All is not as it seems…

Agatha Christie mysteries always provide an intriguing cast of characters that are so lively, you can picture them sitting across the table from you. The sense of place is another wonderful feature of these novels, and nowhere is that more pronounced and remarkable than in this book – At Bertram’s Hotel.

I found this to be a different kind of mystery with some interesting characteristics. The book certainly held my interest, but surprisingly not because of the plot, which I find okay. For me, this was a slower, more disjointed, and meandering plot and mystery. There are a number of places where I thought the story could have been tightened up and better focused, but it is a charming one still. What really struck me and has stayed with me is the sense of place. Bertram’s Hotel is an enigma – a place out of time. As the world has sped up and sped by, it is an oasis of old-fashioned traditions and values. It is remarkably unchanged and has become a popular spot for those people, now elderly, who knew it from years gone by, as well as tourists seeking a taste of authentic and original London. However, as we all know, time touches on everything. Bertram’s Hotel may seem unchanged on the surface, but as you peel away the layers, and peer behind the veil as it were, all is not as it once was. To remain a place suspended out of time, other things must change, and change they have. There is the core of the mystery of this book.

Only through the keen observation of Miss Marple, her notice of the minutest of details, do we get to uncover what is really going At Bertam’s Hotel. There are very sinister goings-on, but there is also a larger social and societal shift underway, one that left me with a distinct melancholy for what is sometimes lost to time, and a sadness that we cannot stop it from happening. A thought-provoking and worthy read.

Rai Aren, co-author of Secret of the Sands ( )

London is not really Miss Marple's natural habitat but she seems quite at home in the genteel surroundings of a West End hotel. ( )

A classic whodunit mystery but it really dragged. ( )

At Bertram's Hotel has Miss Jane Marple visiting a quiet but upscale London hotel for a short holiday. Bertram's is known for its perfect service and its appealing old world atmosphere. Even so, Miss Marple is immediately in the midst of a number of mysterious occurrences, including robberies, the disappearance of a hotel guest, and eventually murder. Apparently, even the impeccable Bertram's isn't immune to the nefarious goings-on that seem to follow Miss Marple wherever she turns up.

When it comes to the Miss Marple mysteries, I tend to prefer the stories that take place in Jane Marple's own village of St. Mary Mead, or in a similar cozy setting. The novels that branch out too far from that base (like this one) tend to be a little less successful, I think. Miss M is really at her best in the country village, country house atmosphere. This particular book relies even more than most of Christie's works on improbable relationships and unlikely coincidences to hold the story together.

Still, any Miss Marple is better than no Miss Marple; and I have to say I enjoyed this one quite a bit. I loved the descriptions of the hotel and its workings, and several of the characters (especially Bess Sedgwick, and the wonderfully named Lady Selina Hazy), are very memorable creations. The book is definitely worth reading, but if you're just beginning with Agatha Christie, it might be best to start with one of her earlier works. ( )

I've always had a special place in my heart for Agatha Christie, despite not actually reading many of her books. In fact, I don't think I've read one since elementary school. There's just something about her stories that are classic. I listened to this one, and it was more a radio play than a straight reading, which just made it even more sweet and quaint somehow. There's a very Scooby-Doo like explanation of the events at the end, but it works. ( )