The Murder at the Vicarage
A Miss Marple Mystery
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4.2 • 508 Ratings
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- $14.99
Publisher Description
The Murder at the Vicarage is Agatha Christie’s first mystery to feature the beloved investigator Miss Marple—as a dead body in a clergyman’s study proves to the indomitable sleuth that no place, holy or otherwise, is a sanctuary from homicide.
Miss Marple encounters a compelling murder mystery in the sleepy little village of St. Mary Mead, where under the seemingly peaceful exterior of an English country village lurks intrigue, guilt, deception and death.
Colonel Protheroe, local magistrate and overbearing land-owner is the most detested man in the village. Everyone--even in the vicar--wishes he were dead. And very soon he is--shot in the head in the vicar's own study. Faced with a surfeit of suspects, only the inscrutable Miss Marple can unravel the tangled web of clues that will lead to the unmasking of the killer.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
James Saxon delivers a memorable and absolutely masterful performance of Christie's first Miss Marple mystery. When the wildly unpopular Colonel Protheroe is found murdered in the vicar's study, it seems that everyone his unhappy wife, his daughter, a visiting artist, an embittered poacher, the vicar has a motive in a mystery that confounds the authorities, consumes the village and can only be untangled by observations and deductions of our heroine: the elderly gossip-cum-sleuth Miss Marple. Saxon's artful and enthusiastic portrayal of a host of characters male and female, guilty and innocent, young and old will delight Christie fans, mystery lovers and anyone lucky enough to listen.
Customer Reviews
Miss Marple, unequaled in her perception!
I like Miss Marple, of course-(who doesn't?), but the story and mystery were tiresome. (Very British, I guess. )
So, it's not my favorite book. Sorry!
A Delight….
This is one of the Marples that I have seen the TV version before I read the book. The late, great Geraldine McEwan is my favorite Miss Marple and I could see and hear her throughout this book.
As is usual, the screen version differs from the book quite a bit. Once I was able to put the tv episode out of my head, I enjoyed this book even more. Christie captured the both the charm and the gossipy underbelly of English village living. At least how we expect it to be. Outside of the awfulness of the murder, we see the dynamics of the vicar, his family and flock. But even more we see how people (authority figures, younger people and even the vicar himself) automatically underestimate Miss Marple because she is 1) old, 2) never married, 3) smart, 4) petite. But under her soft shawls and demeanor is a fiercely smart woman, who is always 10 steps ahead of law enforcement and the criminal(s). While Hercule Poirot and his little grey cells get all the glory, I offer that Miss Marple is before her time and like Ginger Rodgers, did it all backwards, but in sensible pair of shoes.
Enjoyed it
Good quick mystery read