A Different Kind of Evil by Andrew Wilson #20BooksofSummer

Author : Andrew Wilson
Title : A Different Kind of Evil
Pages : 375
Publisher : Simon & Schuster
Publication date : May 31, 2018

Two months after the events of A Talent for Murder, during which Agatha Christie “disappeared,” the famed mystery writer’s remarkable talent for detection has captured the attention of British Special Agent Davison.

Now, at his behest, she is traveling to the beautiful Canary Islands to investigate the strange and gruesome death of Douglas Green, an agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service. As she embarks on a glamorous cruise ship to her destination, she suddenly hears a scream. Rushing over to the stern of the liner, she witnesses a woman fling herself over the side of the ship to her death.

After this shocking experience, she makes it to the Grand Hotel in a lush valley on the islands. There, she meets a diverse and fascinating cast of characters, including two men who are suspected to be involved in the murder of Douglas Green: an occultist similar to Aleister Crowley; and the secretary to a prominent scholar, who may also be a Communist spy. But Agatha soon realizes that nothing is what it seems here and she is surprised to learn that the apparent suicide of the young woman on the ocean liner is related to the murder of Douglas Green. Now she has to unmask a different kind of evil in this sinister and thrilling mystery.

After thoroughly enjoying the previous book, A Talent for Murder, I couldn’t wait to pick up this next one.

A Different Kind of Evil picks up quite shortly after events from the first book. Agatha Christie has caught the eye of the British Secret Intelligence Service and for her first mission, she is sent to Tenerife to help solve the murder of an agent whose body has been found mummified and drained of blood in a remote cave.

Events already kick off on board the ship that will take Agatha to Tenerife, when she witnesses a young woman jump overboard in what looks to be a tragic suicide. This is only the start though as Agatha finds herself deeply involved in the odd occult world of one of the island’s residents. Will Agatha be able to stop another murder from happening?

Being a crime fiction writer obviously doesn’t mean you have a knack at solving murders, although that is what’s expected from Agatha here. And so the whole story has that delightful Murder, She Wrote feeling to it, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Just as in the previous book, Agatha comes across as an intelligent and perceptive woman. On top of trying to solve this gruesome murder, she’s also struggling to finish her latest book and doubting her abilities as a mother.

Once again, Andrew Wilson takes a few facts from Agatha Christie’s life and turns them into the most delicious murder mystery. While I had some inkling as to what was going on, I couldn’t quite put the various pieces of the puzzle together and there were a few surprises left for me to discover.

Agatha Christie makes a formidable main character and even though I feel I enjoyed the previous book just that little bit more, A Different Kind of Evil was hugely entertaining and I very much look forward to the next one in the series.

A Different Kind of Evil is available to buy!

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Bookdepository | Kobo | Wordery | Goodreads

Book 17 from my 20 Books of Summer list.