Death in the Andamans

by M.M. Kaye

Death in the Andamans is a masterpiece of mystery and romance from one of our most beloved authors. 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 fiance, 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. In Death in the Andamans M.M. Kaye has created the perfect blend of exotic setting and expertly crafted whodunit that mark her as one of our greatest literary talents.

Genres: Mystery, Romance, Fiction, India, Romantic Suspense, Historical Fiction, Historical

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

M. M. Kaye (Mary Margaret) was born in India and spent her early childhood and much of her early-married life there. Her family ties with the country are strong: her grandfather, father, brother and husband all served the British Raj. After India's independence, her husband, Major-General Goff Hamilton of Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides (the famous Indian Army regiment featured in The Far Pavilions), joined the British Army and for the next nineteen years M. M. Kaye followed the drum to Kenya, Zanzibar, Egypt, Cyprus and Germany.
M. M. Kaye won worldwide fame for The Far Pavilions, which became a worldwide best-seller on publication in 1978. This was followed by Shadow of the Moon and Trade Wind. She also wrote and illustrated The Ordinary Princess, a children's book and authored a dozen detective novels, including Death in Kashmir and Death in Zanzibar. Her autobiography has been published in three volumes, collectively entitled Share of Summer: The Sun in the Morning, Golden Afternoon, and Enchanted Evening. In March 2003, M. M. Kaye was awarded the Colonel James Tod International Award by the Maharana Mewar Foundation of Udaipur, Rajasthan, for her "contribution of permanent value reflecting the spirit and values of Mewar".

Reviews

[Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Murder mystery with a dash of romance, written in 1960 and set in the exotic Andaman Islands, a former British penal colony that is now part of India.



Caroline Randal, known as "Copper," is a young Englishwoman invited to visit her old school chum, Valerie, who now lives on Ross Island in the Andamans with her stepfather, the Chief Commissioner. During her visit, a tropical storm isolates their group on the island, and a man dies--washed overboard in the storm and drowned, everyone thinks. At first. As things get more complicated and the body count mounts, Copper and Valerie, together with Valerie's fiancé Charles and a good-looking Royal Navy man, Nick Tarrant, form an intrepid foursome that attempts to solve the mystery of the murders. But, of course, asking too many questions could run them into trouble ...

A pleasantly creepy, nostalgic kind of book. The murder mystery isn't up to the standards of Agatha Christie, and the romance is pretty quick and understated (a kiss here and there, in between crime-solving and a misunderstanding). It starts out a little slow: after 100 pages I was ready for the exposition to be over. There are a couple of minor supernatural elements to the story (a portentous dream and an unseen ghostly spirit) that are partially based on the author's own experiences on Ross Island, but other than adding to the creepy atmosphere they're not really germane to the plot.

Nick is a pretty good guy for an alpha male, and his friend Charles is a hoot:

"Yes, come on young Sherlock. Spill the sinister beans and put us out of our misery. Then we can tear up all those appalling notes that Val has been preparing for the purposes of spreading confusion and despair, and fall on Nick in a body. I shall direct operations from behind the bookcase, and you and Val can do the actual arresting. After which we can bury him behind the squash court, and go off to dinner secure in the righteous conviction that we have faithfully administered the King's Justice."

It's a fun, light read if you like old-fashioned romantic suspense novels.

[Jaline · Rating 4 out of 5]

”The Andaman Islands, green, fairy-like, enchanted, lie some hundred miles off the Burmese coast in the blue waters of the Bay of Bengal. Legend, with some support by science, tells that their hills and valleys were once part of a great range of mountains that extended from Burma to Sumatra, but that the wickedness of the inhabitants angered Mavia Tomala, the great chief, who caused a cataclysm which separated the land into over two hundred islands, and marooned them for ever in the Bay of Bengal.”

This is the opening sentence of Chapter Two in this last of M. M. Kaye’s “Death In . . .” series. In this novel, paradise is invaded by greed, by old resentments and grudges, by vengeance and an evil that fed upon itself.

Copper is invited to visit with her best friend Val who was recently engaged to Charles, the love of her life. Copper meets Nick through her friends and this foursome become entangled in a murder.

There is a huge storm that hits the island with the force of tsunami – a hurricane or cyclone that churned up the ocean, threw down rain that soaked everything in seconds, with winds that destroyed all the landing bays and jettys. They were effectively cut off from the rest of the islands and Val’s home with her father the High Commissioner was filled with the people who had been cut off from their own homes by this great storm. Their large home was called Government House, although how it came to be named that, Val did not know. In this storm, every available container was placed under drips from the ceiling as the rain fought them for possession of their home.

