A Pocket Full of Rye

Sing a song of sixpence, a pocket full of rye...

Businessman Rex Fortescue is found dead in his office after drinking his morning tea. It doesn’t take long to determine that he’s been poisoned. But the really puzzling thing is the handful of rye that was found in his pocket. What purpose did it serve? Inspector Neele is on the case, and of course he’s interested in finding out who would gain by Fortescue’s death. His much younger widow, who doesn’t play golf yet has lots of golf dates with a handsome young man? His son and junior business partner? His daughter, who is in love with a young man with socialist views? Or his estranged son who has just reappeared on the scene from exile in Africa? Or maybe the murderer will be found show more among the household help, including the secretive housekeeper, Miss Dove, the butler, Crump, the cook, Mrs. Crump, or the young maid, Gladys? More deaths make it even more urgent to find the killer. Inspector Neele finally gets the breakthrough he needs once Miss Marple arrives on the scene.

This is one of my favorite Miss Marple novels. I had read it years ago and still remembered the solution. What I didn’t remember is that Miss Marple doesn’t show up until about halfway through the book. As usual, she makes the most of her limited page time. Her insights into human nature from decades of village life help her spot individuals with character flaws that just might lead to murder under the right circumstances. show less

Agatha Christie for beginners. Point One: don't trust anyone recently returned from the colonies. Point Two: anyone who buys a new pair a nylons is going to die.
To criticise Agatha Christie of being formulaic is like criticising Anne Rice of being obsessed with sexually ambiguous vampires. The truth of the charge can't be denied but the accuser is missing the point. The genius of Agatha Christie lies in threading a believable motive through a morass of misdirection. Her murders work, not because they are particulary realistic or 'gritty' (the adjective of the hour for contemporary crime writing) but because they place incredible events in a mudane and credible setting. The fact that she got away with using the same narrative structure show more over the course of hundreds of novels, without her twists becoming transparent or her books lacking that vital page-turning ability is testament to her very great skill. Perfect sofa reading for those who enjoy sudoku, mulling over the poularity of Miley Cyrus or any other of life's great enigmas. show less

When Rex Fortescue is discovered to have been murdered by poison in his office, Inspector Neele of Scotland Yard is quite sure he knows exactly who's behind it. But when two more members of Fortescue's household are also found dead, Neele is suddenly left quite perplexed. When Miss Marple arrives to aid the investigation due to her knowledge of one of the victims, the astute insights of the innocuous-looking old woman are likely to set everything on its ear.

Yet another thoroughly satisfying Miss Marple outing. As ever, she had me fully stumped on the whodunnit and her ability to create fantastic characters who feel utterly real from the moment they appear on the page is astounding. Christie continues her run of being unable to disappoint.

I really enjoyed Murder with Mirrors, so I jumped right into the next Miss Marple mystery as soon as I finished it. And, I was not disappointed.

Rex Fortescue dies while in the office at his firm. He was poisoned by taxine, a derivative of the Yew Tree. Weirdly, some grains of rye are found in his coat pocket. Rex’s 30 year younger wife Adele is the prime suspect. However, the day prodigal son Lancelot returns home, Adele dies from Cyanide poisoning and the young maid is found strangled. Inspector Neele is hard at work on the case when Miss Marple arrives – she knew the maid, Gladys, and could perhaps throw some light on the matter. It is she who zeroes in on an old children's rhyme, “Sing a Song of Sixpence” wherein the show more pocketful of rye and other clues come in. There are several suspects including Rex’s sons, their wives, the house manager Miss Dove, and even the maid’s boyfriend. Money was a motive for killing Rex, but why the wife and maid?

The mystery here was solid, but what I really enjoyed most was the scandalous, family drama. The conclusion was also interesting in that the culprit is identified by Miss Marple & the Inspector but is not classically revealed. They know who it is but cannot prove it – leading to an epilogue that wraps it all up.

My only minor complaint, and it is one I have found in many of the Miss Marple mysteries, is that her appearance is highly contrived. And, as with many mysteries from this era, the police investigator welcomes her (a complete stranger) and shares details of the case with her. I couldn’t suspend my disbelief if this were a modern mystery, but it’s manageable for the time it is set and was written in. And Miss Marple is delightful, so I can live with a little contrivance. show less

It was Miss Somers' turn to make the tea. Miss Somers was the newest and the most inefficient of typists. She was no longer young and had a mild worried face like a sheep. The kettle was not quite boiling when Miss Somers poured the water on the tea, but poor Miss Somers was never quite sure when a kettle was boiling. It was one of the many worries that afflicted her in life.
She poured out the tea and took the cups round with a couple of limp, sweet biscuits in each saucer.

That quote has very little to do with the plot of A Pocket Full of Rye, but it does set the tone of this story. There is something edgy and sinister about A Pocket Full of Rye. This is not a "cozy" mystery. Sure, there is not blood or gore, but there is darkness, show more thirst for revenge, and calculating human horribleness.

And that's what I see in the mention of tepid tea and limp biscuits. No, I kid. But I do see in this opening that there is something just not right, and it is this feeling that runs through this story.

I can't say that I liked this story a lot, and I can't even put my finger on why this is. Maybe it is because of the murder method causes me to have questions, maybe it because the police investigation misses the mark so often, or maybe it is because of that horrible children's rhyme that is the basis for this story, but it is not a story that I enjoy re-reading a lot.

Nevertheless, I recommend it. The different relationship angles in this story are fascinating. Dark, but benefiting from Christie's acute eye for suffering that can be caused by family.

Approach with strong tea, and sweet, rich, fresh biscuits. show less

Rex Fortescue is poisoned one day in his office but the type of poison used and when it must have been administered mean that suspicion falls on those at home rather than anyone in the office. Christie is very good at creating an atmosphere of deep unease and 'something wrong but can't quite put my finder on what' in what should otherwise be a well-off upper middle-class household. Miss Marple arrives to assist with this one fairly late in the day and is described as 'tall' in defiance of every TV adaptation (never noticed this before).

The link to the nursery rhyme feels less contrived than in some of Christie's other books (possibly because it's deliberately done by the murderer to cast suspicion elsewhere).

"I don't believe this was show more ever a happy house. I don't believe anybody was ever happy in it, in spite of all the money they spent and the things they had." show less

Very good, especially so because it's one of only a handful of Christie books that shows a servant with a life besides serving. More often than not, Christie's servants barely have a name (when it can be remembered), much less a personality fleshed out beyond the stereotypical uneducated emotional girl who either stole something or saw something. I found the end particularly moving in that regard - here and I believe for the first time, the police enters a servant's room to search her belongings and Miss Marple has a strong connection to this character which leads to a very bittersweet finale. The murderer made a lot of sense personality-wise and I thought Mary, the housekeeper, was quite an incredible character. Interesting plot too, show more I've always thought Christie's use of common proverbs and nursery rhymes to be really clever.
Definitely one of her better ones. show less