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3.52 AVERAGE
3.52 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
At Bertram’s Hotel is distinct from the other Miss Marples I’ve read recently. While A Murder is Announced, The Moving Finger, and The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side tended to center around one particular character (whether murderer or victim), At Bertram’s Hotel is instead an analysis of a place--the eponymous Bertram’s Hotel.
Bertram’s Hotel sits in a time out of time. Within its walls lies a perfect recreation of old Edwardian England, where elderly British aristocrats and clergy can relive their childhood days and curious Americans can revel in a quaint“English” experience. Even Miss Marple is not immune to the charm of nostalgia, even as she senses the increasing artifice (and menace) of the experience.
It is the slow revelation of the cracks in the façade of Bertram’s that piqued my interest the most in this mystery. The reveal that a seemingly “perfect” place is actually concealing sinister deeds is an old standby in mystery/horror, but one I find nearly always effective nevertheless. This mystery turns less on action than on atmosphere, especially since this the rare Miss Marple mystery set, not in a small village or hamlet, but in bustling London.
I didn’t solve the mystery, but also I’m not really sure what mystery I was supposed to be solving. A killing does occur, but late in the story, and by then I was more interested in the rising sense of “wrongness” at Bertram’s than I was in figuring out whodunnit. Personally, I wished the novel had incorporated a touch more horror, a revelation that things are not only bad, they are really bad, and I was a little let down by the reveal.
There are some interesting musings from Miss Marple near the end of the book about the power and danger of nostalgia and the way it can be traded on by unscrupulous people who know how to use a fictionalized past to their advantage. It all feels, as Miss Marple concludes, a little too good to be true.
Bertram’s Hotel sits in a time out of time. Within its walls lies a perfect recreation of old Edwardian England, where elderly British aristocrats and clergy can relive their childhood days and curious Americans can revel in a quaint“English” experience. Even Miss Marple is not immune to the charm of nostalgia, even as she senses the increasing artifice (and menace) of the experience.
It is the slow revelation of the cracks in the façade of Bertram’s that piqued my interest the most in this mystery. The reveal that a seemingly “perfect” place is actually concealing sinister deeds is an old standby in mystery/horror, but one I find nearly always effective nevertheless. This mystery turns less on action than on atmosphere, especially since this the rare Miss Marple mystery set, not in a small village or hamlet, but in bustling London.
I didn’t solve the mystery, but also I’m not really sure what mystery I was supposed to be solving. A killing does occur, but late in the story, and by then I was more interested in the rising sense of “wrongness” at Bertram’s than I was in figuring out whodunnit. Personally, I wished the novel had incorporated a touch more horror, a revelation that things are not only bad, they are really bad, and I was a little let down by the reveal.
There are some interesting musings from Miss Marple near the end of the book about the power and danger of nostalgia and the way it can be traded on by unscrupulous people who know how to use a fictionalized past to their advantage. It all feels, as Miss Marple concludes, a little too good to be true.
I found the to be one of the more clever Miss Marple narratives. The perfect Golden Age crime set up. An old hotel. Disguises. A shot and scream and ensuing drama. Jane Marple always takes her vacations at the wrong time if it’s relaxation she seeks.
mysterious
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
lighthearted
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:
Yes
My first Agatha Christie! Probably an odd place to start but for whatever reason it called to me.
The setting descriptions were by far and away the highlight of this book - as it should be with somewhere like Bertram's being the main focus. Christie's writing was so evocative and let me envision the hotel so clearly! And her characters were well written with little eccentricities and quirks to humanise them.
I don't know how to comment on the mystery since I've watched all the TV Marples many times and already knew who the murderer was - I really enjoyed the stuff with poor Canon Pennyfather, especially his perspective, but dismantling a national crime syndicate felt a bit... grand for what I expected from a Marple. Perhaps that's on me, since it's my first.
For more stars it needed more Miss Marple, I think.
Listened to on audiobook.
The setting descriptions were by far and away the highlight of this book - as it should be with somewhere like Bertram's being the main focus. Christie's writing was so evocative and let me envision the hotel so clearly! And her characters were well written with little eccentricities and quirks to humanise them.
I don't know how to comment on the mystery since I've watched all the TV Marples many times and already knew who the murderer was - I really enjoyed the stuff with poor Canon Pennyfather, especially his perspective, but dismantling a national crime syndicate felt a bit... grand for what I expected from a Marple. Perhaps that's on me, since it's my first.
For more stars it needed more Miss Marple, I think.
Listened to on audiobook.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
One of my favorite Agatha Christie novels!
The way Miss Marple describes Bertram's Hotel; the same as it had been in her childhood and bringing back wonderful feelings and memories...this is how I felt reading this book again (and all AC books truly). It also cracks me up that the hotel has "special prices" for older ladies so they can set the scene for old British society for the travelers. I've read a lot of modern cozy mysteries, but none of the characters trumps Miss Marple. She is the original nosy civilian and she does an amazing job of solving crimes simply by observation. But unlike It was so interesting and tricky and so many red-herrings. I loved it. This is my second reading and I didn't remember at all what the ending was like.
The way Miss Marple describes Bertram's Hotel; the same as it had been in her childhood and bringing back wonderful feelings and memories...this is how I felt reading this book again (and all AC books truly). It also cracks me up that the hotel has "special prices" for older ladies so they can set the scene for old British society for the travelers.
Spoiler
It almost seems like that desription was a hint to the readers, now that I have finished it; the hotel really was a set stage, but for something much more sinister and truly brilliant.Spoiler
Bertram's Hotel, this novel is not too good to be true. I did not suspect Bess at all and I CERTAINLY didn't think she would confess to save her daughter. Miss Blake did seem pretty tricky and it all made came together in the end.
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The organized crime syndicate is one of my less favorite plots. Also, this felt a bit disjointed and jumpy.
This one only gets three stars because of the excellent twist at the end I didn’t see coming. Otherwise, it seemed to meander and drag on forever and Miss Marple was barely in it. I also had a lot of sympathy for the antagonist of this one and I didn’t really agree with how it was ended. I’d prefer that they get away clean. Sometimes an antagonist is just too good and too charismatic to be caught.