When a murder is discovered, the foursome (Copper, Nick, Val, and Charles) decide to use this time of isolation to try and figure out who the murderer is. Better to keep themselves occupied than cooped up with nothing to do but deal with all the tensions. Their logic narrowed down the possible candidates to seven people. Just as they begin to compile ‘cases’ for or against each suspect, another murder occurs. Rather than clarifying the facts or shedding some light, it only becomes more confusing.

This novel is fascinating – filled with contrasts and contradictions. M. M. Kaye’s ability to create atmosphere and tension shines in this book. I enjoyed the descriptions of the islands, especially near the end when the romantic aspects of these enchanted isles are given free reign.

This is a lovely ending for her 6-book series, and I am glad that she saved this exotic location for the last one. I’m sad that the series is over, but what I gained was an even deeper interest and curiosity about the places M. M. Kaye wrote about with such skill.

[mark monday · Rating 3 out of 5]

M.M. Kaye's last of the Death in... mysteries is somewhat messy compared to the prior (standalone) novels. at this point in her career, I think she wanted to do sprawl, and although this is not a long book, the feeling is a lot more loose and sprawling than its more tightly structured predecessors. despite the story taking place over the course of a weekend. the writing also has a certain sloppiness at times, at least when it comes to the sometimes tin-eared dialogue that favors archness over psychological realism. ok enough of the complaints, this was still an enjoyable read.

the tropical setting of the Andaman Islands was beautifully evoked, per usual for the author. pure pleasure to read about, especially after a typhoon hits the islands. hysterics ensue for some of the characters - and that's prior to the multiple murders. most of the cast are stuck in or near the official English Residence. despite its ocean views, high ceilings, and an expansive amount of space, this is not a very nice manor house. happily for the reader, all the bats flying about and the rain pouring in from the ceilings and the mysterious footsteps pacing just outside the bedrooms make for some fantastic atmosphere. two couples soon form a kind of Young Detectives Club as they roam around the island trying to solve mysteries while flirting and arguing with each other, discussing and updating lists of clues and suspects. this is in some ways a (lightly) decadent novel, due to its uncritical focus on the colonial lifestyle and privileged attitudes of these usually well-dressed and fairly well-off ladies and gents. I love these sorts of murder mysteries and I don't even feel guilty about it - if anyone has suggestions for more in this vein, let me know! Death in the Andamans was like a lengthy prix fixe dinner at an expensive fine dining establishment. not all of the courses were as technically accomplished as the chef assumed them to be, but the entire experience was memorable and full of flavor. delicious novel.

💀

I've rated all of the Death in... novels 3 stars (a positive rating for me), but here's a ranking anyway:

1. Death in Cyprus
2. Death in Kashmir
3. Death in Berlin
4. Death in Kenya
5. Death in the Andamans
6. Death in Zanzibar

despite the ranking, Zanzibar is pretty much as enjoyable as Cyprus. all are good! and as per the shelf's title that they all find themselves on, atmosphere to die for.

[Christmas Carol ꧁꧂ · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5★

I don’t even want to admit where I thought the Andamans were - certainly nowhere near their actual location!

Copper is visiting her friend Valerie, whose stepfather was the Chief Commissioner of the gorgeous Andaman Islands. With a budding romance happening, Copper feels like she is in Paradise. But not all the invited Christmas guests are congenial, there is a hurricane. And then the killings start…

This book had a fantastic start, there was Kaye’s beautifully described scenery (pretty much a trademark of hers) Copper & Val were likeable heroines. Charles was ok, but Copper’s love interest Nick had some of the oddest mood swings I have ever seen - & I used to read Mills & Boon romances! There were too many characters & some disappeared out of the story - I guess they were just there to provide some local colour.

It just didn’t feel like it was a well planned book & the drawn out finish was that of an author trying to tie up her loose ends & she missed a couple.

& Charles & Val being present for Nick’s proposal to Copper was one of the least romantic things I have ever read!

[Christine PNW · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I liked Death in Kashmir better, but this one was a fun little mystery. I like the way that M.M. Kaye combines a bit of romance with her mysteries, and her colonial British settings, are a huge guilty pleasure of mine. Guilty because I know that colonialism was terribly destructive to local cultures and peoples and Empire building is incredibly arrogant and indefensible, but pleasure because I still love them, with their interesting rules, and their exotic settings.

