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The Murder at the Vicarage
Characters and plot masterfully woven! Loved the sparkling dialogue and brisk prose of Agatha Christie's ingenious exhibition of intrigue! Found it a pleasure of intellect, entertainment, and suspense!
The Murder at the Vicarage
When a widely-disliked man is found dead at the vicar's house, he wants to be part of the investigation. Among the other village residents who keep turning up, asking whodunit, is Miss Marple.In this first book in the Miss Marple series, she does not show to advantage; she's a nosy village spinster, and the storyline itself dragged terribly. I had trouble keeping the characters straight and finally skipped to the end.
The Murder at the Vicarage
This is the first book where Miss Marple appears. Very fun. It's narrated by the vicar. I loved his dry wit. A murder has been committed in his home, and the victim had several in the village who wouldn't mind seeing him dead. The police, the vicar, and Miss Marple team up to solve the crime.
The Murder at the Vicarage
Speaking as the pastor of a small church in a small town where everyone (especially the little old ladies) knows everything about everyone else, I must say that Agatha Christie perfectly captured this setting in Murder at the Vicarage. This mystery was very well-written. She doesn't muck about setting the scene for half the book before anything actually happens, and though I guessed a couple of the twists/surprises well in advance, it wasn't enough to give away "whodunnit." The only reason I give it four stars instead of five is that I feel that just about anything in the mystery genre has a rather low re-read value...good thing Dame Agatha has so many more books out there!
The Murder at the Vicarage
Summary from Amazon:"The first Miss Marple mystery, one which tests all her powers of observation and deduction."Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe," declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, "would be doing the world at large a favor!"It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later--when the Colonel is found shot dead in the clergyman's study. But as Miss Marple soon discovers, the whole village seems to have had a motive to kill Colonel Protheroe."My Thoughts:Murder at the Vicarage begins with the death of an unliked man where everyone in the village becomes a suspect in his death. This was my 1st Miss Marple read and I found it to be an enjoyable mystery. Agatha Christie was a very talented mystery writer and one of my favorite things about her is her ability to make all of her characters seem guilty at some point. This leads the reader into suspecting anyone and everyone which is exactly what I did :) In the case of this book I guessed the killer at the beginning but Christie had me so turned around as I was reading the book that by the end I didn't even suspect the killer which made the ending still come as a surprise. There was a colorful cast of characters (otherwise known as suspects) that all had reasons for wanting the victim dead that played various roles in the story. My only complaint was that I was taken back a bit by the fact that at times it seemed like Miss Marple didn't play an important role in the mystery that was going on. By the end of the book though, she shines as the reader sees how much of the mystery she was able to solve on her own.This was a fun mystery that kept me guessing the entire time that I read the book. I'm looking forward to reading more Miss Marple mysteries and hopefully I will read everything that she has written at some point. And although this wasn't my favorite book by Christie, I found it to be a really solid mystery. Recommended!Bottom Line: A great beginning to the Miss Marple series!Disclosure: I checked this book out from my local library ;)
The Murder at the Vicarage
This, the first of the Miss Marple series, is a classic.The Marple of this book is a bit more vinegarish than she comes off in later stories. But the nosey old biddy with binoculars at the ready and sharp mind amply demonstrates her ability to unravel a complex crime.Personally, I've always preferred Marple to Poirot--a statement that may be blasphemy to the latter's fans. Having known a few of her type, she simply comes off as more realistic to me than the talented Belgian.Christie demonstrates her legendary skill in detailing the murder of a man despised by all, planting a variety of red herrings to throw the reader off the trail, seven suspects and three confessions before the case is solved. In addition to Miss Marple, this novel also introduces the vicar, Leonard Clement, and his wife, Griselda, who show up in later stories.