Miss Marple's Last Case: Sleeping Murder; Miss Marple's First Case: Murder at the Vicarage
by Agatha Christie
Miss Marple (Omnibus — Omnibus 1 & 12)
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Sleeping Murder *** I liked the early parts of the story, and the feelings of deja vu that Gwenda experiences as she becomes accustomed to her new surroundings are quite creepy. The mystery that ensues, however, was a bit of a letdown. I suppose that if you're familiar with the play that is featured in the opening pages of the book then the mystery is easy, but I was pretty confused by the many suitors and their motivations.
I was ready to pin the murder on a different character entirely and I quite think it would have made for a better ending.
I was ready to pin the murder on a different character entirely and I quite think it would have made for a better ending.
In highschool I poured through all the Agatha Christie on the library bookshelves. Recently, at the library book sale, I picked up some nicely bound copies of Christie's for a dollar each. So this has become my summer reading at the moment.
I like a good mystery, yet have to admit, the imagination of them has been spoiled by my watching the pbs versions of Miss Marple & Poirot over the years. I find it difficult to get the visuals out of my head while I do the reread. So while I loved that PBS versions, I'm glad I originally read the books first. Yet in all that, these are still worth the reread.
I like a good mystery, yet have to admit, the imagination of them has been spoiled by my watching the pbs versions of Miss Marple & Poirot over the years. I find it difficult to get the visuals out of my head while I do the reread. So while I loved that PBS versions, I'm glad I originally read the books first. Yet in all that, these are still worth the reread.
Read during: Summer 2006
Yet another re-read after seeing the new Miss Marple on Mystery. Why a re-read? Because, yet again, the creators of the series decieded to make a large number of changes to the story, for no apparent reason. The original novel makes more sense and is a highly enjoyable read. I don't think I'll get fooled into watching Miss Marple again, I fail to see why major plot changes are needed.
Reread Murder at the Vicarage
Started 24 May 2014
Finished 26 May 2014
Reread Sleeping Murder
Started: 22 May 2014
Finished: 24 May 2014
A tearing reread following an extremely well-done Radio 4 Extra dramatization.
Yet another re-read after seeing the new Miss Marple on Mystery. Why a re-read? Because, yet again, the creators of the series decieded to make a large number of changes to the story, for no apparent reason. The original novel makes more sense and is a highly enjoyable read. I don't think I'll get fooled into watching Miss Marple again, I fail to see why major plot changes are needed.
Reread Murder at the Vicarage
Started 24 May 2014
Finished 26 May 2014
Reread Sleeping Murder
Started: 22 May 2014
Finished: 24 May 2014
A tearing reread following an extremely well-done Radio 4 Extra dramatization.
Well written. Plenty of characters and clues.
Bought this through BOMC. I read but don't remember at all
Miss Marple's first and last cases
AR: 4.9-5.9
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2,151+ Works 439,526 Members
One of the most successful and beloved writer of mystery stories, Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie was born in 1890 in Torquay, County Devon, England. She wrote her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, in 1920, launching a literary career that spanned decades. In her lifetime, she authored 79 crime novels and a short story collection, 19 show more plays, and six novels written under the name of Mary Westmacott. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language with another billion in 44 foreign languages. Some of her most famous titles include Murder on the Orient Express, Mystery of the Blue Train, And Then There Were None, 13 at Dinner and The Sittaford Mystery. Noted for clever and surprising twists of plot, many of Christie's mysteries feature two unconventional fictional detectives named Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. Poirot, in particular, plays the hero of many of her works, including the classic, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926), and Curtain (1975), one of her last works in which the famed detective dies. Over the years, her travels took her to the Middle East where she met noted English archaeologist Sir Max Mallowan. They married in 1930. Christie accompanied Mallowan on annual expeditions to Iraq and Syria, which served as material for Murder in Mesopotamia (1930), Death on the Nile (1937), and Appointment with Death (1938). Christie's credits also include the plays, The Mousetrap and Witness for the Prosecution (1953; film 1957). Christie received the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for 1954-1955 for Witness. She was also named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1971. Christie died in 1976. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Miss Marple's Last Case: Sleeping Murder; Miss Marple's First Case: Murder at the Vicarage
- Original publication date
- 1976
- People/Characters
- Jane Marple; Gwenda Reed; Giles Reed; Mrs. Cocker; Raymond West; Joan West (show all 13); Colonel Protheroe; Mrs. Price-Ridley; Miss Wetherby; Miss Hartnell; Lettice Protheroe; Mrs. Lestrange; Lawrence Redding
- Important places
- Dillmouth, England, UK (fictional seaside town); St. Mary Mead, England, UK (fictional)
- Related movies
- Agatha Christie's Miss Marple: Sleeping Murder (1987 | IMDb); Agatha Christie's Miss Marple IV: Murder at the Vicarage (1989 | IMDb)
- Dedication
- The Murder at the Vicarage:
To Rosalind - First words
- Sleeping Murder:
Gwenda Reed stood, shivering a little, on the quayside.
The Murder at the Vicarage:
It is difficult to know quite where to begin this story, but I have fixed my choice on a certain Wednesday at luncheon at the Vicarage. - Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Sleeping Murder:
"We can go back if we like...."
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)The Murder at the Vicarage:
Really Miss Marple is rather a dear. - Disambiguation notice
- This is an omnibus of the first and the last of Miss Marple cases.
Please do not combine with "Sleeping Murder, Miss Marple's Last Case".
WorldCat has ISBN 0002315432 for JUST The Murder at the Vicarage
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- Members
- 530
- Popularity
- 56,313
- Reviews
- 8
- Rating
- (3.91)
- Languages
- English, Finnish, Italian
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 2
- ASINs
- 16