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have lots of criticism, but most of my gripes weren't severe enough to make this un-enjoyable.
Great visual descriptions - I learned from the author's note that she was also a painter.

[Wanda Pedersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Halloween Bingo 2021

I am inordinately fond of M.M. Kaye's mystery books and find this story set in the Andaman Islands particularly appealing. Despite the desperately 1980s cover on the paperback that I procured, this was copyrighted in 1960, although from the author's foreword I believe it was written much earlier. Kaye actually stayed on the island in question in the huge Government House, invited by a good friend just as Copper Randall has been in the novel. After experiencing an enormous storm that knocked out communication with the mainland, Kaye and her friend decided it would be the perfect time to carry out a murder and they entertained themselves by gleefully planning one. Years later, once again needing something to do, Kaye set pen to paper to produce this novel. She claims that she saw the spooky stuff with her own eyes, which I guess is why those parts feel as spine tingling as they do. She incorporated many aspects of her visit into the book.

It's a version of a closed room mystery, with the suspects being limited to the people rescued from the water after three sailboats are capsized by the storm and one of their number gets killed by a blow administered by someone in the party. With no official doctor to do a proper autopsy and the police stuck on the mainland, Copper, her friend Val, Val's fiancé Charles, and Copper's love interest Nick decide to do some amateur sleuthing until someone official presents themselves.

Things quickly get complicated—by a second murder, by family dynamics, by suspicions held by other members of the group. The population of British ex-pats is small and well known to one another, both assisting their investigation and muddying the waters. There are no clear motives and Copper ends up terrified, willing even to suspect the man whom she has been quite possibly falling in love.

Kaye manages some good red herrings, moving the reader's attention from one suspect to the next, all the while giving enough clues to give hope of solving the mystery. I'd read the book about 30 years ago, but my memory had gone dim and I only remembered one crucial bit of the reveal, which actually led me astray this time!

I have to say that this is very much a period piece, giving a window into the colonial outlook of the era. It also makes the romantic elements seem awfully tame by contrast with the modern romance/mystery genre. It would be vanishingly rare in this day and age for a couple to become engaged after only a few kisses and the occasional embrace. However, it reflects its time and I find reading these sorts of novels charming. As long as I don't have to live by those standards!

[Barb in Maryland · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars for this entertaining romantic suspense/murder mystery. I'm rounding it up to 4 stars on the strength of the author's preface.

The author came very close to overdoing the gothic vibe: the creeping dread, the jittery heroine, the hurricane, the ghost, the creaking floorboards, and the bats, which were a nice final touch. The murder mystery was clever; I certainly didn't suspect the baddie until much later in the story.

I liked our young heroine, Copper Randal, who has traded wintery London for the tropical Andaman Islands at the invitation of her good friend Val Masson, step-daughter to the Chief Commissioner. Both young women are fairly sensible, even when they are worrying about having a murderer in their midst. I liked Charles, Val's good natured, convivial fiance. Copper's love interest, naval officer Nick Tarrant, is a typical Mills and Boon dour alpha-type--verging on sullen, almost resentful at falling for Copper. The rest of the characters are sketched in--Ruby the vamp, her dithering husband Leonard, Ronnie the lothario and his long suffering wife Rosamund. I became fond of Amabel, who always had a story with a tragic ending to tell. Her conversational efforts added a bit of macabre humor (for this reader) to several gloomy gatherings.

This was not my favorite of Kaye's mysteries, but I had a good time reading it and don't regret the time spent. It was a nice touch of the tropics to warm a chilly January day.

[Ian Laird · Rating 4 out of 5]

Minor revisions 11 July 2020.
An ‘old dark house’ mystery of fair quality, interesting to me because of the setting and the time period.

Three MM Kaye stories in her ‘death’ series are contained in the omnibus House of Shade: Death in Zanzibar, Death in the Andamans and Death in Kashmir. The author explains that she roughed out the Andamans’ story in the late thirties then let it lie dormant for many years, picking it up later for eventual publication in 1960. Notwithstanding the time lag and the lack of reference to specific events, the story is clearly set in the late 1930s, in the time of the Raj prior to World War Two; there are no references to the conflict. A little more topicality would have been welcome.

