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THREAD: Ihave been spending some time in idyllic St. Marie's mead and surroundings. Will give my thoughts on the novels I read so far...
Marple is brilliant but there is also a dark streak as it's more about human nature than puzzle solving...
Marple is brilliant but there is also a dark streak as it's more about human nature than puzzle solving...
Here's some I just finished:
MURDER AT THE VICARAGE (1930)
Miss Marple's first case - quintessential brilliant. Start with this one at all costs
MOVING FINGER (1942) I thought this one was rather dull and M.M. only comes in at 2/3
...
MURDER AT THE VICARAGE (1930)
Miss Marple's first case - quintessential brilliant. Start with this one at all costs
MOVING FINGER (1942) I thought this one was rather dull and M.M. only comes in at 2/3
...
THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS (1952):
I liked it but more of a puzzle than a real painting...
don't confuse with:
THE MIRROR CRACKED FROM SIDE TO SIDE (1962) - entertaining, a famous actress and murders. I liked it
...
I liked it but more of a puzzle than a real painting...
don't confuse with:
THE MIRROR CRACKED FROM SIDE TO SIDE (1962) - entertaining, a famous actress and murders. I liked it
...
4:50 FROM PADDINGTON: Murder in a train. one of her best, featuring Marple a lot and keeping you guessing.
read some moths ago: SLEEPING MURDER (1976): brilliant, spooky. The last published novel but she wrote it in 1940 during Blitz...
read some moths ago: SLEEPING MURDER (1976): brilliant, spooky. The last published novel but she wrote it in 1940 during Blitz...
A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED (1950): quintessential village murder story. Marple not so prominent but quite good.
NEMESIS (1971) Marple travels with a group. Didn't like that one so much...
BODY IN THE LIBRARY (1942) in my recollection somehow vulgar, not my favourite...
NEMESIS (1971) Marple travels with a group. Didn't like that one so much...
BODY IN THE LIBRARY (1942) in my recollection somehow vulgar, not my favourite...
next up: AT BERTRAM'S MOTEL (1965) and POCKET FULL OF RYE (1953). Then CARIBBEAN MYSTERY & the short stories...
Final remark: I very often have a good idea who or what it was after 2/3 but it may be because I read the novels decades ago and unconsciously remember it.
Final remark: I very often have a good idea who or what it was after 2/3 but it may be because I read the novels decades ago and unconsciously remember it.
PS: I would appreciate your own feelings about the Marple mysteries. I like her discreet way, her analytical spirit and her sense of justice. Also, she seems to be a believing Christian. However, reading one after the other can make you gloomy (as it's about dark human nature)
OH AND DO I HAVE TO SAY IT???
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!!! in the discussion
NO SPOILERS PLEASE!!!! in the discussion
AT BERTRAM'S HOTEL: melancholic, about a a time gone by, Miss Marple very present, although mashed together with a London gangster racket story... Several nods to Christian Faith and a great quote by the old lady...
"Miss Marple seldom gave anyone the benefit of doubt; she invariably thought the worst, and nine times out of ten, so she insisted, she was right in so doing."
A POCKET FULL OF RYE: It's more of an "Inspector Needle featuring Miss Marple" adventure but Needle's delightfully ironic, the puzzle keeps you you guessing, and while Marple only comes in late (100 pages) she's essential to the solution. Great novel
THE 13 PROBLEMS - from 1932! Had forgotten how great these 13 (quite) short stories are, they sparkle with giddy energy and fun. A group of people after dinner in St. Mays Mead discuss real crimes - and it's aways Miss Marple to solve them. Quintessential.
"So many people seem to me not to be either bad or good, but simply, you know, very silly."
Miss Marple, THE 13 PROBLEMS
Miss Marple, THE 13 PROBLEMS
"Young people nowadays (...) their minds are terribly innocent. They believe in everyone and everything. And if one tries to warn them, ever so gently, they tell one that one has a Victorian mind."
Miss Marple, THE 13 PROBLEMS
Miss Marple, THE 13 PROBLEMS
a bit more controversial 
âSanders was hanged,â said Miss Marple crisply. âAnd a good job too. I have never regretted my part in bringing that man to justice. Iâve no patience with modern humanitarian scruples about capital punishments.â
âSanders was hanged,â said Miss Marple crisply. âAnd a good job too. I have never regretted my part in bringing that man to justice. Iâve no patience with modern humanitarian scruples about capital punishments.â
OTHER MARPLE SHORT STORIES: after the 13 Problems A. Christie wrote 7 further short stories featuring Miss Marple. They are all delightful, some with gravitas, some just light fluff, but always 100% Marple. Favourites? MISS MARPLE TELLS A STORY, PERFECT MAID & SANCTUARY
A CARIBBEAN MYSTERY is a nice little novel and should be read, ideally, before reading NEMESIS. I enjoyed it because it is seen entirely through Miss Marples eyes.
It also features this very interesting nugget about Miss Marple's personal piety: https://twitter.com/EduardHabsburg/status/1324655339992682498?s=09
Finally, the last written Marple adventure from 1971, NEMESIS (The brilliant SLEEPING MURDER was published in 1976 but written in 1940).
ro be read after CARIBBEAN! This is epic, a worthy swan song with daaaark undertones. Only minor squabble- it is sometimes a bit verbose.
ro be read after CARIBBEAN! This is epic, a worthy swan song with daaaark undertones. Only minor squabble- it is sometimes a bit verbose.
That's all, folks! All the Marples! I love the old lady from Mary Mead, although the stories tend to have rather morbid elements due to the interest in human nature... if you read them ALL in few weeks...
will now try to dip my toes into the refreshing well of Hercule Poirot
will now try to dip my toes into the refreshing well of Hercule Poirot
a little PS: have you noticed that the cover of NEMESIS is a clever riff on the pink wool baby jacket that Miss Marple is working on during the novel? 
