Take a photo of a barcode or cover
beth_books_123 's review for:
Murder at the Vicarage
by Agatha Christie
Another overrated read - 3.5*
I am a dedicated fan of mysteries both on TV and in books. I am particularly fond of Hercules Poirot but I don't find the TV portrayal of Miss Marple as engaging and interesting. So I decided to give it another try by reading the original by Agatha Christie.
Now, I did enjoy this book, I enjoyed the characters- they were very strong in this book and kept me reading until the end. The thing I found most disappointing is I guessed the murderer in the first chapter. Now, some people may argue that this is not a bad thing but when you have read books, such as Sherlock Holmes and Harry Bosch, where you have to really theorise and "work" to find out who the murderer was, I was disappointed in this. I did not pride Marple with her discovery, of course, she put the pieces of the jigsaw together but I already had guessed who was the murderer was, why and when. She was not the mighty detective that the Vicar perceived her as; she was a regular woman who was just smarter than the rest. Any sane and focused person could have realised who the murder was. The red herrings were so obvious, they may as well have been labelled.
This book is interesting, it is effective in engaging a mystery and is one of those cosy mysteries. Unfortunately, for myself, in a mystery I prefer for my heart to be racing and I don't want to be right. I don't want to be the detective that's what the detective is for. I want to be a spectator and watch the mystery unfold. Is that too much to ask?
I am a dedicated fan of mysteries both on TV and in books. I am particularly fond of Hercules Poirot but I don't find the TV portrayal of Miss Marple as engaging and interesting. So I decided to give it another try by reading the original by Agatha Christie.
Now, I did enjoy this book, I enjoyed the characters- they were very strong in this book and kept me reading until the end. The thing I found most disappointing is I guessed the murderer in the first chapter. Now, some people may argue that this is not a bad thing but when you have read books, such as Sherlock Holmes and Harry Bosch, where you have to really theorise and "work" to find out who the murderer was, I was disappointed in this. I did not pride Marple with her discovery, of course, she put the pieces of the jigsaw together but I already had guessed who was the murderer was, why and when. She was not the mighty detective that the Vicar perceived her as; she was a regular woman who was just smarter than the rest. Any sane and focused person could have realised who the murder was. The red herrings were so obvious, they may as well have been labelled.
This book is interesting, it is effective in engaging a mystery and is one of those cosy mysteries. Unfortunately, for myself, in a mystery I prefer for my heart to be racing and I don't want to be right. I don't want to be the detective that's what the detective is for. I want to be a spectator and watch the mystery unfold. Is that too much to ask?