That aside, this setting has real authenticity because MM Kaye grew up in India then lived the peripatetic life of the wife of a colonial military officer, Godfrey John Hamilton. She married at the late age, for those times, of 37, but by then (1945) Kaye and Hamilton had been together for four years, with one child and another on the way. Hamilton ultimately rose to the rank of general and served in numerous outposts of empire, 27 locations in nineteen years, including Zanzibar, Berlin and the Andamans.

The result of this adventurous life and a socially unusual start to family life is twofold: a priceless verisimilitude and a discernible tolerance of diverse human nature.

There is a tremendous sense of isolation and remoteness; the Andamans are a long way from anywhere, a group of islands more than 1,000 kilometres from mainland India and nearly 300 kilometres south of Burma (Myanmar). The Governor’s residence on Ross Island has seen better days: the roof leaks, the bats fly about inside and the wall cavities harbour critters. The daily lives of the colonial masters are described with fidelity. There are boating picnics and a Christmas celebration in the tropics within a limited society of officials, army and navy officers, planters, their wives and daughters. Careers are blighted and thwarted; disappointment abounds among the older more seasoned residents. The youngsters do not suffer in the same way. The Indians appear sparingly and in peripheral roles; they fetch the car, prepare the meals and protect their English masters in the settlement. So for the English colonials it is a limited life, but a privileged one.

As to the murder mystery, it is serviceable enough, set off with a convincing storm, and remains intriguing, quite tense and involving for the most part. It lost steam when the girl heroines Copper and Valerie start making a list of pros and cons about which of their fellow marooned colleagues is the murderer. I enjoyed Copper’s uncomfortable suspicions of the naval lieutenant she has set her course upon, while hardly knowing him. I selected him as the murderer quite early and I was disappointed when he turns out to be innocent. The relationships between the young men and young women are a bit hockey sticks, but the characters as a group are colourfully, if conventionally drawn; gaudy vamp, hen-pecked husband, unfortunate plain girl, drunken time server and venal planters. There is also one character who changes personality in an instant, which is pretty dramatic, but still OK.

Overall, an enjoyable read evocative of a specific time during British colonial rule in India now long gone.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this book reads a lot like the other books in the "Death In..." series, complete with a limited number of English suspects in a non-English land, the plotting feels slightly more juvenile for an M.M. Kaye novel. Maye I was looking for it since she explains in the beginning that she composed the plot with her friend while whiling away a rainy day in the Andamans. But the two girls and their charming boyfriends playing detective left me thinking more of the Hardy Boys than Agatha Christie.
The conclusion seems to go on forever as we get a confession from the villain ("and I would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids!") and then multiple chapters wrapping up the actual details.
Still, I found it fun and the eventual proposal scene had me laughing out loud.

[Susan in NC · Rating 4 out of 5]

11/2025: Didn’t remember whodunnit, so I enjoyed this reread. The descriptions of lush tropical island were again a treat, as was the author’s gothic vibe. I had forgotten this book opens on Christmas Eve, so that was an intriguing setting. The introduction, about how the author visited the island in the late 1930s and conceived the story, but WWII interfered and it wasn’t written and published for many years, was worth a 1/2 star at least!

1/2022: Really enjoyed this romantic suspense thriller - didn’t feel like a mystery, so much, even though the four young friends, stranded after a Christmas hurricane cuts off access and communication with their tiny island in the Andamans, pass the time trying to figure out who is the killer in their midst. In a mystery, I expect to peer into the mind, or at least peer over the shoulder, of the investigator.

In this book, the four young people discuss possible suspects and motives, but don’t do any real investigating, just watching, talking, waiting, and our heroine does some gasping and going white and trembly - but we aren’t privy to her thoughts until the long exposition at the very end, as the four hash out whys and wherefores on a romantic beach picnic. Kind of weird, rom-com vibe at the end, after sustaining such a claustrophobic, spooky, “who’ll be next” suspenseful mood through much of the story, I thought. But, a minor quibble, I imagine the author felt she had to tie up all loose ends and resolve romantic conflicts.

Here, our heroine, “Copper”, is visiting her best friend since school, Valerie; Val’s father is governor of the island, a former penal colony in the Bay of Bengal. It’s Christmas Eve as the story gets going, so the two friends and their beaus head to a picnic at a local beauty spot. There are some events that raise red flags for Copper, creating a vague unease she recalls later. The hurricane blows in, just as the party are trying to get home; the guests in cars make it home, the boaters caught on the water aren’t so lucky. One person doesn’t make it, after boats capsize, others don’t realize until they are rescued and back on land. The body washes up next day, and soon there’s another death among the Government House party (no spoilers). That’s when our young people start discussing suspects and motives.

