- Originally published 1942
- This edition read as an e-book on my Kindle (Amazon)
- ASIN : B0046H95MC
- Publisher : HarperCollins, Publication date : October 14, 2010
- Print length : 227 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-0007422173
- Book 2 of 12 : Miss Marple Mysteries
Synopsis (Amazon)
A young woman found murdered
A scandal in the making
When Mrs Bantry wakes to find a body in her library, there’s only one woman to call: her good friend Jane Marple.
But she hasn’t called her old friend for comfort.
The body in her library has been murdered and Miss Marple is so very good at solving murders.
Her investigations uncover a scandal far darker than either of them could have imagined, and this time she may be out of her depth.
Never underestimate Miss Marple
My Take
I've lost count of how many times I have read and reviewed this novel. I am re-reading it for discussion with my U3A Agatha Christie Reading group.
This novel was published 12 years later than the previous Marple, MURDER AT THE VICARAGE. That novel had had a mixed reception and Christie's readers were not too sure about Miss Marple. Christie has published prolifically in that time: 30 novels and sets of short stories in that 12 years, both in the Uk and America.
The time frame of the THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY was about 3 years later. Characters who appeared in the previous novel such as Colonel Melchett and the vicar and his wife make a appearance that gives a feeling of continuity. But this time new characters and friends appear: the Bantrys who live at Gossington Hall, and Sir Henry Clitherington retired head of Scotland Yard.
The body of a young woman, strangled, has appeared overnight on the hearth rug of the library at Gossington Hall and while she is actually unknown to the Bantrys, rumours are flying thick and fast in St. Mary Mead, and, as they say, mud sticks. While Dolly Bantry, an avid reader of murder mysteries, is thrilled in a way to have a murder on her doorstep, she also realises the dangers to their status and reputation that this event threatens.
The identity of the dead girl is quickly established and the investigation is wisely moved by Dolly Bantry away from her home when she and Jane Marple move to the hotel where the girl worked as a dancer. Another body, this time in a local quarry in a burnt out car complicates the case as does the discovery of an old man's infatuation with the dead girl. Quite a complex plot, lots of red herrings. I wonder how many of my U3A group will pick the culprit?
My rating: 4.5
Earlier reviews and here
See all my Agatha Christie book reviews here
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