C. Smith

Formulaic MM Kaye; mediocre mystery

Revisado: 02-18-21

Like all of Kaye’s “mystery” novels, this one follows a formula. Although partially easy to predict, several aspects of the outcome rely on information not provided to the readers throughout the book. I suspect this is one reason Kaye was never considered one of the better authors in this genre. Although the cast is solidly British living in a British bubble in an exotic locale, I must give her credit for at least trying to paint more of a backdrop. In most works we learn nothing of the locale (beyond the walls of the British bubble) but in this case she did spent significant time telling us about the Andamans.

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Very formulaic like all Kaye novels

Revisado: 01-18-21

The same formula M.M. Kaye always uses. Western woman alone in a far-flung European outpost gets mixed up in murder only to have a Western man save her in the penultimate chapter then present a summary of the crime in the last chapter. Although set in interesting places, Kaye makes no effort to paint the backdrop. They might as well be set in England or a city in the United States. Any comparison to Agatha Christie is misplaced.

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Cute mystery

Revisado: 12-29-20

Cute if simplistic mystery good for occupying ten minutes of time. Narration is a bit old school.

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Unique Murder She Wrote plot; Less stellar narration

Revisado: 10-27-20

The plot was unique for a Murder She Wrote book, most of which are formulaic. This one takes place over an extremely condensed time frame and focuses on a kidnapping as opposed to a murder. The drawback is that a central character, Maureen Metzger, has a pre-teen voice despite being a middle-age or older adult. It’s the same voice this narrator uses for the son of Jessica Fletcher’s nephew Grady in several other works in the series. That character is an elementary/middle school boy. Because Maureen plays so key a role in this book it’s a bit distracting/annoying that she’s portrayed as a ten or twelve year old instead of the grown woman in the book.

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Classic 50s British mystery/thriller

Revisado: 10-19-20

Light-hearted, easy to follow 50s British mystery/thriller. Not much suspense or character development, but enjoyable nonetheless. Although set in Zanzibar, there’s not much illustration of the island and if one were to remove the island’s name from the text, it reads as if set in the British isles.

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Unoriginal plot and characters, no comparison with Christie

Revisado: 10-01-20

I don’t know how the NY Book Review drew any comparison to Agatha Christie (which it did in a review quoted on the hardback edition’s cover), as the only thing in common is the use of an isolated setting. The characters are very unoriginal, as is the plot. One can tell where the book is headed by the end of the second hour, thus negating any use of alternating narrators and timeframes. I kept expecting a plot twist or red herring, yet there was none. It literally unfolded exactly as predicted. If there isn’t mystery, as the description led me to believe, at least have some suspense - a cliffhanger or two. Definitely a waste of 9 hours. The narration was good, however, particularly having multiple narrators, as few audiobooks do.

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