A review by laurpar
The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie

2.0

In this Miss Marple mystery, a young woman’s body is found strangled in an aristocratic family’s library. The search for the culprit takes the reader through Christie’s signature twists and turns as Miss Marple investigates the girl’s wealthy benefactor, her dancing partner, and the local boys who were smitten with her. In a typical Christie fashion, the ending was a complete twist that I could have never guessed. Unfortunately, in addition being unpredictable, the ending was rather unbelievable, too.

This was my first encounter with Christie’s Miss Marple, and I have to admit that I had a few scruples with her. I didn’t really find her likable, she spent a large portion of her time prattling on about people in the village who had no involvement in the case at hand, and Christie wrote her in a way that would make anyone willingly confess their crimes to her, and I just didn’t buy that. Christie’s endings are characteristically unbelievable, but in most cases I can suspend my disbelief enough to enjoy them, but this ending was just too out there for me.

I would never call a Christie book bad, but I have read better books of hers.