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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
"He aprendido que nunca se debe intentar volver atrás, que la esencia de la vida es seguir hacia delante".
No es la última novela de Miss Marple pero lo parece: en ella, la anciana metementodo acepta que tanto ella como el mundo al que perteneció son cosa del pasado y están a punto de desaparecer. Parece como si la autora usara un misterio sencillo como excusa para reflexionar sobre todo esto.
No es la última novela de Miss Marple pero lo parece: en ella, la anciana metementodo acepta que tanto ella como el mundo al que perteneció son cosa del pasado y están a punto de desaparecer. Parece como si la autora usara un misterio sencillo como excusa para reflexionar sobre todo esto.
Not Agatha's best Miss Marple. In fact, Miss Marple is really only a supporting character.
Miss Marple is gifted a stay in London at a hotel she remembers from her youth. And to her surprise it is exactly like she remembers it. (which, eventually, makes her suspicious) At the same time there are a series of daring robberies happening across England. A famous daredevil and her estranged daughter staying at the hotel. And a dotty clergyman (who is a bit entertaining). Clergyman goes missing. Mother and daughter know each other is there. And Miss Marple watches on. When police get involved over the missing clergyman, then things begin to move forward, but Miss Marple has stepped away then.
So SOME good characters, and the mystery not really what you thought it was going to be because you had the feeling all along who was behind the daring robberies. But satisfies the Agatha itch until you remember the better ones.
Miss Marple is gifted a stay in London at a hotel she remembers from her youth. And to her surprise it is exactly like she remembers it. (which, eventually, makes her suspicious) At the same time there are a series of daring robberies happening across England. A famous daredevil and her estranged daughter staying at the hotel. And a dotty clergyman (who is a bit entertaining). Clergyman goes missing. Mother and daughter know each other is there. And Miss Marple watches on. When police get involved over the missing clergyman, then things begin to move forward, but Miss Marple has stepped away then.
So SOME good characters, and the mystery not really what you thought it was going to be because you had the feeling all along who was behind the daring robberies. But satisfies the Agatha itch until you remember the better ones.
This is a very different Agatha Christie book. It's not her traditional type of mystery, but if you're an Agatha Christie fan, you'll probably still enjoy it. But if you haven't read any of her stuff...you're not going to like it. This novel is more about the subtlety of the characters and the English life and less about the mystery and the plot. In fact, there isn't even a murder until the last quarter of the book. I'd still recommend it because it's a nice little English novel, but if you are looking for a good murder novel, pick up one of her other ones.
4.5 stars
I read a lot of Agatha Christie as a teenager (many, many years ago) and haven't really picked up her books since. I don't remember much of what I read, just that I enjoyed them. Isaw this one on a list of Books to Read if You like Only Murders in the Building. I've been reading books from the list, and have enjoyed them, so I was hopeful going into this one.
Miss Marple wasn't the main character, but her observations and insights were key to sorting out the mystery. The Bertram Hotel was a character in itself, its mere existence being a clue.
The setup was clever, and I will (re)read more of Agatha Christie's books.
I read a lot of Agatha Christie as a teenager (many, many years ago) and haven't really picked up her books since. I don't remember much of what I read, just that I enjoyed them. Isaw this one on a list of Books to Read if You like Only Murders in the Building. I've been reading books from the list, and have enjoyed them, so I was hopeful going into this one.
Miss Marple wasn't the main character, but her observations and insights were key to sorting out the mystery. The Bertram Hotel was a character in itself, its mere existence being a clue.
The setup was clever, and I will (re)read more of Agatha Christie's books.
Very fun story! I enjoy Miss Marple but haven’t read many of her stories. I’ve read all of the Poirot stories, and love them. I felt this story didn’t feature Miss Marple, it was more about Chief Inspector Davy.
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Two more books after this one and that is the end of reading anymore about Miss Jane Marple.