I definitely enjoyed the atmosphere and beautiful descriptions of the exotic location- that’s what prompted me to find this library book for this frozen January! It’s also in the Book Pool for the Retro Reads group - I had previously read one of the authors mysteries with this group, Death in Cyprus, and this seemed like a fun opportunity to try another.

Kaye was born in India, I believe, and lived all over the world, which is reflected in her writing. The author note at the beginning of my large print library edition, published in 1986, says she actually “roughed out” this book in the 1930s, based on a stay she had on the island. The depredations of WWII destroyed the buildings, and the island is no longer occupied, only available to tourists for day trips among the abandoned ruins. Knowing this only added to my interest in the story, and sent me to Google to look up pictures and find out, yes, even though this was published in the 1960s, this is still the case. Fascinating!

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance is what I yearn for; moonlight and tropic shores to delight the eye, and some of the more soupy and sentimental recordings of Bing Crosby to soothe the ear – plus caviare and Guinness to stay the inner man.

Romance for M M Kaye comes with a side dish of exotic adventures and mortal danger. The last of the six murder novels she wrote is right now my favourite, for it showcases her best talents in a much tighter package than the sprawling historical epics [‘The Far Pavilions’, ‘Trade Winds’ and ‘Shadow of the Moon’] . Since these six stories only have in common the mention of death in the title, you might as well start the journey in the remote Andaman islands, as go to Kashmir, Zanzibar, Berlin, Cyprus or Kenya. [I’ve visited all locations through the prose of M M Kaye]

Charles, be a Boy Scout and pour a stiffish whisky into the nearest glass and merely disturb it slightly with soda ... My blessings on you. Here’s to crime!’
[...] ‘Oh, my God!’ moaned Charles. ‘You women! You cats! You scratchy little hell-cats!’

In the absence of any concrete evidence, I plump for [XXX] as the murderer. First, because he’s the most unlikely person, and as anyone who has ever read a murder story knows, it’s always the most unlikely person who turns out to have done the deed – and fifty thousand authors can’t be wrong.’

You can tell when a writer has fun with the story they write, especially when playing loose with the genre conventions and breaking the fourth wall to make editorial observations. The tongue-in-cheek, parlour game atmosphere might be clashing with the horrendous dead bodies and with the overall gothic vibe of the setting, but once you realize this novel started with a couple of young women being bored after a storm and using the free time to play a game of ‘what-if...’, as described in the author’s note at the start of the novel, you might as well cheer the improvised detectives along their twisted logical paths and ignore the serious nature of the criminal endeavours.

This story was roughed out during a wild and stormy afternoon towards the end of the long-ago thirties, on a tiny island in the southern waters of the Bay of Bengal.
[...] We spent the next half hour or so happily plotting a murder, limiting our characters to the number of British marooned on Ross.

>>><<<>>><<<

Miss Randall – Caroline Olivia Phoebe Elizabeth by baptism but invariably known, from an obvious combination of initials, as ‘Copper’ is visiting her good friend Valerie Masson, who lives with her step-father on the tiny island of Ross, in the Andaman archipelago. On Christmas Eve, the British expats go on a picnic on a nearby mountain, only to be surprised by a violent storm on their way back to Ross.
The storm destroys the docks, sends the visiting Navy frigate out into safer waters, and isolates the group of picknickers on the island. The next day, the dead body of one of their compatriots is washed ashore and, in the absence of any authority, Copper and Val decide to find out who among the guests is a murderer. Val’s fiance, the debonair Charles, and Copper’s dreamboat, the dashing officer Nick Tarrant, play along with the girls as the Christmas Eve party devolves into a sombre exchange of accusatory glances among guests. As the storm continues to lash the island, fresh bodies crop up ... to add endless vistas of sinister conjecture to a landscape already overstocked with sinister vistas.

It hit the breathless immobility of the evening with the impact of a sixteen-inch shell. Shattering the brooding stillness into a thousand tortured fragments as the wind leapt upon the island; shaking it, savaging it, tearing it as though it were a terrier with a rat: bending the tall trunks of the coconut palms as though they had been saplings, and lashing them to and fro in a wild confusion.

