Death in the Andamans
by M.M. Kaye
Blurb:
When a violent storm lashes the tiny Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal, Copper Randal barely manages a safe return to Government House. She does get back in one piece with her hostess, Valerie Masson, Val's fiancé, and handsome naval officer Nick Tarrent, but one of the islanders is unaccounted for when the boats return to harbor. Cut off from the mainland and confined to the shadowy, haunted guest quarters, Copper and the other visitors conclude that one of their number is a murderer. The killer must be found before the storm destroys all trace of any possible clues.
My Reaction:
With this, I believe I've read all of Kaye's murder mysteries. This (same as the others) was fine, but I always like the idea of her books more than the reality, unfortunately. Apparently she's a solid 3-star author for me, based on past reviews (and this one, too). Nothing amazing, but okay. Good in spots, less impressive in others.
These books always seem to have a peculiarly strong fixation on youth and beauty, which is rather off-putting. Not that Kaye's the only author who loves heroines who are young, beautiful women-- they're the norm in this type of fiction, of course, and that's just the way it is-- but still, at a certain point the constant worship at the altar of youth and beauty is boring, if not irritating! It almost feels as though a lack of personal beauty is a character flaw-- especially in female characters-- and your value decreases as you age or if you weren't blessed with attractive features. Don't we get enough of that attitude in real life without being beaten over the head with it in our escapist literature?
Some of the attitudes between men and women in this book annoy me, too. Men sending the women away from crime scenes as though they can't handle it, calling them "child", etc. I never warmed toward Nick, and I'm not cuckoo for Copper, either (or her stupid nickname)... Valerie seems slightly less annoying than Copper, and for a while, I liked Charles pretty well, but eventually I got a bit sick of him, too! (The Bertie Wooster routine eventually wore thin. Not everyone has P.G. Wodehouse's ability to write Wooster-type characters without them grating on your nerves. It takes some skill!)
That said, the settings in these books are perfect for a little escapism of the "travel mystery-romance" type, and they're easy to slip into for a little distraction from reality. I did find it difficult keeping some of the secondary characters straight in my head, but oh well! I also wonder if people ever actually quoted literature and poetry at one another quite as much as these characters do! A little of that is okay-- only to be expected, in fact, from books of a certain type, from that era-- but it does get old after a while. (Yes, you're educated! Yes, you've read literature! Yes, you have excellent memory! Now, kindly shut up and get on with the story!)
That said, the settings in these books are perfect for a little escapism of the "travel mystery-romance" type, and they're easy to slip into for a little distraction from reality. I did find it difficult keeping some of the secondary characters straight in my head, but oh well! I also wonder if people ever actually quoted literature and poetry at one another quite as much as these characters do! A little of that is okay-- only to be expected, in fact, from books of a certain type, from that era-- but it does get old after a while. (Yes, you're educated! Yes, you've read literature! Yes, you have excellent memory! Now, kindly shut up and get on with the story!)
Despite all my grouching, I do like aspects of these books, even if they're not perfect and don't always exactly hit the spot. They have a way of making you feel nostalgic for (certain aspects of) a time you never knew. Also, it was interesting to read the author's description of the storm, as someone who lives in "hurricane country".
