman and b. from the older class. It seems that Christie was having a little subtle laugh at the societal norms of her time. And here are two quotes to sum up what I've been saying:

"Though really rural life was far from idyllic. People like Raymond were so ignorant. In the course of her duties at the country parish, Jane Marple had acquired quite a comprehensive knowledge of the facts of rural life. She had no urge to talk about them, far less to write about them - but she knew them. Plenty of sex, natural and unnatural. Rape, incest, perversion of all kinds. (Some kinds, indeed, that even the clever young men from Oxford who wrote books didn't seem to have heard about."

" 'I don't really feel that I've got sufficient experience to judge. I'm afraid I've led a rather sheltered life'.
'And so you should, dear lady, so you should,' cried Major Palgrave gallantly."

(First published at http://www.allsortsofbooks.blogspot.com/...)(less)

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Jul 07, 2011 Carol rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery

I adore Miss Marple. She seems like a sweet, gentle old lady, but she's bright and knows human nature. In A Caribbean Mystery, Miss Marple is on vacation, enjoying relaxing in the Caribbean son thanks to her nephew's generosity. There's only one problem- she's bored. It may be paradise, but nothing ever changes. But then Major Palgrave dies under suspicious circumstance, and Miss Marple takes it upon herself to figure out who the killer is.

Miss Marple is on center stage in this one, in a new set...more

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Jun 23, 2011 Bigyellowtaxi1 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: agatha-christie, marple, crime

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 20, 2011 Rahel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

Anybody reading this review should know I absolutely love Agatha Christie, therefore my opinion of the book might be slightly in her favour.

The story takes place on a Caribbean island where Miss Marple spends some time to improve her health. In the hotel she stays there are several other interessting characters including Major Palgrave. In Miss Marple he found a patient listener to his various stories telling of hunting tigers, time in India and so on. During one of those one sided conversations...more

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Oct 08, 2010 Philip rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Latter-day Agatha Christie can be hit-or-miss - A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY was published in 1964 and was one of her better 1960s efforts. It re-reads well (I first read it in 1973, during my Mega-Christie Phase of the early 1970s), and like some of her classic puzzlers of the 1930s and 1940s such as APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH, DEATH ON THE NILE and EVIL UNDER THE SUN it has an exotic locale (the fictional Caribbean island of St. Honore) into which she sets a mixed group of travelers, some of whom have some...more

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Jul 12, 2010 Nancy Oakes rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: uk-crime-fiction-and-mystery, translated-to-film

"Like to see the picture of a murderer?"

Major Palgrave was the man with a million stories, and everyone vacationing at the lovely Golden Palm Hotel on the Caribbean island of St. Honoré tried to avoid him like the plague. Once he got started, he never stopped. His latest victim, so to speak, was Jane Marple, who had come to the Golden Palm to recuperate after a serious bout of pneumonia. Knitting bag in hand, Miss Marple was sitting, half listening and making polite replies once in a while, unti...more "Like to see the picture of a murderer?"

Major Palgrave was the man with a million stories, and everyone vacationing at the lovely Golden Palm Hotel on the Caribbean island of St. Honoré tried to avoid him like the plague. Once he got started, he never stopped. His latest victim, so to speak, was Jane Marple, who had come to the Golden Palm to recuperate after a serious bout of pneumonia. Knitting bag in hand, Miss Marple was sitting, half listening and making polite replies once in a while, until Major Palgrave started speaking about her favorite topic: murder. He begins to tell her a rather unusual story about a man who got away with murder more than once, and when Palgrave asks her if she wanted to see a picture of a murderer, the knitting stops and she's all eyes and ears. But after he fishes through his wallet for the photo, he suddenly stops and changes the subject rather abruptly and rather loudly. Taken aback, Miss Marple looks up to see why and sees several people nearby. Although curious, she goes right back to her knitting. The next day, when one of the maids finds Major Palgrave dead in his room, apparently from natural causes, Miss Marple can't help but wonder if all is as it seems. When she creates a clever story to retrieve the photograph Palgrave was about to show her, it's gone, and now she's interested.

