The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple)

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Dame Agatha Christie is the queen of mystery writers who all modern aspirants strive to emulate. I enjoy reading her cases featuring detective Hercule Poirot because he knows the outcome well before the reader. Christie's cases are multilayered and keep unraveling until a book's conclusion. Enjoying these thought provoking cases, I decided to introduce myself to her other famous sleuth, Miss Jane Marple. There is no better place to start than Murder at the Vicarage, the book that introduced Miss Marple to the world.

Lettice explains that Mrs Lestrange is her mother, the first wife of Protheroe, who deserted him. She is mortally ill and wants to be near her daughter. It was first performed at the New Theatre, Northampton on 17 October 1949 prior to moving to the Playhouse Theatre in the West End where it opened on 16 December 1949. The play was the first time that the character of Miss Marple had been depicted outside the original books and she was portrayed by Barbara Mullen. The director was Reginald Tate who also played the part of Lawrence Redding. The play enjoyed a run of 126 performances, closing on 1 April 1950.Cooper, John; Pyke, B A (1994). Detective Fiction – the collector's guide (Seconded.). Scholar Press. pp.82, 86. ISBN 0-85967-991-8. Typical info-dumping at the end, as in every mystery. (Sorry, mystery lovers, I have yet to become a fan of this modus operandi.) All appearances point to St. Mary Mead being the usual English small town. It has its share of colorful inhabitants, but for the most part it's a rather peaceful place.

This was just one of those books that I finished because I kind of felt like I had to and in the end it wasn't a bad read, it's not really one I can endorse... which is a bit sad. It's also the same way about A Murder Is Announced (the only other Marple book I've read, though I did not review it).Bill Archer: local man who has been jailed periodically by Protheroe in his role as magistrate, for poaching.