Evil Under the Sun

Evil Under the Sun is a mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, first published in 1941. It features her detective Hercule Poirot, who is supposed to be taking a holiday rather than working.

Poirot takes a quiet holiday at a secluded hotel in Devon. During his stay he notices a young woman called Arlena Marshall, a former actress, flirting with Patrick Redfern even though the two of them are married to other people, and he also notices that a number of the other guests dislike her thoroughly.

One morning Arlena goes out towards Pixy Cove for what everyone assumes is a meeting with Redfern. He comes out of the hotel looking for her only a few moments later, which means the assumption was wrong, and he and another guest, Emily Brewster, row around to the cove and find her body. The local police surgeon establishes that she was strangled, and Poirot and the investigating officer, Inspector Colgate, work through the movements of everybody staying at the hotel that morning, which include a bottle thrown from one of the guest rooms and the sound of somebody running.