Miss Marple is the perfect detective. When people look at her they see "all knitting wool and tittle-tattle," and she becomes more or less invisible that way, easily dismissed by most of the players. But one man, wealthy businessman Jason Rafiel, sees right through her. And since Jane is not in St. Mary Mead at the moment, with no help from the likes of Sir Henry Clithering, it is Rafiel to whom she turns in hopes of preventing more death.

A Caribbean Mystery is lighter in tone than some of her other Marple mysteries, slowly paced and there are spots where my interest definitely flagged. The mystery plotline was good, although a bit predictable. The ocean, the sand, the palms and the steel band music definitely brought the Caribbean to mind while reading, since I've been there a number of times. And although this isn't one of my favorites in the Marple series, I couldn't help but enjoy watching her brain at work.

My advice to potential Christie readers: put this one somewhere in the middle of your reading schedule and start with some of the other Marple stories. (less)

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Jan 26, 2013 Ali rated it 3 of 5 stars

In ‘A Caribbean Mystery’ Miss Marple is enjoying a well-earned rest on the Caribbean island of St. Honore – although finding things maybe just a little too quiet. One day Miss Marple is sat talking to another guest at the hotel Major Palgrave. Poor old Major Palgrave is something of a bore – rattling on endlessly he tells the same stories over and over to anyone who has his attention for a short time. As Major Palgrave talks about his years in India, Miss Marple finds her attention wandering; sh...more

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Jul 23, 2011 Luana rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Sassari abbiamo una parola forte e molto espressiva che riassume la capacità di un individuo di influenzare negativamente le sorti delle persone e delle cose che stanno lui attorno, e questa parola è 'pindaccio'. Ora, se dovessi accompagnare a Miss Marple un aggettivo, questo sarebbe 'pindaccia'.
E' leit motiv del 'le muoiono tutti attorno', insomma, attraverso i gialli, ce l'ha insegnato anche Arthur Conan Doyle, ci è stato insegnato che, la prima qualità di un buon detective, è quella di sape...more A Sassari abbiamo una parola forte e molto espressiva che riassume la capacità di un individuo di influenzare negativamente le sorti delle persone e delle cose che stanno lui attorno, e questa parola è 'pindaccio'. Ora, se dovessi accompagnare a Miss Marple un aggettivo, questo sarebbe 'pindaccia'.
E' leit motiv del 'le muoiono tutti attorno', insomma, attraverso i gialli, ce l'ha insegnato anche Arthur Conan Doyle, ci è stato insegnato che, la prima qualità di un buon detective, è quella di saper far morire la gente solo con la propria presenza, per poi indagarne eventuali cause di decesso.
Si potrebbe pensare che la gente muore per qualche bizzarra congiunzione astrale di altitudine e latitudine proprio a St. Mary Mead, dove l'arzilla vecchietta sfoggia il suo intuito per incastrare assassini vari; si potrebbe pensarlo, ma si verrebbe subito sconfitti con l'argomentazione che, ANCHE AI CARAIBI, lontani di chissà quanti paralleli dalla piovosa Inghilterra, alla signorina Jane Marple, fa seguito immancabile la morte.

Eppure, nonostante le scene ripetute, le morti misteriose, ma in fondo sempre scoperte, la bizzarra coincidenza del 'dove c'è la vecchietta, c'è anche qualcuno che muore pugnalato/accoltellato/avvelenato/affogato, le 244 pagine di Agatha Christie mi hanno rapita, insomma ero anche io al Golden Palm Tree Hotel che indagavo e che potevo tranquillamente essere la futura vittima dell'indomito assassino.

