Evil Under the Sun

March 4, 2002
Audio Reviews reflect PW's assessment of the audio adaptation of a book and should be quoted only in reference to the audio version. Fiction EVIL UNDER THE SUN: A Hercule Poirot Mystery Agatha Christie, read by David Suchet. AudioEditions, unabridged, six CDs, 6.5 hrs., $39.95 ISBN 1-57270-248-6 Considered by many to be one of the very best Agatha Christie mysteries, this macabre tale has lost none of its crisp intrigue since it was first published in 1940. Using a plot formula that has since become a mystery standard, Christie conveniently gathers all the characters in one hard-to-leave location, in this case, the Jolly Roger, a vacation hotel on the southern coast of England. One of the guests, a gorgeous, dramatic flirt, is strangled to death, and the famous detective Hercule Poirot—who happens to be vacationing at the Jolly Roger, too—sets out to solve the case. Each of the well-developed characters is suspect, and listeners will constantly be changing their bets as to whodunit. British stage actor Suchet, who many know as the definitive Poirot from the Public Television Mystery!
series was an obvious choice for the reader of this production, having won an Audie award for reading Christie's Mysterious Affair at Styles
in 1997. Suchet gives an outstanding and highly entertaining performance, obviously taking great zeal in the task of fleshing out Christie's colorful lot of characters.