Death in Cyprus in Retro Reads

Jan 02, 2015 Tadiana ✩Night Owl☽ rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: mystery, dated-social-attitudes, library-has, suspense

M.M. Kaye wrote six romantic suspense/murder mysteries back in the mid-20th century, all titled (or in some cases retitled) "Death in ___" and set in different exotic locations around the world. I binged on them all like so many potato chips. This time we're in beautiful scenic Cyprus, an island off the coast of Turkey and Syria with a large Greek population.

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It's the 1950s, and 21 year old Amanda Derington is traveling on a ship to Cyprus for a vacation. She kindly exchanges cabins with the loud M.M. Kaye wrote six romantic suspense/murder mysteries back in the mid-20th century, all titled (or in some cases retitled) "Death in ___" and set in different exotic locations around the world. I binged on them all like so many potato chips. This time we're in beautiful scenic Cyprus, an island off the coast of Turkey and Syria with a large Greek population.

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It's the 1950s, and 21 year old Amanda Derington is traveling on a ship to Cyprus for a vacation. She kindly exchanges cabins with the loud, whiny, miserable Mrs. Julia Blaine, who has a terror of the number 13 assigned to the cabin. Amanda nearly drinks a nice cold drink left in the cabin before realizing it had to have been left for Julia. Julia then comes to Amanda's cabin (to complain about her neglectful husband), drinks the drink and promptly falls dead. I guess the number 13 really was unlucky for her ...

It looks like suicide to everyone, except that Amanda and the mysterious and cynical Steven Howard, who appears in the night to help Amanda out, have some extra clues that make them realize it wasn't. But even after they disembark on Cyprus, the unknown murderer is following Amanda, presumably to tie up the loose end that she represents, in ways that involve hair-raising incidents(view spoiler).

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Historic Hilarion castle, where ... never mind!

I guessed the murderer in the other two Kaye mystery novels I read before this one, but Death in Cyprus fooled me completely. The clues were there; I just didn't put them all together.

This was an enjoyable, light and quick read, though nothing deep or profound. There's just a dash of romance, but it's nothing to write home about: it's the old-fashioned standard virginal ingenue and the steely-eyed alpha male who takes charge. Given the 1950s publication date I didn't mind it too much, though some readers might. I did want Amanda to be a little less helpless and a little more clued in, but I liked the main characters, in spite of their shortcomings.

A fun murder mystery, in a distinctly old-fashioned kind of way. It gives you a nice historic glimpse into Cyprus as it was in the 1950s. ...more

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Mar 11, 2018 mark monday rated it liked it

Shelves: to-die-for, murdertime

This was pure pleasure from beginning to almost the end. M.M. Kaye drew on her own stay in Cyprus - including using the house she stayed in as the novel's central location - to paint a portrait of a certain place during a certain time, and the actual experience with the locale and the home made this a memorably immersive experience. But immersive in the lightest of ways! Death in Cyprus is a light, fizzy delight, full of fun dialogue and enjoyable characters (predominately the women, many of the This was pure pleasure from beginning to almost the end. M.M. Kaye drew on her own stay in Cyprus - including using the house she stayed in as the novel's central location - to paint a portrait of a certain place during a certain time, and the actual experience with the locale and the home made this a memorably immersive experience. But immersive in the lightest of ways! Death in Cyprus is a light, fizzy delight, full of fun dialogue and enjoyable characters (predominately the women, many of them larger-than-life creations) and atmosphere to die for, lol. I was so taken in by the details of this island that I often forgot to try and figure out the mystery - something that happens to the heroine herself. Kaye threads her story with a bit of melancholy, knowing that soon after the time when her story is set, the bubbling tensions surrounding the island would result in its unpleasant partition. But the melancholy never takes hold of the story, and so Death in Cyprus is overall a cheerful, charming experience. Funny to think that a story featuring two heartless murders is also a cozy, delightful story, but hey that's the genre for you.

