Just Finished Reading: They Do It With Mirrors by Agatha Christie (FP: 1952) [218pp] 

Ruth Van Rydock just knew something was wrong, she could feel it. What exactly was wrong was a whole other matter. It was something indefinable, something that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. Fortunately, she had a friend who could help with that, someone she could rely on, someone who could puzzle things out – her longtime friend Jane Marple. Jane was happy to oblige because it had been far too long since she had visited Carrie Louise, far, far too long and if she was in any danger then Jane was obligated to help if she could. Arriving at Stoneygates, part old family residence and now part a young offenders rehabilitation centre Jane slowly began to see what Ruth no doubt had felt. There was something wrong there, but what exactly? It was quite a mystery and, it seemed, a deadly one. With one violent death already could Miss Marple see through the haze of motivations, histories and misdirection's to stop the killer striking again? 

This rather thin, and I must admit slightly disappointing, classic crime novel started with quite a surprise - Miss Marple appeared on page ONE! Normally, at least in the previous novels, Jane Marple only appears in the final third and sometimes the final quarter of the novel to wrap things up and put the police, politely as always, on the right track. Here she was involved from the very start. The other surprise, if I can call it that, was the overall ‘feel’ of the book. It felt, almost from the beginning, that I was reading either a play or a play that had been adapted into a novel with the bare minimum of changes between the two media. It was a bit odd and rather off-putting. The cast was pretty much as you’d expect from a Christie novel with those who had axes to grind, hidden histories to be revealed and long remembered slights to be avenged. The setting was again pretty typical in an old house (with faulty wiring AGAIN!) but with an attached offender's centre (plenty of potential baddies there). The ‘play’ feeling was enhanced, as if it needed to be, by repeated mention of an amateur drama club with the youngsters as both actors and stagehands. The plot is progressed through an interview style format with the residents almost lining up to speak to Miss Marple to tell her their particular truth. This did seem a tad lazy to be honest, so I was pleased when this phase was over, and the crime started happening. 

I was pleased that I’d managed to spot the victim ahead of time. There were a number of candidates amongst the residents, but I felt I’d zeroed in on the right one (although I had no idea WHY that was the case). I was also pleased that I spotted the real misdirection (or attempted misdirection) and managed to ignore the plethora of red herrings swimming by. I have done this previously – being convinced I was onto something – and have been proven spectacularly wrong. I think I picked the correct murderer by a process of elimination and luck. Christie spent a great deal of time casting potential guilt on several other people, but I resisted that temptation and stubbornly stuck to my guns (pun intended) because of the way an alibi was set up. What I didn’t know for sure was the motive, although motives generally fall into one of 3 categories: Love, Revenge or Money. I didn’t see a lot of love motivation and thought the Revenge motives were a little too weak, so plumped for Money. But, as with the rest of the readership no doubt, I didn’t know the details until we were told at the end. My ‘reasoning’ such as it was certainly wouldn’t have stood up in a court of law, but I was moderately pleased with myself. 

Whilst not exactly anywhere near the best Miss Marple book (out of the 6 read so far, I’d rank this bottom) it was entertaining enough for a few days' read. I think it’s been almost a year since my last Miss Marple read, which is FAR too long. I’ll try to fit in the next one before the end of THIS year! Recommended.

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