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

5.0

I have never read Agatha Christie which is a bit surprising since I read so much. It’s also a bit surprising since I have seen and enjoyed plays, movies and television series based on her work since I was a kid. And finally it’s probably most surprising since my partner has been a life long fan…to the tune of collecting several editions of some of her books (some of the covers are not to be missed—apparently Christie hated most of them). I thought, I’d try listening to one & he suggested “The Body in the Library” which we watched during the third season of Miss Marple on Mystery! With the fantastic Geraldine McEwan (it’s on the third set of dvd’s). Frankly I was amazed. I know Christie is the grand dame of crime fiction and the grandmother of the mystery series…but I was shocked at how modern the book seemed (it was written in 1942). Sure this was set in the 30’s, but it was so witty, deftly plotted, tightly written, and fun I can’t believe it’s almost 70 years old. Some of the credit goes to the fantastic performance of Stephanie Cole; she’s a prolific tv actress with scads of awards in Britain. I most heartily recommend this audio book, even if you know the tale well.