SPOILER AHEAD, but I will try to keep it slight: Kaye's talents as a writer are not in question, but they became even more clear to me after learning who the murderer is. I had to go back and reread a section from the killer's perspective and was astounded. When unaware of the POV character's murderous nature, the section is straightforward: an interesting, psychologically astute scene featuring one character's emotional breakdown and another's guiltily disgusted response. When rereading it, knowing what is actually happening, the scene became stark and even rather horrific - I was literally reading why and how a person is killed, without knowing it. Amazing! END SPOILER

I'm sad to say that the last couple pages were a real turnoff and left an unpleasantly sour taste, enough of one for me to dock a star. I'm just not down with a guy's manipulative behavior being brushed off so casually, especially if his manipulation leads to danger for someone he supposedly cares for. It sorta sickened me. In Kaye's defense, she does include a couple lines to show that her heroine is equally repulsed. But then that is followed by our no-longer-charming hero pulling the disgusted heroine into his arms for a make-out session, 'cause I guess it doesn't really matter anymore since she's now safe and sound. Ugh, no.

Good book though, despite those last couple pages. ...more

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Nov 24, 2019 Barb in Maryland rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, mystery-thriller-goodies

Currently re-reading with the Retro Reads group. I haven't read this since it first came out 30+ years ago, so all I remember is that I liked it. Plot, characters, whodunnit--all vanished from my memory.
It will be like reading it for the first time.
Will update once I finish the book.

ETA 25 Nov 2019
I really enjoyed this one. Interesting characters, beautiful scenery. a romance, and a murder mystery. How much more can you ask for? Ms Kaye's prose was light and easy where it needed to be, with Aman ...more

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Nov 25, 2019 Susan in NC rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This was a fun intro to the work of MM Kaye - solid mystery, some really well-written scenes that ratcheted up the tension, some great characters and lovely descriptions of the beauty of Cyprus.

What I enjoyed: a smart young heroine, who yes, did some dumb things, but I’m willing to overlook because of inexperience and naïveté- she wasn’t the too dumb to live type heroine! I think the damsel in distress routine is somewhat expected in romantic suspense, which is what I would consider this story. ...more

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Jun 25, 2009 Hannah rated it liked it

Shelves: 2018-reads, re-read, mysteries, 2011-reads

Rating Clarification: 3.5 stars

M.M. Kaye's 6 book "Death in..." murder mystery series takes the reader to the island of Cyrus, circa late 1940's/early 1950's. Sheltered orphan Amanda Derington is eager to see the world, so when her straightlaced Uncle Oswin asks her to visit one of his far-flung business concerns, Amanda jumps at the chance. But she can't even set foot on the fabled island before death comes calling and reaps one of the passangers on board the S.S. Orantares, the ship Amanda boo ...more

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Nov 25, 2019 Elinor rated it it was amazing

This is a classic murder mystery, with a small cast of interesting characters in an exotic location. I found it impossible to guess the murderer, with so many motivated people to choose from. And there is a strong romantic element as well. This novel was written in the grand old tradition of both Mary Stewart and Agatha Christie. I had never read anything by this author -- now I can't wait to delve into the other murder mysteries in this series, plus the author's best-known work,The Far Pavilion ...more

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Dec 14, 2016 Amy rated it really liked it

Shelves: read-as-an-audiobook, 2016

Fun story. Great location. A bit dated but in a charming way. Horrible narrator. I don't recommend the audiobook. The narrator sounded like a 12 year old girl trying to sound like a five year old girl. ...more

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Feb 10, 2022 Jenn Estepp rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: sleuths-and-gumshoes, pandemic-and-aftermath, comfort-food, kindling

Let's say 3 1/2 for this one. Even though the ultimate reasoning for things came kind of out of nowhere and then sense of setting wasn't nearly as strong with this one as the others in the series. But I still quite enjoyed it and thought bits were very clever. ...more

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