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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Christie does it again. This time I had a sense of the resolution forming at the edge of my mind but couldn't quite put it together. Excellent red herrings and ending was ultimately a surprise. I love a good grammatical twist.
I am so proud of myself: I finally guessed the ending of an Agatha Christie novel! Clearly, reading these books one after another has helped put me in the right mindset, and right from the get-go I said to myself, 'Ah, but X is the murderer!'
I knew the how easily enough, but I was not entirely sure why X was the murderer at first. I knew it had something to do with the [redacted] that Z [redacted] to X. And as it went on, I became more and more sure that X was the murderer, and I thought, 'There's a red herring, there's a red herring, this only makes sense because of this other thing, having to do with X. Only X had opportunity. Only X could have done this, and this, and this. We only have X's word for this.' Then I thought, 'Oh no, poor Y, Y is having to be drawn into this because they [redacted] X so much.' Then, it came to me: it came to me all in a rush, just before it came to Marple, this why, this motive. I knew why X was the murderer.
And then Marple unravels the whole thing, explains it all, and it was all as I had thought. Not a single, little bit different. I got it! I guessed the whole thing! I am inordinately pleased with myself, and also, I could never have done this without having read eight Agatha Christie mysteries already this year (a total of nine in three months!), prior to this one. I've gotten the feel for them now. I'm in the game.
I knew the how easily enough, but I was not entirely sure why X was the murderer at first. I knew it had something to do with the [redacted] that Z [redacted] to X. And as it went on, I became more and more sure that X was the murderer, and I thought, 'There's a red herring, there's a red herring, this only makes sense because of this other thing, having to do with X. Only X had opportunity. Only X could have done this, and this, and this. We only have X's word for this.' Then I thought, 'Oh no, poor Y, Y is having to be drawn into this because they [redacted] X so much.' Then, it came to me: it came to me all in a rush, just before it came to Marple, this why, this motive. I knew why X was the murderer.
Spoiler
I wonder if I would have gotten to the why as quickly as I did if we weren't a year into a pandemic.And then Marple unravels the whole thing, explains it all, and it was all as I had thought. Not a single, little bit different. I got it! I guessed the whole thing! I am inordinately pleased with myself, and also, I could never have done this without having read eight Agatha Christie mysteries already this year (a total of nine in three months!), prior to this one. I've gotten the feel for them now. I'm in the game.
Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack’d from side to side;
‘The curse is come upon me,’ cried
The Lady of Shalott
— The Lady of Shalott by Alfred Tennyson
This was a fun read with a wide array of characters set in a manor house, the surrounding village of St. Mary Mead, and the new development of houses that has recently risen from the countryside, which everyone in the books refers to as simply, “the Development”.
A resident of the Development, Heather Babcock, couldn’t have been more excited to meet the glamorous movie star Mariana Gregg. One moment Heather is enthusiastically talking to the movie star, and the next Heather is dead. And it looks like a poisoned cocktail is to blame. But who would want to kill a nice woman like Heather?
Miss Marple takes a less active roll in this one, but, of course, she still manages to unravel the case, as well as her knitting!
I had a great time with this book, despite the fact that the title feels a bit… Well, random. The death in this book has nothing to do with a mirror. The title comes from the above passage in ‘The Lady of Shalott’, a poem by Alfred Tennyson.
Even as an English major who is familiar with this poem I thought it was an odd choice of title. Would most people who read this book when it was first published in 1962 be familiar with the poem? Or would they spot Christie’s latest on the shelves of their local bookstore or newsstand and think, “Death by cracked mirror, eh? What will she think up next. The Queen of Crime be running out of ways to do away with people,” and put it back on the shelf with a harrumph.
I should say, the above quote opens the books and the reference is later explained within the book, so it’s not as though you need to do additional research to understand the title within the context of the book.
I think titles are more effective when they are simpler, but that’s just my personal preference.
This was a very well written book but the mystery is a little transparent. Too many clues are sprinkled throughout so most close readers will solve the mystery way before Miss Marple does. I enjoyed this mostly because Christie’s writing is beautiful in many parts of this book. It’s a truly tragic story about loss, depression, and how the past continues to haunt us.
*3,5 stars*
This was a fun mystery, there were a bit too many coincidences but I actually didn't mind that.
This is my second Miss Marple book, the first one I read was Murder at the Vicarage and since it was a Poirot book too I thought maybe that was why Miss Marble wasn't as present, but it happens again in this one. I know she is an old lady, but I hoped she was going to be a bigger part of the story and not just show up occasionally when people are telling her what they found out and then at the end to solve the whole thing.
This was a fun mystery, there were a bit too many coincidences but I actually didn't mind that.
This is my second Miss Marple book, the first one I read was Murder at the Vicarage and since it was a Poirot book too I thought maybe that was why Miss Marble wasn't as present, but it happens again in this one. I know she is an old lady, but I hoped she was going to be a bigger part of the story and not just show up occasionally when people are telling her what they found out and then at the end to solve the whole thing.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this the first time years ago, but I never didn't know the outcome because I knew that it was based on a true incident involving Gene Tierney, so I can't rate the surprise value of the ending. Listened this time to the Emila Fox audiobook...she's a good narrator.
"Heather Badcock meant no harm. She never did mean harm, but there is no doubt that people like Heather Badcock (and like my old friend Alison Wilde), are capable of doing a lot of harm because they lack - not kindness, they have kindness - but any real consideration for the way their actions may affect other people.”
This was my second Miss Marple audiobook in a few months. I enjoy listening to Christie's novels on audio - the readers are always excellent and the mysteries are not so taxing that I can't listen and drive.
However, both these audios were set in the 1950's. As a friend said, "Miss Marple gets a bit preachy" by that time. Also I realized that I really think of Miss Marple and Christie as being of the 1930's and 40's. So although I enjoyed this mystery, I am going back to Miss Marple's beginnings - maybe A Murder is Announced.
This was my second Miss Marple audiobook in a few months. I enjoy listening to Christie's novels on audio - the readers are always excellent and the mysteries are not so taxing that I can't listen and drive.
However, both these audios were set in the 1950's. As a friend said, "Miss Marple gets a bit preachy" by that time. Also I realized that I really think of Miss Marple and Christie as being of the 1930's and 40's. So although I enjoyed this mystery, I am going back to Miss Marple's beginnings - maybe A Murder is Announced.