Il 70% dei protagonisti sono dei vecchietti, tre vecchietti che mi hanno ricordato il mio paesino di provenienza dove, se non fosse per loro, buona parte dei pettegolezzi sarebbe scomparsa, così come la tipica 'attività da piazza' ossia uno sport per cui è richiesta partecipazione continua in piazza a rimuginare, riflettere, interrogarsi su vita, morte e miracoli altrui. Se il maggior Palgrave si fosse astenuto dal raccontare, non sarebbe morto. Se tutti gli altri non avessero spettegolato, gli altri non avrebbero scoperto che non è morto per cause naturali, ma per assassinio spudorato.
Miss Marple, quasi centenne, raccoglie i pettegolezzi e li incastra, lavorandoli quasi come il suo lavoro di lana a maglia, per giungere a smascherare l'omicida. E poi li chiamano nonnetti, vecchi, incapaci e chi più ne ha più ne metta, in ogni caso, senza Jane Marple, a St.Honoré qualcuno starebbe ancora morendo. (Da ringrazia il fatto che abbia deciso di starsene in Inghilterra e di jellare solo lì, e non altrove)

La trama, intelligente, curata, non si imbastisce su elementi di troppo, ma ricerca l'essenziale, colma di indizi sparsi qua e là che fuorviano il lettore, ma anche lo indirizzano verso la giusta intuizione dei fatti. I personaggi sono dipinti con una pennellata veloce, ma efficace al punto da farci vedere intensamente un personaggio rappresentato anche solo con tinte tenui.

Consigliato agli amanti del giallo, ma anche a chi prova un forte affetto verso la propria nonnina. Io mi riservo di voler bene alla mia e di non desiderarne una come Miss Marple... potrebbe venire a mancare qualche componente dalla tavola imbandita per i parenti a Natale.
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Aug 07, 2012 Kaion rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, series

"I've been wrong about her," said Mr. Rafiel with characteristic frankness. "Never been much of a one for the old pussies. All knitting-wool and tittle-tattle. But this one's got something. Eyes and ears, and she uses them."

I think Agatha Christie is a writer with whom I'm always going to be more acquainted through adaptations than her writing itself (in fine company with Jane Austen*). I do particularly enjoy the Miss Marple adaptations when I catch them. Miss Marple's such a lovely creation, all nice nattering old lady fluff on the outside, all astute and deadly accurate observer of human nature on the inside. That's really the key image of A Caribbean Mystery: in the middle of the night, a Caribbean bungalow, and Miss Marple there in the moonlight as the goddess Nemesis, wrapped in pink wool.

It is in fact so key, it's a bit of a waste it doesn't happen until near the end of A Caribbean Mystery, which is why I suspect Agatha Christie revived it for, well, Nemesis, along with Miss Marple's very intriguing friendship with the rich crochety old Mr. Rafiel. It's an alliance bordering on a romance**, at any rate, a zesty relationship as Chrstie clearly enjoys bouncing the two old-people archetypes off one another as both a subversion and a celebration.

Nothing else in the book, however, is quite as interesting. Certainly not any of the other characters populating the story, and I found the mystery rather indifferent (though I admit that I am by default indifferent to mysteries). There's more than enough of Miss-Marple-ness to keep the engine chugging along though-- too much to catalogue, but uniformly delightful, whether it be her very British annoyance that the tropical weather is so consistently nice to make a piss-poor conversation topic, or this, on "modern" novels: "Sex" as a word had not been much mentioned in Miss marple's young days, but there had been plenty of it--not talked about so much--but enjoyed far more than nowadays, or so it seemed to her. Though usually labelled Sin, she couldn't help feeling that that was preferable to what it seemed to be nowadays--a kind of Duty.

Or this: "He said he knew a murderer," said Miss Marple. "There's nothing really special about that," she added in her gentle voice, "because I suppose it happens to nearly everybody".

