Five Complete Miss Marple Novels: The Body in the Library, A Caribbean Mystery, The Mirror Crack'd, Nemesis, What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!

Yes, it's Miss Marple, and yes, "The Mirror Crack'd" is everything one wants from this feisty sleuth. It begins with an older Miss Marple being tutted over by her new caretaker, a certain Miss Knight, and a young housekeeper named Cherry from the nearby Development. So time has passed in Jane Marple's life, including the sale of Gossington Hall to a famous film actress; this Hall was the setting for "The Body in the Library" (the final mystery in this particular collection).

As Miss Marple gets used to modern life, including having to rip out her knitting more often than not, the sudden death of a neighbor during the welcoming reception at Gossington Hall by the film actress and her 4th (or was it 5th?) husband presents a sudden twist of show more fate. The neighbor was a bit of a busybody who helped organize the reception and was a huge fan of Marina Gregg, the film actress. To the point where she relayed a story about jumping out of a sickbed to shake Miss Gregg's hand and get her autograph many years before.

Miss Marple begins to take an interest in film magazines to understand Miss Gregg and her world, while her agile brain begins to wonder about her neighbor's death and the deaths of several other employees at Gossington Hall. She is helped along the way by Inspector Craddock and her friend, Mrs. Bantry. They provide a set of eyes and ears, not to mention the ability to travel and converse, with the people from St. Mary Mead, its new Development, and London in a way that Miss Marple cannot.

While the references to Miss Gregg's only son and his disabilities are jarringly out of date, the sleuthing is top-notch. The reference to Lord Tennyson's poem is apropos of the events during the reception, and our dear Jane Marple is finally able to put the pieces together to solve the mystery. show less

The Body in the Library

Miss Marple is an absolutely fascinating character and Agatha Christie manages to bring small town/village life to full understanding through her personification. This first of Miss Marple's adventures/investigations introduces not only the lady herself, but other residents of St. Mary Mead.

This book is a great compilation of Miss Marple mysteries. The last mystery, "The Body in the Library" is a prequel of sorts to the first mystery, "The Mirror Crack'd".
The middle three mysteries are also connected in certain ways and seem to follow each other in order.
I enjoyed that. Miss Marple is really amazing, and shows us that just because you get older doesn't mean you have to sit around doing nothing! Her brain is sharper than most 20 year olds!

Agatha Christie is always a good read. Finding a mystery that you have not yet read is akin to finding a gem. However, even if you have read many of the stories before, and know the result, it is amazing how Christie involves so many sub-plots and potential suspects (e.g. Nemsis). Although there are many authors who have tried to replicate his style and last page answers, only one in my opinion comes even close, namely Margaret Truman.

Still working on this book. I'm currently reading "A Caribbean Mystery". Really good so far!

Book 1
Book 2
Book 3