THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY
UK publication: 1942 (Collins)
US publication: 1942 (Dodd, Mead)
Detective: Miss Marple
Genre: Novel
Plot summary and comments: The first Marple novel in twelve years, the action taking place at Col. and Mrs. Bantry's country house in St. Mary Mead. Dolly Bantry is awakened by her maid rushing in to exclaim that there's a "body in the library", and the usual village regulars are represented in the ensuing excitement (the vicar, the Rev. Leonard Clement; his wife Griselda and infant child; Dr. Haydock, Miss Marple's physician and neighbor; Mrs. Price Ridley, the village busybody; Sir Henry Clithering, former police commissioner and friend of the Bantrys; and the universally disliked Inspector Slack). The victim is a dance hostess at a coastal hotel, so the suspects need not be village residents. Miss Marple bests Inspector Slack at his own game once again.
Courtesey of: http://stout.physics.ucla.edu/%7eyoder/mystery/christie.html
::READERS REVIEWS::
"It
was amazing that how a body is found in a library and then how Miss Marple
twists you and then when you think you know who did it you're wrong. You
start to think that the characters are real and by the way Agatha Christie
weaves the plot to make it different. Great suspenseful book! "
"Agatha
Christie's the Body in the Library is truly a great mystery book. Of course,
Agatha Christie does not need any additional praise from humble me to
boost her reputation as an unparallelled author of mysteries. In this
book, the corpse of a young woman is found in the library of Gossington
Hall, the home of a well-to-do colonel and his wife. Miss Marple, in conjunction
with the police, sets out to investigate. She comes upon many discoveries,
and it can be seen that many parties benefit from the death of the woman
in the library and/or have the opportunity to kill her. As the investigations
progress, a possibly related incident occurs: a car burned to shrapnel
in a neighboring region. Miss Marple, of course, with her impeccable investigative
prowess and sharp eye for detail, solves the mystery methodically and
impressively. The outcome is dazzling and this book is a great read for
all mystery-lovers out there.
This
was the very first Dame Agatha Christie book that I ever read. Although
it is not one of the very best, it is still great, and deserves five stars.
Being the first Christie book I ever read, it gave me my first impression
of Christie's writing style-a great one. You really had to pay attention
to every detail to solve this mystery along with Miss Marple-my favorite
amateur sleuth. THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY is a great book and I recommend
it to any Christie fan.
::YOUR OPINION::
