Evil under the sun

Evil Under the Sun is a work of detective fiction by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1941 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in October of the same year. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00. The novel features Christie's detective, Hercule Poirot, who takes a holiday in Devon. During his stay, he notices a young woman who is flirtatious and attractive, but not well liked by a number of guests. When she is murdered during his stay, he finds himself drawn into investigating the circumstances surrounding the murder. Hercule Poirot takes a quiet holiday at a secluded hotel in Devon. He finds that the other hotel guests include: Arlena Marshall, her husband Kenneth, and her step-daughter Linda; Horace Blatt; Major Barry, a retired officer; Rosamund Darnley, a former sweetheart of Kenneth; Patrick Redfern, and his wife Christine, a former teacher; Carrie Gardener, and her husband Odell; Reverend Stephen Lane; and Miss Emily Brewster, an athletic spinster. During the initial part of his stay, Poirot notes that Arlena is a flirtatious woman, who flirts with Patrick much to the fury of his wife, and that her step-daughter hates her. One morning, Arlena heads out for a secret rendezvous at Pixy Cove. By midday, she is found dead by Patrick and Brewster while they are rowing. An examination by the local police surgeon reveals she had been strangled by a man. Both Poirot and the investigating officer, Inspector Colgate, interview the possible suspects about their movements during the morning – Kenneth had been typing letters; the Gardeners had been with Poirot all morning; Rosamund had been reading above Pixy Cove; Blatt had gone sailing; Linda and Christine went to Gull Cove and didn't return until before midday; and both Lane and Major Barry were absent from the island. At noon, Christine, Rosamund, Kenneth and Odell all met to play tennis. Poirot learns that Brewster was nearly hit by a bottle during the morning, thrown from one of the guest rooms, while the hotel chambermaid recalls hearing someone running a bath at noon. At a cave within Pixy Cove, Poirot notes smelling perfume that Arlena used there, while police arrest Blatt for smuggling heroin upon finding the drug hidden inside. Poirot later invites everyone to a picnic, which he uses to secretly observe their behaviour and test their vertigo. Following the picnic, Linda attempts suicide with Christine's sleeping pills. Poirot later discovers she felt guilt-ridden, after assuming she killed her step-mother through voodoo. Via a request for similar cases to the current one, Poirot receives details on the strangulation of Alice Corrigan from Surrey police – her body was found by a local teacher, while her husband Edward had an alibi. Poirot is supplied with a photo of both people. Bringing together the suspects, Poirot denounces Patrick and Christine Redfern for Arlena's murder. She had been murdered to prevent her husband learning that she had been conned into investing a large inheritance towards "fabulous opportunities". The murder was well-planned to falsify the time of death. While Christine was with Linda, she set Linda's watch forward twenty minutes, asked for the time to set her alibi, then returned the watch to the correct time. Afterwards, Christine returned to her room and applied fake suntan makeup, which she concealed from sight, before tossing the bottle out the window. Sneaking out to Pixy Cove, Christine made certain Arlena saw her; Patrick had instructed Arlena to hide should his wife turn up before their rendezvous. Once Arlena was gone, Christine impersonated the dead body to fool Brewster, and once she had left to get help while Patrick remained behind, Christine rushed back to the hotel to remove the makeup. Patrick then called out an unsuspecting Arlena and strangled he....