Oh Miss Marple. Rating: 3 stars

*Sorry Jane Austen. I know I haven't gotten around to reviewing P&P or Persuasion yet, but your SENTENCES and your plotting, and sometimes your morals, I can't.
**Yeah, I said romance. Christie starts the book talking about hot, un-enumerated sex and later there's "pussies" and stuff. This isn't even reading between the lines, people.(less)

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Apr 11, 2012 Lorraine rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012, agatha-christie, audio-book, mystery

Miss Maple is enjoying a holiday on St. Honore. There are plenty of other guests at the hotel to spend time with, and Miss Marple talks a lot with a retired major her tells her stories from his past. One day he asks her if she would like to see a photograph of a murderer and is taking it out of his wallet when he suddenly stops and changes the subject when some new people arrive. The next morning the major is found dead. Several people say it was due to his high blood pressure, but Miss Marple d...more

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Jun 29, 2012 Anne Toronto1 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense

"A Caribbean Mystery" by Agatha Christie
Miss Jane Marple "was indeed by nature a very truthful person", but "when she considered it her duty" "could tell lies with a really astonishing verisimilituude", "an apologetic little cough" p23. Multisyllables roll on the tongue. The elderly village spinster was on holiday at the St Honoré Golden Palm Hotel, newly taken over by lean dark Tim Kendal 30s and blonde wife Molly 20s, who breaks down in paranoia and blackouts p72.

"Purple of face, stuffed frog...more "A Caribbean Mystery" by Agatha Christie
Miss Jane Marple "was indeed by nature a very truthful person", but "when she considered it her duty" "could tell lies with a really astonishing verisimilituude", "an apologetic little cough" p23. Multisyllables roll on the tongue. The elderly village spinster was on holiday at the St Honoré Golden Palm Hotel, newly taken over by lean dark Tim Kendal 30s and blonde wife Molly 20s, who breaks down in paranoia and blackouts p72.

"Purple of face, stuffed frog" p1 "garrulous" "club-bore" p27 Major Palgrave repeated so many stories so often, one forgot if the murderer was male or female, in the photo missing after his increasingly suspicious death. His death cast a "grim" "momentary shadow" on "sunshine, sea, and social pleasures" p27. Hotel maid Victoria Johnson told the wrong person the heart pills found in Palgrave's room were not his, but Greg Dyson's. The death of the first Mrs Dyson, after buttoned-up Edward Hillington bought pills, and carries on an affair with the quickly remarried second wife "Lucky" (Miss Greatorex p125) causes gossip. When the reader knows wife Evelyn Hillington successfully breaks off the affair p77, more motives complicate the scene. Jane had "one weapon only - and that was conversation" p33. "Conversations are always dangerous, if you have something to hide" p114.

Christie at her best, peopled by believable stereotypical eccentrics, plucks essential clues, weaves questionable motivations and messy realisms to confound the reader before extricating the solution. Chapter titles clarify and intrigue: "Exit Victoria Johnson", "Uses of a Shoe", "Jackson on Cosmetics". "Nemesis" is a later book (and film), returning the wealthy paralyzed Mr Rafiel, here kind of a Holmes' Watson, or Poirot's Hastings to misdirect the reader p109. "How different, thought Miss Marple, everything had seemed at first" p159.

She sidesteps in life philosophy. "It's young people who commit suicide easily, out of despair from love, sometimes from sheer anxiety and worry. But old people know how valuable life is and how interesting." p115 She reminds us "One only knows, doesn't one, what they choose to tell you about themselves" p130. "Everything pointed in too many different directions at once. Once admit that you didn't believe a word that anybody had said to you, that nobody could be trusted ... where did that lead you?" p154

She echoes a fear p157 in Dick and Felix Francis' "Silks", and in every daily news report.
"Oughtn't you to tell what you know - do something about it?"
"Why should I? What good would it do? I couldn't prove anything. What would happen anyway? People get let off nowadays so easily... A few years in prison and you're out again, as right as rain."

