Strange plot, not one of his better books. ( )

Three Englishmen (a policeman, a colonel, and a clergyman), an Englishwoman, an Australian woman, and an African man are stranded on a Pacific island after their boat is torpedoed in the early part of the Second World War. A few days later the African, Sir Ponto Unumunu, is found dead, the back of his head having been bashed in. The policeman is of course John Appleby and he investigates as they discover that the island is not as deserted as they thought.

The social comedy before the torpedo hits as the white characters bicker amongst themselves and then have to adjust their racial ideas to an educated African with a knighthood is very funny. The casual racism exhibited by the characters towards Pacific Islanders in the abstract and those they meet is deplorable but no doubt true to how many British people did think at the time the book was written. Despite these sour notes, it's still an enjoyable adventure story, rather than purely a detective story. ( )

Awful racism. I couldn't finish it, it was so repellent. Do not read. (Other books by Innes have some racism, but NONE of them are as loathsome as this piece of shit.) ( )