The Murder at the Vicarage

This is the first in the Miss Marple series and what a departure from Poirot!

The story was solidly constructed, the mystery was cleverly executed, and the writing was what I expect from Christie, but after reading the Poirot series I was a bit taken aback and how little Miss Marple actually figures into the story. I came to like her more and more as I progressed through the book and would have liked her to play a more prominent role in the story. Maybe I just need an adjustment period after Poirot's more forceful character. On to the next!

OMG. I was 100% wrong about who the killer was! And I was so sure I had it figured out, too!

A really great mystery. It's well-crafted and not a total cop-out like The Moonstone.

But it's really the characters who make it. They're interesting, quirky, and likable.

My only complaint is that Miss Marple is actually not a major character in the book. Sure, she solves the mystery and tells the police how to capture the killer, but she BEHAVES more like the hand of God. She's hardly around except to make suggestions and plant clues and then she sails off again. And if it's too early in the book, she says she has a clue, but refuses to tell anyone what it is.

It's OK, though, because she is wonderful.

I will be filling in the gaps in my reading with Miss Marple books in the future!

This is the first Agatha Christie novel I read! What! I feel like I'm the only one on Earth who hadn't read her until now. We were supposed to read And Then There Were None in high school, but I'm ashamed to say this was the only book I never finished for class...

This book totally took me by surprise! I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. This is the best kind of surprise!

Colonel Protheroe is shot in the Vicar's study, and everyone in the town seems to have a solid alibi! Fortunately, Miss Marple loves detective novels and has a sharp mind still.

Full review over @ the hungry bookster

Since seeing Knives Out in theaters this fall, I'd been in the mood to read a cozy mystery, and where better to start than the Miss Marple books? I knew very little about Miss Marple before reading Murder at the Vicarage, but I imagined her as an elderly, female Poirot. Instead, I was surprised to learn that she solves crimes using the power of nosiness and gossip, which I found to be a refreshing and humorous take on the detective genre. While the details of the murder itself were inventive, I didn't find the motive of the killer to be entirely convincing. I'm looking forward to reading the next installment.

This was my first Agatha Christie book, and I really enjoyed it. Christie has an engaging writing style that I found entertaining. Her method of presenting the crime and then methodically eliminating suspects is quite satisfying. I liked that I could not determine the killer myself.

Miss Marple is an amusing character. I was surprised that the narrative is not told from her point of view. I thought since it is advertised as a Miss Marple mystery that she would tell the story. I guess it is better that she does not narrate. It adds to the mystery because the reader does not know her thoughts until she reveals them.

After reading this book, I definitely plan to read more Agatha Christie mysteries.

I love the Miss Marple series of books. I love the idea of a gentle, old lady knitting away silently, not missing a single trick. She is sharper than most of the professional detectives and police forces combined, thanks to her skill of observing people and learning from life. Maybe it is because I'm quite the opposite, that she intrigues me so. Great story, great characters and a great mystery. 

Another good Miss Marple story, in the usual style. The narrator was especially good, although I can never decide if I like male or female readers best for Agatha Christie audiobooks. I was pretty sure I knew who the murderer was, using my new technique of solving Miss Marple stories, but once again I was way off. I had to console myself with having correctly figured out a minor element of the story. In all, a thoroughly good book.

This was a fantastic and comforting reread of one of the early Marples.

Colonel Protheroe was never beloved by any of the inhabitants of St Mary Mead and more than one person had cause to wish him dead. When he is found by the Vicar shot in the head in the study of the Vicarage, suspicion turns on any number of people in the village who had motive and opportunity. Of all the old cats in the village, it is Miss Marple, neighbour to the Vicar, who takes the most active participation in the case.

The writing style felt a little... almost basic sometimes. The sentences were short and to the point, but I think it's this that makes Christie such an easy and comforting read, and such an accessible classic. It's really the plot and the amount of weaving together storylines and motives that makes any Christie novel stand out. I haven't read this one in years and I thought I had a vague memory of who the culprit was - I was completely wrong! Not only that, I had also completely forgotten how all the red herrings in the story were resolved and it was fun revisiting this mystery with completely new eyes.

For Christie's detectives, I've always preferred Poirot over Miss Marple, but in so doing, I think a lot of the Miss Marple cases don't stand out in my memory as much so they're definitely still worth revisiting. Miss Marple isn't bad, but I just take issue with her philosophy that everything follows some kind of pattern that has already been done before. It's not inherently false, but a lot of the parallels she makes also feels a little too convenient.