(Spoiler:
Palgrave has a glass left eye, recognizes the villain in the right. We know the answer, but Christie cleverly complicates and confounds. When Jane finds a layman's guide to "persecution mania " and "allied complaints" under Molly's mattress p146, uncertain of her "quick glance" p147 who do we suspect? Even though remembering the bleached "well turned out and made up" p128 "Lucky" drowned in error was easy, the unfolding is the fascination.)
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Jul 23, 2011 Kurt rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Agatha Christie tricked me this time, fair and square, and I have to give her credit. Generally, I don't respect Agatha Christie novels because the secret identity of the killer is either telegraphed from the opening chapters or unfairly dropped into the reader's lap in the last pages, but in this novel, Christie plays fair and wins. The story is a fairly simple one: a few Europeans passing an extended period of time at a Caribbean resort begin dying off, and Miss Marple must identify the killer...more

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Mar 29, 2013 sabisteb rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hörspiele-einzelne, hörspieleserien, hörspiele

Um sich nach einer schweren Erkältung zu erholen, schenkt der Neffe von Miss Marple ihr einen Urlaub in der Karibik. Das Ferienresort scheint ein all-inclusive abgeschottetes Areal zu sein, wie man es auch heute noch kennt. Miss Marple hängt jeden Tag mit denselben Leuten ab, besonders mit einem Major Palgrave, der allen mit seinen alten Geschichten auf den Nerv geht, die er täglich mehrfach wiederholt. Diesmal fragt er Miss Marple, ob sie das Foto eines Mörders sehen will. Bevor es jedoch dazu...more Um sich nach einer schweren Erkältung zu erholen, schenkt der Neffe von Miss Marple ihr einen Urlaub in der Karibik. Das Ferienresort scheint ein all-inclusive abgeschottetes Areal zu sein, wie man es auch heute noch kennt. Miss Marple hängt jeden Tag mit denselben Leuten ab, besonders mit einem Major Palgrave, der allen mit seinen alten Geschichten auf den Nerv geht, die er täglich mehrfach wiederholt. Diesmal fragt er Miss Marple, ob sie das Foto eines Mörders sehen will. Bevor es jedoch dazu kommt, wird sie von den anderen Bewohnern des Resorts davor bewahrt und kurz darauf ist der Major tot, Herzinfakt aufgrund zu hohen Blutdrucks. Miss Marple zweifelt jedoch an einer natürlichen Ursache, denn das Foto, das sie nun doch brennend interessiert ist weg. Warum lies der Major es in seiner Jacke verschwinden, als die anderen kamen? Erkannte er den Mörder vom Foto wieder? Kurz darauf wird das Hausmädchen erstochen, das behauptete, der Major hätte gar keinen hohen Blutdruck gehabt und nie entsprechende Medikamente genommen. Molly, die Ehefrau des Inhabers des Resorts leidet derweil an psychotischen Schüben und Erinnerungslücken. Ist sie die Mörderin und kann sich nur nicht daran erinnern? Kurz darauf geschieht ein weiterer Mord.

Einer der besten Miss Marple Fälle. Hier gibt es sehr viele Verdächtige und sehr geschickt wird der Verdacht immer wieder auf andere gelenkt. Diesmal sind tatsächlich alle Hinweise von Anfang an vorhanden, nichts wird verschwiegen und jeder hat eine faire Chance, selber herauszufinden wer der Mörder ist. Ein wenig erinnert dieser Fall schon an die Winkelzüge aus Poirots „Appointment with Death“, die Motive sind auch ähnlich, aber dennoch ist dieser Fall insgesamt sehr eigenständig.

Wichtig ist dieser Fall auch, weil Miss Marple in diesem Mr. Rafiel kennenlernt und in die Lösung des Verbrechens mit einbezieht. Mr. Rafiel ist derjenige, der ihr post mortem den Fall Nemesis überträgt. Daher sollte man diesen Fall kennen, bevor man sich Nemesis vornimmt.

