Just Finished Reading: The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (FP: 1930)

In the peaceful English village of St Mary Mead the almost unthinkable has occurred. Colonel Protheroe, the local churchwarden, has been found brutally murdered at the Vicarage. When the Prime Suspect is addressed and charged with the crime within hours of the event everything seems to have returned to some kind of normality but soon the case against him becomes untenable and the police are forced to let him go. Now the real mystery begins with the local police seemingly at a loss and it is left to local spinster Miss Jane Maple to sift through the evidence, alibies and witness reports before the killer walks away scot-free. But Miss Maple has never solved a murder before and it might be beyond even her powers of deduction. With so many suspects – at least seven she thinks – will it be possible to safely eliminate all but one before the police give up or blame an innocent party?

I haven’t read an Agatha Christie novel for years – possibly decades – and have never read a Miss Maple novel before (despite enjoying both the movies and various TV adaptations) so thought that it was high time I delved into her world. I’m glad that I did. Not only did I find the writing both gentle and intelligent I was surprised by just how funny and frankly witty it was. This was Miss Maple’s first case (I only discovered this after I started reading) and found it to be lots of fun. Miss Maple is a great character who, no doubt, must be based on the author herself. She keeps her eyes well and truly open, has a jaundiced view of human nature and has both the time and native intelligence to work through the suspects alibies for the event and slowly eliminate the innocent until, finally, she has enough confidence to name the killer. Helped by her love of lurid American crime novels and a probing incisive mind, as well as being downright nosey and occasionally rude, she manages to get herself involved in the case and often to be in the right place at the right time to shape the investigation around her. I think the most surprising thing about this book is that Miss Maple is not the central character or narrator – which is the Vicar – and Miss Maple is only seen, talked about or involved in the tale when he is ‘on set’. All very odd I thought. Being the person that I am, and having enjoyed this so much, I have already bought the next two books in the Miss Marple sequence. So more spinster detecting to come. Recommended.

[2015 Reading Challenge: A Mystery or Thriller – COMPLETE (1/50)]