by M. M. Kaye, 1985
Murder mystery set in the Andamans, tropical islands in the Bay of Bengal off Burma. Copper visiting her friend Valerie on the tiny island of Ross. They go for a picnic on the bigger island, South Andaman, on Mount Harriet. While there, a hurricane blows in and they barely make it back to Ross. On the way back, one person drowns, it turns out got murdered, and the next 3 days are spent stranded on Ross in the big home, Government House, with a murderer. They try to figure out who did it: John Shilto (fat cousin to Ferrers Shilto, the man who was murdered); Nick Tarrent, handsome British Navy man who Copper has fallen in love with, Ruby or Leonard Stock; Ronnie or Rosamund Purvis. Dan Harcourt, a very nice British Navy doctor goes to examine the body and ends up getting murdered, then John Shilto ends up dead with a suicide note pinned to his pillow. It ends up being Leonard Stock, a small man married to a philandering Cleopatra, Ruby, who has been holding a grudge for so long. He murdered Ferrers Shilto to get his newfound pearls and make a new life. He ends up falling down the stairs and accidentally shooting himself.
Loved her description of these beautiful islands, late 1930’s, sart of WWII.
“Three weeks of glitteringly blue days and incredibly lovely star-splashed nights. She had bathed in the clear jade breakers of Forster Bay and Corbyn’s Cove, fished in translucent waters above branching sprays of coral from the decks of little steam launch Jarawa, and picnicked under palm trees that rustled to the Song of the Trade Winds.”