Das Hörspiel reiht sich nahtlos in die Reihe der BBC Miss Marple Hörspiele ein. Passende Soundkulisse, kein nerviger Soundtrack, nur die Erkennungsmelodie und erneut spricht June Whitfield in diesem BBC Hörspiel aus dem Jahr 1997 Miss Marple. In weiteren Rollen sind zu hören David Thorpe, Windsor Davies, Carolyn Jones, Christopher Wright, George A Cooper, Yvonne Edgell, Jenny Lee und Alison Pettitt. Der Director ist ebenfalls wie bei den anderen Episoden Enyd Williams.
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Jan 11, 2010 Laurel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: my-year-of-agatha

This is a later Christie (1964), so it was completely out of order for me to re-read it now, but it was the perfect thing to take on my Caribbean honeymoon for the beach--a murder set at an all-inclusive resort very like mine! I enjoyed all the period details of what a luxury island resort was like in the '60s, and I always love Miss Marple. I actually like the sequel, Nemesis, even better, but this is THE Christie to take to the beach as surely as A Holiday for Murder is the one to read over Ch...more

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Oct 07, 2008 Beth666ann rated it 2 of 5 stars

Interesting tale: funny to see Miss Marple at the beach (bored silly), and there's a cool gaslighting plot of sorts. Not lovely at all - the portrayal of the West Indies people. THis one is sad in that the person everyone ignores and expects to ignore--a boring old man who talks so much--is killed and people hardly care at first. Very poignant on how the elderly can be invisible.

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Apr 25, 2012 Cindi rated it 4 of 5 stars

While mystery is not my thing, I experienced a distinct pleasure listening to the very polite Miss Marple audio book while driving the rude streets of Las Vegas. Even when murder is concerned, everything in her world is so comfortingly civilized. It didn't feel like I was following a mystery in as much as I was retreating to a safe fantasy in my mind. Besides, listening to a book made some of the story's more specific details a tad harder to follow. But it didn't matter if I didn't solve the mys...more

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Oct 24, 2011 Louise Armstrong rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Mixture as usual. Worth reading if you are in the mood.

Another reason Agatha Christie is so popular, I think, is that by having her detective characters delve into the psychology of the suspects, you learn about people as you read. It's as illuminating as a text book in many ways.

Talking about the murder victim, who was a Major who talked a lot.

'Obviously, thought Miss Marple, with long experince of old Admirals, Brigadier-Generals and mere Majors behind her, because he had certain stories whic...more

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Dec 13, 2010 Book Concierge rated it 2 of 5 stars

Audio book performed by Rosalind Ayres
2.5**

Miss Marple’s nephew has sent her on a holiday to the West Indies. The resort is lovely and she meets an interesting group of guests. But when one of the guests dies in his sleep, apparently of natural causes, she is suspicious. Major Palgrave had, earlier in the evening, been telling Miss Marple several stories, including one involving a murderer. But he had abruptly ended his story when other guests drew near, and Miss Marple is sure he had recognize...more

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Jun 25, 2010 Lady Knight rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, adult, historical-fiction, crime

Agatha Christie has done it again! She has created another highly satisfactory tale starring Miss Marple, the twist this time? It's in the caribbean! It also forms a sort of "Part I of 2" in the Marple saga with "Nemesis" forming part two.

While I typically like Poirot better, Jane Marple was perfect in this one! At a suggestion from her nephew she takes a trip to the caribbean. There she meets up with all sorts of people. Sitting next to Major Palgrave one day, he leans over and asks if she'd l...more

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Dec 10, 2012 Sundarraj Kaushik rated it 3 of 5 stars

Miss Marple is sent to a Caribbean island by her nephew. She is in the company of a multitude of people, of which one is a Major Palgrave who likes to tell stories about his experiences and heard about experiences to one and all. These experiences also involve some murders.

