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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
It's difficult for me to decide which character I like best Miss Marple or Poirot, I just love them both for different reasons! I was surprised that I hadn't read the first book featuring Miss Marple and was sure I was going to love it. I did end up liking it but not as much as other stories with her.
This one is written from the perspective of the vicar of vicarage where the victim is murdered. I'm starting to realise that although Ms Marple or Poirot my be the mystery-solver in each book, the "author" can be anyone.
I struggled a bit to keep track of all the characters in this one and it hasn't been one of my favourites so far. That said, still another clever ending :)
I struggled a bit to keep track of all the characters in this one and it hasn't been one of my favourites so far. That said, still another clever ending :)
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
medium-paced
I picked up this book over the summer & couldn't really get into it. But I decided that a good murder mystery was a perfect fall read.
As with most murder mysteries, I love trying to figure out the clues as the characters recieve them. And this case was certainly filled with twists & turns that kept me guessing until the end. The case is told by the Vicar, a middle-aged man with a young wife and younger nephew to care for. While the three are out of their house one evening, a greatly disliked man in the village stops by for a meeting with the Vicar. When the Vicar returns from an unexpected errand to meet with the man, he finds the man's cold dead body laying across the writing desk. As the case unfolds, we learn the reasons why so many of the villagers seem to hate this man and try to figure out who could have truly been behind the crime.
Of course, an Agatha Christie novel would not be complete without some red herrings and other small mysteries throw in as well. As the police try to unravel the motives and solve the case, Miss Marple is completing an investigation of her own. It should be no surprise to fans of Christie's work that Miss Marple is truly the one to solve the case in the end and leave the reader longing for her brilliant mind along the way.
As with most murder mysteries, I love trying to figure out the clues as the characters recieve them. And this case was certainly filled with twists & turns that kept me guessing until the end. The case is told by the Vicar, a middle-aged man with a young wife and younger nephew to care for. While the three are out of their house one evening, a greatly disliked man in the village stops by for a meeting with the Vicar. When the Vicar returns from an unexpected errand to meet with the man, he finds the man's cold dead body laying across the writing desk. As the case unfolds, we learn the reasons why so many of the villagers seem to hate this man and try to figure out who could have truly been behind the crime.
Of course, an Agatha Christie novel would not be complete without some red herrings and other small mysteries throw in as well. As the police try to unravel the motives and solve the case, Miss Marple is completing an investigation of her own. It should be no surprise to fans of Christie's work that Miss Marple is truly the one to solve the case in the end and leave the reader longing for her brilliant mind along the way.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This was brilliant! I loved the story and the variety of characters. I especially enjoyed reading about the Vicar, Mr Clement (the narrator) and his wife Griselda -- too bad that this seems to be their only appearance in Agatha Christie's work.
Book Riot Read Harder 2019:
#14 A cozy mystery
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2019:
#30 A book featuring an amateur detective
#50 A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage or convent
Agatha Christie is the master of mystery. This is the first Miss Marple book, and the first I've read. I though Miss Marple would be the lead character, but nope, the lead was the Vicar, Leonard Clement, and Miss Marple was just a side character until.... I didn't love this one as much as And Then There Were None, but it was still good. I had to skim the first couple of chapters again because she introduced so many characters so quickly, but after that it was easy to keep them all straight. I liked that she included maps to visualize how everything was laid out, since those were key clues to the mystery.
Makes me wonder about the next Miss Marple books... do they all happen in the same town? Is it like Cabot Cove? I'll have to find out!
#14 A cozy mystery
Popsugar Reading Challenge 2019:
#30 A book featuring an amateur detective
#50 A book set in an abbey, cloister, monastery, vicarage or convent
Agatha Christie is the master of mystery. This is the first Miss Marple book, and the first I've read. I though Miss Marple would be the lead character, but nope, the lead was the Vicar, Leonard Clement, and Miss Marple was just a side character until...
Spoiler
she explains the whole thing at the end. Hah!Spoiler
The vicar comes home to find Colonol Protheroe lying dead in the study at the Vicarage. Mrs. Protheroe has been having an affair with the young Lawrence Redding, who at first confesses to the crime, then Mrs. Protheroe confesses to the crime... but both are cleared because their confessions don't line up with the facts. There are clues all over the place that don't seem to be adding up. The vicar is trying to figure it out because it happened in the vicarage, and he doesn't quite trust the Inspector because the Inspector keeps spurning him when he tries to tell him stuff. Miss Marple wants to figure it out, because her hobby is human psychology, and she's been able to solve little mysteries in the past, but nothing as big as murder. Eventually, Miss Marple puts it all together... it was actually Lawrence Redding, who has laid out everything so carefully so that his real "fake" confession wouldn't be taken seriously. Even worse, Lawrence Redding has cast the blame on clergyman Hawes (who is guilty of embezzling, but not murder), and has caused him to overdose and almost die. There is no proof, but they trick Lawrence into confessing, and everything is wrapped up tidily.Makes me wonder about the next Miss Marple books... do they all happen in the same town? Is it like Cabot Cove? I'll have to find out!
This is my first Agatha Christie series mystery that I've read. If I hadn't possessed prior knowledge that Miss Marple was supposed to be the detective, I would have never guessed, considering that the entire book is narrated from the perspective of the vicar. Miss Marple seemed to be more of a peripheral character. Perhaps as a result, it felt more personable and involved than the average third person mystery since the reader is seeing things from the view of a character who is not the detective. It makes me curious as to who the narrators are in other Miss Marple stories.
I did not guess the culprit, although I did figure a few things out before they were revealed.
It's fun to read about the crime-solving techniques of 1930 from the perspective of someone who was a contemporary writer. Fingerprints seem to have become well established, and it was interesting to learn that the phone exchange could trace calls.
Last finished 2/18/2013. Rating reviewed 12/26/2022.
I did not guess the culprit, although I did figure a few things out before they were revealed.
Spoiler
I guessed that Mrs. Lestrange was actually Colonel Protheroe's first wife and Lettice's mother. I also picked up on the clue about the note being in two different sets of handwriting, neither of which belonged to Colonel Protheroe. I also figured out that Griselda had not come back on the train that she claimed she had.It's fun to read about the crime-solving techniques of 1930 from the perspective of someone who was a contemporary writer. Fingerprints seem to have become well established, and it was interesting to learn that the phone exchange could trace calls.
Spoiler
Haydock struck me as having rather enlightened views. Even today, although we acknowledge mental illness as causing many crimes, very little is done to treat those illnesses. It's difficult to prevent crimes due to the fact that sufferers of the same illness may or may not commit crimes, and it wouldn’t be just to restrict them all to prevent the possibility.Last finished 2/18/2013. Rating reviewed 12/26/2022.
Very clever as always, threw me off the scent and then surprised me at the end!