The Devil and the Dark Water

This novel was really a disappointment. I had a good chunk of the mystery figured out early on, but the ending is too contrived and overly "clever". It's Agatha Christie fanfiction with the serial numbers filed off -- and as is the case with the worst of the Christie novels, the resolution of the mystery is so far-fetched that it utterly destroys willing suspension of disbelief.

The most disturbing aspect of this novel is that it's situated within some of the worst abuses of white colonialist history, while utterly failing to engage with any of the problematic aspects of it. The "victims" and "heroes" of this story are wealthy, privileged white people, and the source of their wealth and privilege goes completely unexamined.