The Major is telling one of his stories to Miss Marple. He is about to show Ms. Marple a photograph of a murderer and just as he is about to show it, his face changes and he suddenly hides the photographs and starts talking ab...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Grabbed this as an audio book for a long drive, was classic Christie mystery - but also felt somewhat dumbed down. It felt to me that in each chapter each character was listed with the latest facts to go with them. Perhaps it just stood out more in the audio version than in a print version, where I'd of just skimmed over the re-cap. I was also able to pick the murderer fairly early on (though I wavered a bit), which I am not often able to do with Christie. The book served its purpose; it enteret...more

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Jul 29, 2011 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011, bookcrossing

I was done with all the Agatha Christies in my local library by the time I was 13, and then it took a long time to read her books the next time. So rediscovering the old classics.
This one is perfect for a light summer/pool/holiday read. Miss Marple is on holidays in St. Honore' in the Caribbean, and listens to an old man mumbling something about a murderer. A few hours later he is killed, and Marple tries to remember what was said about a murderer. A bunch of interesting characters reside in th...more

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Mar 09, 2011 Janice rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: mysteries

Love Miss Marple. Love that a dithering old lady can figure out what's going on before most.

This one has Miss Marple in the Caribbean thanks to her nephew Raymond. He sends her to a warmer climate to help her health. While talking with an old military man, Miss Marple sort of pays attention to his stories. As he begins to tell her one about a murderer who got away and wants to show her a photo, he notices someone over her shoulder. Quickly changing the subject and putting his wallet away, Miss...more

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Nov 09, 2010 Ana T. rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries-thrillers, read-in-2010

A Caribbean Mystery brings a change of scenery for Miss Marple. She is spending a holiday abroad but surrounded by British comfort. The hotel owners are British, as are most of the other guests, and so the habits remain the same.

Miss Marple is, as usual, observing the people around her. Some are nicer than others and some are easier to read than others. Among them are Major Palgrave, Mr. Rafiel, the Prescotts and the Dysons... One evening Major Palgrave is telling Miss Marple about a murderer he...more

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Sep 04, 2010 Bookworm1858 rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010, mystery, own

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 11, 2010 Meave rated it 4 of 5 stars

A satisfying mystery, lovely hateful characters, no happy-ending weddings--thoroughly enjoyable. But the pidgin English of the "native people" was really horrid. It didn't seem deliberately nasty, like early Christie, more like blindly racist, like, What--this is what they sound like (to my white British ears)--why shouldn't I be accurate in depicting it?

And was that her problem? Had she ever questioned that presumption before? It doesn't seem likely. So why start now? I understand, and I do app...more

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Oct 25, 2011 Red Heaven rated it 3 of 5 stars

Just reread this, and it doesn't quite hold up for me. The identity of the murderer seems almost painfully obvious from the get go and the attempt at misdirection is weak. For unexplained reasons, Miss Marple seems somewhat befuddled (perhaps the change in climate?) and takes far too long to put together some fairly obvious pieces.

The setting is nice, but hardly used as more than a basic backdrop. There are many machinations between various characters with almost all having some illicit affair,...more

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About Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, England, U.K., as the youngest of three. The Millers had two other children: Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), called Madge, who was eleven years Agatha's senior, and Louis Montant Miller (1880...more

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Books by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)

The Mysterious Affair At Styles (Hercule Poirot #1)

Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple, #1)

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Quotes from A Caribbean Mystery

“Lie is more worth living, more full of interest when you are likely to lose it. It shouldn't be, perhaps, but it is. When you're young and strong and healthy, and life stretches ahead of you, living isn't really important at all. It's young people who commit suicide easily, out of despair from love, sometimes from sheer anxiety and worry. But old people know how valuable life is and how interesting. - Jane Marple” — 4 people liked it

“Conversations are always dangerous, if you have something to hide.” — 2 people liked it

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A Caribbean Mystery (Miss Marple #10)

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