Hard to believe, with all the books I read, that I've never read an Agatha Christie before, but indeed, I have not. This was my first, and I can certainly see why Christie is the world's most-published novelist. If there's one thing Christie can do, it's tell a good story. And that's precisely what she does in Evil under the Sun. I can see why readers find Christie's work compelling; she draws her readers in quickly, with a large cast of thickly-described characters and a vivid sense of surroundings. Evil under the Sun brings us to a seaside resort, where a group of holiday-makers, including Christie's famous Inspector Poirot, find themselves attempting to deal with a broad range of personalities. Likely the most abrasive of all is the beautiful and capricious socialite Arlena Marshall. When she turns up dead in a remote part of the beach, it becomes Poirot's calling to determine her murderer. The resort's island location makes it unlikely that anyone outside the hotel could be responsible. Thus, Poirot must discover the murderer in his midst. Everyone, it seems, had a motive. Yet everyone too had an alibi. The answer turns out to be far more complicated than anyone had anticipated. Christie's gift is clearly to tell a gripping story. While there are no great lessons on morality or statements on the human condition within this it is certainly entertaining, enjoyable, and just a bit scary.

Evil Under the Sun takes place at a secluded seaside resort in England. Arlena Stuart Marshall, is young and beautiful and one of those Agatha Christie characters who seems to inspire all she meets to wish her dead. So it is small surprise when she is killed and none other than Hercule Poirot is called upon to solve the case using little more than his famous little grey cells.

This is a very typical Christie novel in many ways. It happens in a "bottle" environment where no one else comes and goes, it has an eclectic cast of characters almost all of whom seem to have a motive, and the crime seems impossible to solve. It is, however, different from many of Dame Agatha's works in the sense that it is executed so very well. Not to say that most of her novels are poor, but this one really shines. The suspects are both interesting and entertaining. Poirot is at his best as he works through things in his fashion with his little remarks raining dry humor at just the right moments. The location of secluded island resort is a refreshing change, and the mystery itself definitely kept me engaged from start to finish.

I've read a number of Hercule Poirot novels, and found some very good and a few not so good. Evil Under the Sun is an excellent mystery novel that I would recommend as a great starting point to readers new to Agatha Christie as well as established fans of her work. It's both funny and compelling and features one of the best fictional detectives at his very best. Other Christie novels that are well worth trying include Death on the Nile: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection) and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection).

The notorious Arlena Stuart Marshall is found strangled on an empty beach, and Hercule Poirot sets about identifying the killer. It is not an easy task; there is no shortage of suspects, beginning with the dead woman's cuckolded husband and the young wife of Arlena's latest conquest. As the investigation continues, more questions arise. Was Arlena being blackmailed? Was she involved with drug smuggling? And is there a mad clergyman roaming the countryside intent on bringing scarlet women to divine justice?

This is classic Agatha Christie. Reading it reminds you why she is the master of mystery genre.

The book is fabulous. I have read all of her mysteries since early childhood and reacquainting myself with her work was refreshing from most of the dreck that is written today.