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| 4 out of 5 stars |
Halloween Bingo 2021
I am inordinately fond of M.M. Kaye's mystery books and find this story set in the Andaman Islands particularly appealing. Despite the desperately 1980s cover on the paperback that I procured, this was copyrighted in 1960, although from the author's foreword I believe it was written much earlier. Kaye actually stayed on the island in question in the huge Government House, invited by a good friend just as Copper Randall has been in the novel. After experiencing an enormous storm that knocked out communication with the mainland, Kaye and her friend decided it would be the perfect time to carry out a murder and they entertained themselves by gleefully planning one. Years later, once again needing something to do, Kaye set pen to paper to produce this novel. She claims that she saw the spooky stuff with her own eyes, which I guess is why those parts feel as spine tingling as they do. She incorporated many aspects of her visit into the book.
It's a version of a closed room mystery, with the suspects being limited to the people rescued from the water after three sailboats are capsized by the storm and one of their number gets killed by a blow administered by someone in the party. With no official doctor to do a proper autopsy and the police stuck on the mainland, Copper, her friend Val, Val's fiancé Charles, and Copper's love interest Nick decide to do some amateur sleuthing until someone official presents themselves.
Things quickly get complicated—by a second murder, by family dynamics, by suspicions held by other members of the group. The population of British ex-pats is small and well known to one another, both assisting their investigation and muddying the waters. There are no clear motives and Copper ends up terrified, willing even to suspect the man whom she has been quite possibly falling in love with.
Kaye manages some good red herrings, moving the reader's attention from one suspect to the next, all the while giving enough clues to give hope of solving the mystery. I'd read the book about 30 years ago, but my memory had gone dim and I only remembered one crucial bit of the reveal, which actually led me astray this time!
I have to say that this is very much a period piece, giving a window into the colonial outlook of the era. It also makes the romantic elements seem awfully tame by contrast with the modern romance/mystery genre. It would be vanishingly rare in this day and age for a couple to become engaged after only a few kisses and the occasional embrace. However, it reflects its time and I find reading these sorts of novels charming. As long as I don't have to live by those standards!
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