Agatha Christie is one of those household names that has become synonymous with the mystery genre. She is often referred to as the “Queen of Crime” or the “Queen of Mystery”. There have been multiple on-screen adaptations of her works over the years with the latest being the movie adaptation of “Death on the Nile” to be released later this year (aroiund October 2020). Growing up I had only ever read her Hercule Poirot novels, and now, finding myself in his homeland of Belgium, I have been picking up her stories of late. I recently stumbled upon the fact that apart from Poirot, there was another sleuth that Christie gave life to: Miss Jane Marple. Born out of a need to get away from Hercule Poirot, Miss Marple was an elderly spinster who passes time in her quaint English village by making some very astute, and most times uncomfortable, observations.
The Murder at the Vicarage is the first of the Miss Marple series which comprises 13 main novels (according to goodreads anyway). The book was a cosy, comfortable read, with a few twists here and there. There was nothing really remarkable to write home about, but the story had me guessing as to the identity of the culprit for quite some time; which in itself is a point in the book’s favour. A very average book though compared to some of her other works (‘And then there were none’ comes to mind) and surprisingly, hardly featured much of the protagonist Miss Marple at all.
Everything said, the book is still a decent and enjoyable read. The writing was very easy to follow, the humour refreshing, and I would easily recommend it to anyone in search of a light mystery to keep them occupied on those lazy afternoons.
Rating: 3/5
Liminal Ramblings 