M M Kaye writes from personal experience, based on her own visit to the islands, and this gives texture and authenticity to her set-up , to her characters inspired from real friends and to her landscapes. The fierceness of the storm, the decadent majesty of the house, the creepy sounds in the night and the suspicious activities of the guests combine into a powerful dark atmosphere in the first half of the novel, one that would be replaced by sarcastic banter between the young people and a shift towards more conventional romance in the second half.

Fear crept in upon it like the noiseless advance of the monsoon mists across the wet forests, until it pervaded every nook and corner of the dark rooms. Fear blinked from behind the wet, glimmering window-panes, whispered in the rustling patter of the rain and dried Copper’s mouth as she shrank back against her pillows, staring into the darkness with eyes that were wide with unreasoning panic.

I could find things to grumble about the story, if I make an effort: the rather abrupt transitions from horror to comedy, the simpering attitude of the girls towards men, the tone deaf attitude of the British towards the locals [unfortunately, a constant in the works of M M Kaye], the near-total dismissal of the numerous servants from Government House [ ... beckoned reluctantly over her shoulder to a servant who padded forward on noiseless feet and having received a low-voiced order vanished in the direction of the pantry. ], the contrived arguments that try to make every guest a suspect, the obvious red herring dangled in the face of the reader Val’s father , and so on, but I had to much fun with this Christmas Murder Mystery.

‘An exhilarating interlude, wasn’t it? Teeming with drama, passion, human interest and mystery. The works! I enjoyed it immensely.’

It’s a comfort read, of sorts, despite the subject matter, and I wish I had more books from Kaye to add to my list, but I’m not really interested in her three volume biography [the only ones left from her list]. I know too much already about her pro-colonial opinions, and I prefer the books where she is unrepentantly romantic:

There were times when he would have liked to snatch her up in his arms and kiss her so that she could not breathe, and others when he would have liked to pick her up and throw her into the sea – though whether from a sense of irritation with her or himself, or a desire to be free from her disturbing hold on his heart, he did not know. Nor was he at all sure that he wished to find out ...

... and eternally fascinated by the scented islands of spice, not unlike Joseph Conrad or Gaugain:

Far below her the Islands lay scattered over a glassy sea that was so still and smooth and shining that the wandering currents showed like paper streamers straggling across a ballroom floor after a carnival night when the dancing is over and the dancers have gone. The air had cooled with the approach of evening and the Islands were no longer veiled by a shimmering heat-haze, but clear-cut and colourful: lilac and lavender, blue and green and gold in the tropic evening ...

[Andrea]

The last of this series, and continues with the theme of sinking into a beautiful location, with some murder and romance along the way. This one had irritating men v women banter which fell flat for me ("you two harridans" etc, in a supposedly affectionate, joking way). Local people again non-entities.

"Coppy" has to be one of the most irritating nicknames I've ever heard.

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another winner from M.M. Kaye's " Death in... " murder mystery series. This novel takes the reader to the Andaman Islands off the coast of India, circa late 1940's. Copper Randal leaves the dreary, rainy confines of her secretarial job in London and travels halfway around the world to visit a girlhood friend living with her father, the Chief Commissioner of the Andaman Islands. While there, Copper discovers that all is not as it seems in paradise. Death stalks the colonial residents during the Christmas holidays, and due to a terrific hurricane, both potential victims and a murderer are trapped on the island -- totally cut off from any outside help from the mainland.

This is a great variation of the "locked room" whodunit. Kaye makes special use of some subtle supernatural elements that she claims actually happened to her while there with a friend in the 1930's. In fact, a large portion of this book was crafted by Kaye and a friend during a rainy, dismal Christmas holiday, so the book has a realistic, intimate flavor. I especially like this one because it features a sleuthing foursome (made up of Copper and her friend Valerie, as well as their respective love interests - Nick and Charles).

Lots of good descriptions of the Andamans and of a time period long ago lost. A period piece whodunit worthy to stand beside the likes of those penned by Agatha Christie.

[Alisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the final book I needed to read to complete M.M. Kaye's murder mysteries. What I like most about M.M. Kaye's books is the atmosphere and the suspense. She's really great at creating a room, or a moment, or a set of circumstances that make your heart race and provide a bit of an adrenaline boost.
However, it might be a sign that you've put a bit too much atmosphere into your book when at the end, when the characters are summing up the solution to the mystery, and tying up all the loose ends totally rationally, and then someone says, "Hey, what about that other thing?" and somebody else says, "Eh. Ghosts, maybe," and everybody else is like, "Yeah, could be." Then, yeah, you might have put too much atmosphere in your book.

