Monday, January 30, 2023

Book Review: Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

 


Murder at the Vicarage.  Agatha Christie.  1930. 288 pages.  Genre: Classic, Mystery.

First Line:  "It is difficult to know quite where to begin this story, but I have fixed my choice on a certain Wednesday at luncheon at the Vicarage."

Summary:  Colonel Protheroe has managed to rub most of the people in the village the wrong way.  He has a knack for making a fuss.  And his fuss has now come to the vicarage.  He wants to meet with the vicar to go over the church accounts.  A couple of hours before the meeting, the vicar receives a call telling him he is urgently needed elsewhere.  The vicar leaves word with his housekeeper that he will return soon and requests that Colonel Protheroe wait for him in the study.  

Before the vicar returns, Colonel Protheroe is shot while sitting at the desk in the study.  Before long a suspect confesses.  He was the most likely suspect so the police relax.  When a second suspect confesses things get complicated.  With so many villagers having grudges against the colonel, the police have their work cut out for them.  Its a good thing nothing gets past Miss Marple.

My thoughts:  Murder at the Vicarage is told from the perspective of the vicar.  He and his much younger wife, Griselda, live at the vicarage along with Denis, their fifteen-year-old nephew.  They have a housekeeper, Mary, who is a terrible cook and a passable housekeeper.  However, since Griselda's talents in both areas are non-existent, Mary will have to do.  At first I thought Griselda was going to be a woman who thought housework was beneath her and thought much of her position as vicar's wife.  But my assumption was wrong.  Griselda adores her husband and appreciates Mary.  She respects her position as vicar's wife.  The vicar's perspective was often surprising and funny.

This is the first novel in the Miss Marple series, but Miss Marple felt like a secondary character. However, she did have a hand in solving the mystery. I really enjoyed getting to know her.  She doesn't fool the vicar with her seeming lack of interest in village affairs.  She may not be a gossip, but she doesn't miss anything that goes on in the village. 

The mystery was a great puzzle that kept me guessing.  There were lots of twists and turns and secrets to uncover.  Right up to the end it was difficult to prove whodunnit.

This was an enjoyable read.  I look forward to following Miss Marple in her next crime-solving attempt.

Quotes:

"I looked round the small living-room.  Every shelf and table was littered with miscellaneous articles.  Lawrence lived in the midst of artistic disarray that would have driven me quite mad."

"During all this, Mary had been extracting eyes from potatoes with such energy that they had been flying round the kitchen like hailstones."

"No one can fail to be interested in a murder.  Simple people like Griselda and myself can admit the fact, but anyone like Raymond West has to pretend to be bored - at any rate for the first five minutes."


8 comments:

  1. It has been almost ten years since I retired and reread all of Agatha Christie's books. This seemed a worthwhile goal for the first year of retirement and in a new country 😉. Fortunately I friends to revisit like Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot in the largest English library in Mexico in the little expat town of Ajijic. I had a great time reading your review today. Miss Marple is truly a great armchair sleuth. Even the first line of the book sets the reader up for a good story. I enjoyed my stroll down memory lane with your review, and look forward to more of Miss Marple. (lghiggins)

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    1. Thank, Linda! What a fun goal for your first year of retirement. I agree, the first line of the book is great and sets the reader up for what is coming.

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  2. You can't go wrong with Christie. My friend Katherine at I Wish I Lived In a Library blog LOVES Agatha and frequently has her books on review.

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    1. It is hard to go wrong with Agatha Christie, Tina! I think I have read some of Katherine's reviews.

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  3. I have to admit that Miss Marple is one of my favorite sleuths.

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  4. I am on a waiting list for this at my library...but I am also going to a bookstore on Monday and I cannot wait to see if they have a copy! I am so excited to read this one. Great review!!

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    1. Thanks, Sunshine! Can't wait to hear what you think!

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