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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
My first Agatha Christie book, and I'm not in a hurry to read any more. The book had a slow start for me, probably because I didn't connect to any of the characters at all. For a short while it got a little better after the murder was committed, but I soon lost interest again. I just didn't feel connected to the characters or the story. I finished it only because I read it for a group read and it was short, if not, I would probably have abandoned it. I didn't even really care who the murderer was for a while. although I did get a bit curious again towards the end.
Enter Miss Marple.
Miss Marple’s stories are perhaps some of my favourite Christie stories. Poirot is brilliant in his own right, but this sweet, elderly spinster with a knack for deduction and keen insight on human nature is simply the best.
This story was a reread, but I had forgotten many of the nuances of the plot line. So while the guilty party wasn’t a surprise, several of the logistics were.
Miss Marple’s stories are perhaps some of my favourite Christie stories. Poirot is brilliant in his own right, but this sweet, elderly spinster with a knack for deduction and keen insight on human nature is simply the best.
This story was a reread, but I had forgotten many of the nuances of the plot line. So while the guilty party wasn’t a surprise, several of the logistics were.
Interesting at the beginning..
Lost steam towards the end…
And with that I lost interest in finding out who the killer was….
Lost steam towards the end…
And with that I lost interest in finding out who the killer was….
This book is one-part Clue, one-part Doubt, and one-part Murder She Wrote (Angela Lansbury happens to be one of the actresses that played Miss Marple), stirred together into a first-rate mystery. It's not as good as Sherlock Holmes, but it's pretty close.
A few quick thoughts:
- I find it very interesting that Agatha Christie was able to acknowledge all the prejudices of the time against women -- with the male characters calling the female characters silly, foolish, troublesome gossips -- and subvert nearly all of them in the process.
- I don't really understand calling it a "Miss Marple Mystery", as it is narrated by the vicar and Miss Marple is a tertiary -- albeit interesting -- character. It would be like renaming the Harry Potter series after Neville Longbottom, just because he kills the snake at the end.
- My only negative comment is the way the dialogue is written, as I often had no idea who was speaking, and had to reread a few of the conversations to make sure I was following it correctly.
A few quick thoughts:
- I find it very interesting that Agatha Christie was able to acknowledge all the prejudices of the time against women -- with the male characters calling the female characters silly, foolish, troublesome gossips -- and subvert nearly all of them in the process
Spoiler
like having a woman as the killer after the inspector saying a woman wouldn't handle a gun, having a woman figure out the mystery and set trap that catches the killer, etc.- I don't really understand calling it a "Miss Marple Mystery", as it is narrated by the vicar and Miss Marple is a tertiary -- albeit interesting -- character. It would be like renaming the Harry Potter series after Neville Longbottom, just because he kills the snake at the end.
- My only negative comment is the way the dialogue is written, as I often had no idea who was speaking, and had to reread a few of the conversations to make sure I was following it correctly.
This is my first Agathe Christie book and boy have I fallen in love. I need to stock up on all these. These are perfect cosy crimes. Small town. I finally got to meet the marvelous Miss Marple. I love her. I loved it all. I'm very impressed. Why has it taken me so long to pick these up? She has written loads so might take me a while to get through but I'm going to try.
The writing style is beautiful. I loved most of the characters and the cute little town. It's a real who did it page turner which I devoured in a day. Miss marple just complete the whole case at the end which I found amazing. Clever woman. I'm looking forward to reading more by Agathe I'm so excited to have found her books and luckily my library stocks a lot of them.
Would highly recommend. A well deserved four stars from me. I know I'm probably late to these but bloody loved it! I hope the others are just as good. Once I started I couldn't put it down.
The writing style is beautiful. I loved most of the characters and the cute little town. It's a real who did it page turner which I devoured in a day. Miss marple just complete the whole case at the end which I found amazing. Clever woman. I'm looking forward to reading more by Agathe I'm so excited to have found her books and luckily my library stocks a lot of them.
Would highly recommend. A well deserved four stars from me. I know I'm probably late to these but bloody loved it! I hope the others are just as good. Once I started I couldn't put it down.
Why did I think I could predict this? I had it down to like… 3 possibilities, and then
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
My first Christie read wasn’t quite what I expected: Miss Marple isn’t the narrator—she’s not even in most of the scenes. The vicar of the title narrates and it’s both more amusing and less interesting than I’d hoped for, because Miss Marple just waltzes in at the end to reveal the solution. We get all these hints that aren’t explained in the moment, which I found frustrating. The solution to the murder is clever, but I was bored and irritated by the time I got there. If this is a typical cozy mystery, it’s not for me—although the writing style is entertaining, so I understand why some people enjoy these.
mysterious
medium-paced