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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I could swear that I have never read this book before, but I knew immediately who the murderer was! Maybe there was a television version? I did watch Joan Hickson as Miss Marple back in the day. That's my only explanation for my conviction on this point.
Despite that I enjoyed the mystery. Like many of Christie's novels, it took a rhyme, this time Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shalott, and worked it into the novel just as she did with several nursery rhymes. Quite effectively too. It also allowed me the luxury of being able to observe Christie's careful structuring of the crime.
Of course I do adore Jane Marple, who seems to be Aunt Jane to ever so many detectives. Just like her characters Tommy and Tuppence, Christie allowed Miss Marple to age, with all the tribulation that entails. I had great sympathy for her, being saddled with the dense, controlling Miss Knight. I have a sister who seems to think that because one of my knees doesn't work so well that I can't take care of myself. Our last serious spat resulted from her trying to “help" without asking whether help was required or desired (it was not). I laughed out loud when Miss M declared to Inspector Craddock that she was tempted to murder the woman!
Book 4 of my 2025 Read Your Hoard challenge.
Despite that I enjoyed the mystery. Like many of Christie's novels, it took a rhyme, this time Tennyson's poem The Lady of Shalott, and worked it into the novel just as she did with several nursery rhymes. Quite effectively too. It also allowed me the luxury of being able to observe Christie's careful structuring of the crime.
Of course I do adore Jane Marple, who seems to be Aunt Jane to ever so many detectives. Just like her characters Tommy and Tuppence, Christie allowed Miss Marple to age, with all the tribulation that entails. I had great sympathy for her, being saddled with the dense, controlling Miss Knight. I have a sister who seems to think that because one of my knees doesn't work so well that I can't take care of myself. Our last serious spat resulted from her trying to “help" without asking whether help was required or desired (it was not). I laughed out loud when Miss M declared to Inspector Craddock that she was tempted to murder the woman!
Book 4 of my 2025 Read Your Hoard challenge.
I love Agatha Christie’s work. This was a fun read, and I was unsure on who the murderer was throughout most of the book. There were a handful of suspects that we had to inspect to find the truth.
Oh wow. This is truly one of the best Christie mysteries. I'm realizing just how many Miss Marple mysteries are her solving them from her living room. But I did not see the ending coming, and I'm happy about that.
CW: (discussions of) death of a child, parental abandonment, probable bipolar disorder
CW: (discussions of) death of a child, parental abandonment, probable bipolar disorder
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
If Agatha Christie’s The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side wasn’t on my reading list.
It’s perfectly fun, but it doesn’t rise to the level of other Miss Marple mysteries . The murder takes a little while to occur, so we spend the opening chapters in the idyllic town of St. New homes are being built, and there’s a divide between the people who have always lived in the town and the newcomers in the development. Nothing means or nefarious, of course, just the sense that Miss Marple is part of an older version of the town that is now fading. Though well-meaning, Miss Knight tends to be overprotective, infantilizing Miss Marple to a degree that the reader knows is absurd.
Miss Marple is old but not incapable, and her mind is plenty sharp. The plot returns to Gossington Hall, where the body was found in The Body in the Library . Miss Marple is quickly brought up to speed by Mrs. Unlike The Murder of Roger Ackroyd where the clues became increasingly obvious and I had the sense that Christie was pushing me toward the correct conclusion in her own time, I feel like I caught this one ahead of schedule. Miss Marple is as delightful as ever, though it pained me to see her treated as an invalid.
It’s perfectly fun, but it doesn’t rise to the level of other Miss Marple mysteries . The murder takes a little while to occur, so we spend the opening chapters in the idyllic town of St. New homes are being built, and there’s a divide between the people who have always lived in the town and the newcomers in the development. Nothing means or nefarious, of course, just the sense that Miss Marple is part of an older version of the town that is now fading. Though well-meaning, Miss Knight tends to be overprotective, infantilizing Miss Marple to a degree that the reader knows is absurd.
Miss Marple is old but not incapable, and her mind is plenty sharp. The plot returns to Gossington Hall, where the body was found in The Body in the Library . Miss Marple is quickly brought up to speed by Mrs. Unlike The Murder of Roger Ackroyd where the clues became increasingly obvious and I had the sense that Christie was pushing me toward the correct conclusion in her own time, I feel like I caught this one ahead of schedule. Miss Marple is as delightful as ever, though it pained me to see her treated as an invalid.
Miss Marple finds herself not only dealing with a murder but a changing village and a overly fussy nurse/ care giver.
The mystery is pretty good. What I really liked was how Miss Marple explained people.
The mystery is pretty good. What I really liked was how Miss Marple explained people.
unfortunately my memory held up on the solution *and* it’s one where miss marple is quite frustrated and feels a bit imprisoned, so not christie’s worst but not her best!
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
one of my favourite miss marple novels for sure. I too would move in with her if I could.
all the characters felt vivid and real, and the mystery was the right medium between easily solvable and far-fetched. a really solid later agatha christie work!!
all the characters felt vivid and real, and the mystery was the right medium between easily solvable and far-fetched. a really solid later agatha christie work!!
mysterious
medium-paced
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was my first Miss Marple Mystery and I loved it so much! The atmosphere and writing are unmatched