Poirot's Evil Under The Sun

If ‘Evil Under the Sun’ had occurred in this era, a lot of changes would be needed. Many of the clues the murderers placed to mislead to police would have brought them to justice instead. Equipped with the technology we have today, many past cases that seemed impossible then are easily solved now and the same applies to this mystery.
In this era, one of the most useful tools we have is the internet. The internet would make solving the murder ten times faster and easier as well. Poirot could easily have googled ‘local strangulations’ and found all the information he needed; furthermore, along with the article there would be pictures of Edward Corrigan and Alice Deverill, also known as Patrick and Christine Redfern respectively. However, while the internet does have its pros, it also

has cons. The internet would alert newspapers and magazines of Arlena’s murder and many reporters and photographers would flock to the island for information regarding the death of famous actress Arlena Stuart. Their interference would severely hinder the police investigation as every new clue or suspect found would be broadcast to everyone, including the suspects. The paparazzi interference would misconstrue the story so for the story to stay mostly the same, a normal guest staying at the hotel would have to be murdered, and not a famous actress who’s been a part of multiple front-page news scandals.
Another aspect of the story that a change in era would alter are the clues. Most of the clues Patrick and Christine planted in addition to Arlena’s body had their fingerprints all over them and in this era, we would have easily been able to track them down if the police took all the guests’ fingerprints and compared them. In the 1940s, the police did possess the technology needed to obtain fingerprints but the methods were primitive and weren’t completely reliable; the police show this through the way they treat evidence: with their bare hands, trying to keep most of their fingerprints off the piece. Although this can sometimes work, it isn’t likely but nowadays, the police are extremely thorough and wouldn’t miss anything. The sociopathic couple would have to wear gloves or wipe everything they touch and be extra careful not to leave even a hair behind because that could provide enough evidence to indict them. Furthermore, forensics teams would be able to determine the exact time of death for Arlena Stuart which would completely ruin Patrick and Arlena’s clever plan.
One of the most important changes the era would cause is the loss of the protagonist.

Hercule Poirot was widely known for his detective work due to the stories of the mysteries he solved in the newspapers but in this era, most people don’t care much about murders. The news stories nowadays often involve either politics or celebrity scandals. Since they wouldn’t write about Poirot, he would not achieve and therefore, would not have permission from the police to conduct his own private investigation. Without the protagonist, the story would drastically change and the murder might have gone unsolved like Patrick and Christine’s previous murder.
By changing the story’s setting to the 21st century, we are also altering many key elements of the story. Although all our new technology gives us an edge in crime fighting, it doesn’t necessarily make the story more interesting but in fact worsens the plot as many important factors to the murder are removed: the protagonist, multiple suspects, privacy, and the setting. The era which ‘Evil Under the Sun’ is set in is perfect as the technology was not too advanced to make the story boring but not too primitive to make the mystery unsolvable

either.