At Bertram's Hotel has Miss Marple taking a holiday at the previously named Bertram's in London. We have Miss Marple reminiscing about an old beau in her youth and her staying at the hotel with her family. We also have Miss Marple referring to events in other novels such as A Caribbean Mystery which keeps the events in that novel fresh in readers minds.
While staying at Bertram's Miss Marple overhears a conversation between Bess Sedgwick (an adventuress) and a member of the staff at Bertram's and starts to take note of other guests such as Elvira Blake (a 20 year old heiress) and Canon Pennyfather.
At first things in the story were rather muddled to me until we have Miss Marple becoming involved after Canon Pennyfather goes missing. Pretty soon a case is afoot and readers along with Miss Marple will start to question why Bertram's always seems so perfect.
When a commissionaire at Bertram's is accidentally shot we finally start to get more pieces to what is going on at Bertram's. Everything in the end ties together and makes sense, however, I have to admit that for a while there I was totally lost at what exactly was going on. What was great to me though is that we have Miss Marple's sense of justice and what is right prevailing in the end and though we don't get a satisfactory ending with certain individual(s) I like to think that they did pay in the end.
At Bertram's Hotel has Miss Marple taking a holiday at the previously named Bertram's in London. We have Miss Marple reminiscing about an old beau in her youth and her staying at the hotel with her family. We also have Miss Marple referring to events in other novels such as A Caribbean Mystery which keeps the events in that novel fresh in readers minds.
While staying at Bertram's Miss Marple overhears a conversation between Bess Sedgwick (an adventuress) and a member of the staff at Bertram's and starts to take note of other guests such as Elvira Blake (a 20 year old heiress) and Canon Pennyfather.
At first things in the story were rather muddled to me until we have Miss Marple becoming involved after Canon Pennyfather goes missing. Pretty soon a case is afoot and readers along with Miss Marple will start to question why Bertram's always seems so perfect.
When a commissionaire at Bertram's is accidentally shot we finally start to get more pieces to what is going on at Bertram's. Everything in the end ties together and makes sense, however, I have to admit that for a while there I was totally lost at what exactly was going on. What was great to me though is that we have Miss Marple's sense of justice and what is right prevailing in the end and though we don't get a satisfactory ending with certain individual(s) I like to think that they did pay in the end.
This feels like a late-in-life effort for both Jane Marple and [a:Agatha Christie|123715|Agatha Christie|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1589991473p2/123715.jpg]. Miss Marple spends most of her time in London revisiting old haunts from her childhood, including a few that, after World War II, no longer exists. Her perceptive eye and her sense of curiosity are as sharp as ever, but there's only one slight reference to a "type" she knows from her village. Instead, one of the main characters is a celebrity she knows from the newspapers. The world is moving on!
And Agatha Christie explodes the expectations of the cozy mystery. Even though it is set at Bertram's Hotel, as the title plainly tells us, a lot of the important action takes place outside its environs: in some cases, far outside. There's a shooting in the street (unusual, as I recall, from other Christie novels), and a female character who combines some of the 1920's adventuress personality with some of the 1950's femme fatale traits. It's as if both Agatha and Jane are taking stock of a world that's changed and finding a way to say, "I'm still here. I still matter."
And Agatha Christie explodes the expectations of the cozy mystery. Even though it is set at Bertram's Hotel, as the title plainly tells us, a lot of the important action takes place outside its environs: in some cases, far outside. There's a shooting in the street (unusual, as I recall, from other Christie novels), and a female character who combines some of the 1920's adventuress personality with some of the 1950's femme fatale traits. It's as if both Agatha and Jane are taking stock of a world that's changed and finding a way to say, "I'm still here. I still matter."
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
The first half felt ling, drab and uninteresting but the pace picks up in second half with several twists. Elvira, her mother, her mother’s supposed BF, the old Canon, and inquisitive Miss Marple whose nosiness pays off. Chief inspector “Father” Davy steals the show from Miss Marple in this one because he sees the connections and has an excellent sense of who’s saying the truth Vs not and is able to connect the dots between the family drama and recent string of high profile burglaries.