Ratings78
Average rating4
I like the whodunnit aspect of this, but it does get a bit bogged down in hidden identities and motives. And of course Miss Marple has the perfect hidden talent for the ending. Not bad, but not the best.
I got it! This is only the third (edit: fourth actually, I completely forgot “The Moving Finger” lol) Miss Marple I've read, but I'm quite familiar with Poirrot, and the crime itself seemed very Poirrot-like to me. I utterly failed at guessing the killer (or even how the crime occured) in “The Murder at the Vicarage”, and while I guessed a few key points in “The Body in the Library”, this is the first book where I actually got most of what happened before the reveal.
Miss Blacklock seemed extremely suspicious to me since the very beggining. A murder attempt happening without an actual death always casts suspicions on the “victim” of said attempt, as per quite a few other Christie novels.
This suspicious weirdly only grew, and after Bunny's death I couldn't imagine anyone else being the killer. Blacklock's conversation with Miss Marple, where Marple mentions how she has family and friends, but it is heartbreaking to lose the one person who knew you as a child, completely solidified it. At this point though, I was under the impression that Bunny thought that Charlotte was Letitia and was murdered out of precaution, in case she started noticing/remembering things and that Miss Blacklock wasn't actually Miss Blacklock (well, she was, but not quite). I should've known this wasn't likely due to Bunny's personality and devotion to her friend, but oh well, I was bound to be misled somewhere.
Bonus: I also guessed who Pip was almost immediately! I had a friend of a friend with the name and nickname, and in true Miss Marple fashion, I drew similarities ;)
Overall, I really loved this book, and it felt like a very classic Agatha Christie mystery to me, which I always love!
One of my first Miss Marple books in a long time. I love reading this little old lady and her wide-eyed but “accidental” observations about human nature and facts that lead the police to uncover the solution to the mystery in front of them.
What I don't understand is why Miss Blacklock chose to announce the murder in the first place? Her objective was to get rid of Rudi Scherz, because he might possibly recognise her as Charlotte and not Letitia Blacklock, so why not a quiet murder? Why all these plans to fake a burglary and all that, which is sure to attract attention from the police??
I am a fan of Agatha Christie's books, which I have been reading since I was a teenager (a lot of years ago). But if I have to choose a favorite, it has to be A Murder Is Announced. I read this book for the first time when I was about fourteen. It was actually the first Agatha Christie book that I read and the one and made me become a fan. Back then, I read a translation into Spanish, Se anuncia un asesinato. It was not until this year that I read the book in the original English, and I have to say that I liked it even more.
Another suspenseful Agatha Christie mystery. It really had me guessing. While I suspected the murderer there were a lot of twists and turns at the end that I totally did not expect. Highly recommended.
This is one of the better Miss Marple stories. None of the characters really stood out to me...nobody truly likable. However I liked the twists and turns.
This was a good mystery with lots of twists. I liked how Miss Marple and the Detective Inspector Craddock gradually put together the truth surrounding the murder announcement.
This book opens with the following message: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th at Little Paddocks at 6.30pm. Friends, please accept this, the only intimation.' Would you be curious enough to accept the invitation to this party that ends with a literal bang? I sure would. In fact, maybe I should pin this invitation to the community activity board during Halloween next year. Muhaha.