(Incidentally, I didn't realize that the author intended to use that as an explanation; it felt very tacked on as a get-out-of-jail-free card. Otherwise I would've probably skipped this one! As it was, I just laughed it off, like, "Oh, M.M. Kaye. You can't do that in a detective novel!")

[P.W. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books...ever. I love a good mystery with some romance thrown in, so this book is right up my alley. I have read all of M.M. Kaye's books except for Trade Winds (which is really hard to find in print) and The Far Pavilions (because it's huge). Her other mysteries (the "Death In..." series) are interesting, well-written, and occur in various exotic locations. I return to these once a year when I need a good book; for me, these are like an old pair of comfy slippers. I highly recommend all of them.

[Mela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the most the bits about a love story between Copper and Nick, and the parts with the friendship between four young people, Copper, Nick, Valerie and Charles. There was wit, atmosphere - as I like it.

And I must admit, I couldn't help but feel the world Kaye portrayed in this novel, the heat, the storm, etc.

But the main topic - the mystery - didn't interest me much.

The three historical fictions of the author are among the best I have ever read. Yet, the mysteries I have read so far were only nice.

[Ana Lopes Miura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I adore the rest of the Death in… novels, but I found this one to be excruciatingly boring.

[Jannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5
9-10/10/18
Reread. A lot of fun returning to this one and I still was unsure about the murderer until the reveal. Very well done with lots of tingly suspense, a will they won't they romance sprinkled atop with lots of fun humor.


4/5

Another cosy mystery on a deserted island with a killer on the loose. Enjoyable as usual, and the character perspective a little differently done than the usual "Death in.." style.
I'm glad also there was a proper "what happened" style explanation in the end rather than just the romance coming to its final close in the book. I do want to know why the first time Copper saw Ferrers as a nightmare that it wasn't explained, even though she hadn't seen his face before?
The wry and banterous humor and sarcasm was a good touch as usual, thats what really helps M. M. Kaye stand a little apart.
Overall fun read especially during a flight and a long car ride. Im so tired.

[Bev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Death in the Andamans (1960) by M. M. Kaye finds Caroline "Copper" Randal on one of the enchanting Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean in time for the Christmas holidays. She recently has come into a legacy which allows her to take advantage of the standing invitation from her friend Valerie Masson. Valerie is the stepdaughter of the Islands' Chief Commissioner and wants Copper to share the beautiful island locale. At first, the only thing marring this island paradise is presence of Ruby Stock--a married woman, but one who still fancies herself a femme fatale and who forces the attention of every available male to herself. Unfortunately for Copper, this includes Nick Tarrent, the dashing young officer from the Sapphire, docked in the harbor.

But soon there is a bigger problem. A hurricane blows in just as the house guests gathered at Government House are finishing a picnic up on Mount Harriet. The party consists of Copper, Valerie, Valerie's fiance, Charles, Nick and his fellow officer Dan Harcourt, Ruby and her husband Leonard Stock, Rosamund & Ronnie Purvis, John Shilto and his brother Ferrers, Miss Amabel Withers and her on-again/off-again boyfriend George Beamish, the Rector and Mrs. Dobbie, and Deputy Commissioner Albert Hurridge. There is tension in the air--and not all of it is because of the threatening weather. Half the party returns by car and the others are to return in boats. When the sea-faring half finally arrive--soaked and bedraggled because their boats were all swamped in the storm--they are missing Ferrers Shilto, presumed drowned.

When Shilto's body washes up on shore, it is given a cursory going-over by the nurse and Dutt, the doctor's assistant (the doctor having been stranded off-island in the storm), and pronounced drowned. But Dan Harcourt has his doubts and vows to look at the body more closely himself. Then he turns up dead as well. There is a killer stalking the house party. Who is it? And what is the motive behind it all?

This is another solid mystery outing from M. M. Kaye using her own experiences to inform her novel. Kaye spent a bit of time on Ross, the island in question, just prior to the outbreak of World War II under circumstances very similar. When her party was caught on the island during a storm, it occurred to her what a nice place it would be for a murder--intensify the storm, knock out all communications, and strand a few important people (like doctors) off-island and you'd be all set. So, she did. The story is also up to her usual standard in terms of atmosphere and setting. The reader can definitely imagine the beauties of the island, settle back into the pre-war atmosphere, and then feel the building tensions as the storm approaches.

