The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie
Hardcover, 192 Pages
2006, Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
ISBN: 157912626X
Synopsis
A young, blond woman is found dead on the floor of Colonel and Mrs. Bantry’s library. Nobody seems to know who the woman is, let alone how she wound up murdered in the Bantry’s home. Jane Marple is called in and the chase is on.
Review
I had no idea who the killer was in The Body in the Library. The reveal was a complete surprise, but made sense when thinking back. Still, I never would have considered the possibility of the mystery ending this way.
Miss Marple truly shines in The Body in the Library. I loved the village life comparisons she used to point out possible reasons why a suspect may be behaving as they were. And of course, she outwits everyone in the end. Luckily the police know to take this little old lady seriously.
The victim works in a resort as a dancer. Some of the suspects are staying at the resort on a long term holiday. I found it almost impossible to relate to and it was a bit hard to grasp their situation. The characters didn't seem extremely rich, but I suppose it does fit in with what I know of the time Christie was writing about.
The Body in the Library was a fantastic mystery. Miss Marple was the most interesting character, by far. She and the unforeseeable conclusion were the major high points of the book. I loved the time spent at the resort, but some of the time spent in the village where the body was found was a little dull. Overall, it's safe to say that The Body in the Library has become one of my favorite Marple mysteries.
Rating
I love Agatha Christie. I have to admit though that I didn't really appreciate the Marple mysteries until I was an adult. As a teenager, Poirot was my favorite.
ReplyDeleteThis one does sound good. I still need to read my first by AChristie which is And then there were None I believe its called.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I love about her. You never know what twist is next and who really played what role. This definitely sounds like one for me.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit this, but although I have certainly heard of Agatha Christie, I have never read any of her work. This post gave me guilt, and reminded me of this opportunity to set that right. Any recommendations for a first-time reader? Anyone?
ReplyDelete-James
http://jamesgarciajr.blogspot.com/
Oh, glad you liked this one! I read it a while ago and need to refresh my memory a bit, but I do remember liking it. I don't read many Miss Marple mysteries, but this was a good one for sure.
ReplyDeleteI agree-this is definitely one of my favorite Marples and it had a great solution!
ReplyDelete@carolsnotebook - I'm only now getting into Miss Marple. When I was younger, I very much favorited Christie's stories that didn't include her detectives.
ReplyDelete@Marce - I LOVE And Then There Were None. I think it's the perfect Christie to start with!
@Juju - Exactly! I'm always so impressed how many of her mysteries leave a reader guessing so many years later.
@James Garcia Jr. - Like I said to Marce above, And Then There Were None is a great one to start with. It was my first Christie and is still my favorite almost 50 books later.
@Emidy - This was probably only my second or third Marple and the first I really enjoyed.
@Bookworm1858 - Definitely. I love when I don't have a clue until the end.