- This edition read on my Kindle (AmazonAU)
- ASIN : B0046RE5H2
- Publisher : HarperCollins, Publication date : 14 October 2010
- Originally published 1952, THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS (aka MURDER WITH MIRRORS) -Miss Marple
- Book 6 of 12
- Print length : 227 pages
- The foreword says that the original publication was used as the basis of this e-copy. I note here that it was appallingly produced, with passages repeated, and an incredible number of typos.
Synopsis (AmazonAU)
A shocking crime
A mansion filled with suspects
Ruth Van Rydock can’t shake the feeling that something terrible is going to happen to her sister at Stonygates house.
Her old school friend Jane Marple decides it’s time to pay a visit.
But this grand Victorian mansion isn’t just a family home – it’s also a correctional facility for wayward young men.
And when something terrible does indeed happen, Miss Marple must face her most eccentric cast of suspects yet.
Never underestimate Miss Marple
From the Back Cover
Miss Marple senses danger when she visits a friend living in a Victorian mansion which doubles as a rehabilitation centre for delinquents. Her fears are confirmed when a youth fires a revolver at the administrator, Lewis Serrocold. Neither is injured. But a mysterious visitor, Mr Gulbrandsen, is less fortunate – shot dead simultaneously in another part of the building.
Pure coincidence? Miss Marple thinks not, and vows to discover the real reason for Mr Gulbrandsen's visit.
Agatha Christie does it all with suspense in this intricately plotted mystery.
My Take
It is 14 years since I last read this title as part of Agatha Christie Reading Challenge and now I am re-reading it as part of this year's selection for my U3A Agatha Christie Reading group. After we meet to discuss the book we will watch the ITV production.
I think the group will find a number of things to discuss.
Among them:
- The setting - how does Christie establish this? What comments does she make about how the world has changed?
- What would Lewis Serracold like to establish? What do you think of his idea of "transportation"?
- What does the title of the book mean? Was it a phrase you were familiar with?
- How do the police treat Miss Marple?
- What does Miss Marple mean when she says the sitting room is like a "stage"?
- Are there too many red herrings? Too many characters?
- What "facts" are untrue?
- Why did Gulbrandsen come to Stonygates? Why was he killed and who killed him? How did he ensure his own murder?
- Was justice done?
My rating: 4.4
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