The mystery itself is presented with a light touch and the blend of romantic suspense is Kaye's forte. There are clues a-plenty and she does a fair job with a variation of the locked room/impossible crime motif. An enjoyable murder mystery with a good try at fair play plotting. There are a few details that are kept from the reader--but astute mystery fans should be able to piece it all together. ★★★ and a half. [Rounded up]

First posted on my blog My Reader's Block. Please request permission before reposting. Thanks.

[Cynthia Hale · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic English Manor House murder mystery. i love those. It happens to be set in the Andaman Islands near India in the last day of Empire. I enjoyed the setting and the characters. It is the story of a young woman, Copper, who goes to have an extended visit with her friend Val. Val's father is Englands guy in charge for the area. While visiting Copper finds romance, adventure, and murder, all during the Christmas holiday. The ending felt a little bit "out there" but it was still good. The romances were clean and believable to me. I really liked the authors note in the beginning telling about how and when she wrote it. It added a lot to the story. I have to warn that they use some 1930's swearing. Biblical language only. If it hadn't been for the language I would have given it 5 stars.

[Jacki (Julia Flyte) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This year I have read fewer recent releases than normal. I've found myself gravitating towards books written in the 1960s or earlier. There's something intensely comforting about nostalgia reads, where everything gets resolved and the book usually ends with a quick engagement.

M.M.Kaye wrote Death in the Andamans in 1960, the same year that Helen MacInnes wrote Decision at Delphi and the year after Mary Stewart wrote My Brother Michael. All of them feature a young woman catapulted into an exotic country and a murder mystery. Death in the Andamans is set in the island group of that name, located between Thailand and India, south of Burma. The author stayed there herself in the 1930s and that gives the book a very pleasing sense of place.

While the book lacks any great tension, I enjoyed it very much. My main complaint is that she needed to get us more invested in the central couple.

[Lisa Whitehead · Rating 5 out of 5]

MM Kaye is a great story teller.
Her narrative of the islands and their setting is beautifully done.
It certainly made me wish for cerulean seas and white sands.
The characters are witty and it is a mystery well played of who is involved in murder.

[EJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

SUCH a disappointment - weak plot, weak characters, and I continued to get the two main characters mixed up right until the end. The only redeeming feature was the secondary boyfriend, who affected the manner of a Bertie Wooster, and was therefore the only amusing or interesting character.

[Julianne S · Rating 5 out of 5]

Normally I wouldn’t give five stars to what is essentially fluff reading, but everything about this book is just delightful - setting, characters, dialogue, atmosphere, etc. I thoroughly loved it and am sad that I had to finish and leave this place and these people behind. (And when I say “these people”, I’m including M. M. Kaye herself, whose books make me feel like I know her personally. In many ways I even prefer her to Stewart, and that’s saying a lot.)

[Esther Wyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Might be the best one yet

[Tuesdayschild · Rating 3 out of 5]

Audiobook narrated by Soneela Nankani.
The setting for this suspense murderer/ romance story sounded amazing, a place I would love to visit, the story was just an okay one for me. I wasn’t sure afterwards if this was to do with the narrator - she often has Copper and Val sounding like the same person - or that I really was not invested in any of the characters.
A decent enough, no extra effort required, vintage era suspense mystery to listen to while unwell, so I’m gifting it three stars.

[Margaret · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always exciting to find a new author that is as talented as old favorites like Mary Stewart or Agatha Christie.

[Lisa Greer · Rating 3 out of 5]

After reading all the great reviews, I feel like a heretic, but I couldn't get into this novel. I really like the first chapter a lot, but after that, the novel just felt so dated to me, and I know it is old-- written around WWII time in fact. I have other old novels, though, that suck me right in, so it's not that fact. I got a degree in 18th century British Literature, so I do like old books. :) I think it was just not "thrilling" or must read, so it started to stagnate for me pretty quickly. I read until the storm was starting to blow in, and I just felt meh about the whole thing. So, I won't be finishing it. I'll try another by Kaye to see if I find something I like better.

[Lynnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written in the late 30's just before World War 2 but not published until 1960.

It's classic trapped on an island setting, swirling mists, storms, raging seas, telephone lines down. And a murderer. The descriptions of Government House were very atmospheric.

Kaye is also brilliant at describing the island, so beautiful and vivid.

The mystery was suspenseful but lost its way a little when the four younger people start listing the suspects and discussing motifs and I felt the banter became a little stilted.

A good recovery towards the end, an enjoyable read.