TOUR DE FORCE

by the loss of his right arm\u003B Helen Rodd, the wealthy wife who continues to support him\u003B spinster Edith Trapp, whose wardrobe Mr. Cecil openly admires\u003B introverted Vanda Lane, who enjoys gaining power over other people\u003B and Odyssey Tours guide Fernando Gomez. Soon after their arrival, Vanda is stabbed to death in her hotel room as everyone else lounges on the beach, their alibis attested by the watchful Cockie himself, though they can’t extend the same courtesy to him. The investigation demanded and at first directed by El Exaltida, the suavely tyrannical Grand Duke of San Juan el Pirata, who’s determined to arrest one of the interlopers, reveals that every one of the vacationers is harboring some dark secret ranging from adultery to masquerade to embezzlement. Fending off his own arrest, Cockie eventually figures out which of those secrets is most toxic en route to half a dozen false climaxes and a remarkably well\u002Dtimed unmasking. Along the way, Brand (1907\u002D88) distributes puzzle pieces as dexterously as a Las Vegas dealer and wisely springs her biggest and most jaw\u002Ddropping surprise halfway through in order to give dazed readers plenty of time to accommodate themselves to its messy implications."