A review by jdcorley
The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

challenging medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Christie withholds Miss Marple from us for a solid three-quarters of the book and instead lets us marinate in the English village life that Marple draws her insights from. The challenge, to the experienced Christie maniac, is in trying to draw those insights ourselves, before Marple shows up to finish her knitting.  A dream sequence and a harmless note combine to give a strong impression of what's really going on, and when it's revealed, of course it makes perfect sense.  What's most marvelous about The Moving Finger is that one of the crimes can only be solved by identifying the motive, and the other can only be solved by identifying a very specific physical observation - and either will lead you to the culprit!  Christie plays absolutely fair and this makes it one of her best works, though perhaps we could have used a little more Marple in our Marple.
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