AnyBook4Less.com	Find the Best Price on the Web Order from a Major Online Bookstore
Home  |  Store List  |  FAQ  |  Contact Us  |
Ultimate Book Price Comparison Engine Save Your Time And Money Keyword AuthorISBN

Title: Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0-451-20115-9 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 02 April, 2002 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $5.99

Your Country USA Canada United Kingdom Australia Austria Belgium France Germany Italy Netherlands Switzerland Currency AutoUSD CAD GBP EUR AUD CHF Delivery Only cheapest delivery All delivery options Include Used Books Are you a club member of: Barnes and Noble Books A Million Chapters.Indigo.ca

Average Customer Rating: 4.35 (20 reviews)

Rating: 5
Summary: A good "read" on Audio Partners tapes
Comment: A very friendly firm called Audio Partners is releasing a series of complete classic mystery novels read by highly competent actors. So we have Hercule Poirot himself in the person of David Suchet doing "Death on the Nile" for instance, and on six cassettes with James Saxton doing the honors.

Now any review of a book on tape must consider the book itself and the reader separately. The latter might lack the vocal variety of Suchet--that is, he does not change his voice all that much for each character However, "Vicarage" is told in the first person by the Vicar himself, and so Saxton's voice is quite appropriate if one keeps in mind who is supposed to be speaking. In this way, he does a very good job indeed of keeping up the listener's interest, although this particular Christie novel is not quite as spellbinding as was "Murder on the Orient Express" for example.

The tale itself was dramatized very well on PBS a while ago as part of the Joan Hickson "Miss Marple" series, but it did leave out a good deal of the adverse opinions that other residents of St. Mary Mead have of her. None of the male characters seem to like her very much, but that is because they recognize her ability to see through the lies with which most of them surround themselves in even the most routine of days, let alone those that involve a shocking murder in the Vicar's own study

. Not really a comic creation, Miss Marple still elicits broad smiles as she free-associates the present events and the people with those from her past experience and usually manages to come up with the solution on that basis alone. At any rate, this tale is just a tad padded and perhaps would have profited from a slight abridgment; but I am grateful to have a full edition, as it were, on this Audio Partners tape.

Rating: 5
Summary: Introducing Miss Jane Maple, detective extraordinaire
Comment: My two favorite British detectives are Miss Jane Marple and Lord Peter Whimsy. If you prefer action filled American mysteries or fast moving Sherlock Holmes tales, Agatha Christie is probably not for you. She creates mind puzzles in which you are given all the clues while the author tries to confuse and mislead you into suspecting the wrong person. No one has ever been better at red herrings and misdirection than Agatha Christie. If you enjoy glimpses into British life in the 1920's combined with enjoyable characterizations and creative plotting, settle down to enjoy an excellent example of the cozy mystery genre. The Murder at the Vicarage combines all of the best characteristics of vintage Agatha Christie without the sometimes annoying presence of Agatha Christie's more famous detective, Hercule Poirot.

Rating: 5
Summary: Meet Miss Marple
Comment: This is the first Miss Marple stories and set the stage for the rest of the series. Miss Jane Marple is an elderly spinster of modest means,a life-long resident of the tiny village of St. Mary Mead, an advid gardener and bird watcher and a most astute observer of human nature. Many of the residents and visitors of St. Mary Mead that will return in later works are introduced here, the gentle vicar and his lively younger wife, Raymond West, Jane's novelist nephew and others.

The story is told by the vicar and gives us many insights into his homelife. Col. Protheroe is found murdered in the vicarage, much to the delight of his wife and daughter and embarrassment of the vicar. As the local police try to solve the crime it become apparent that Col. Protheroe was not going to be missed and that nobody really had an alibi. As the investigation progresses it seems that more questions are raised than answered. Ultimately it is Miss Marple who resolves the issues of love affairs, mysterious strangers, and assorted lies to uncover the true culprit.

This is a perfect gem, Christie at her best. The characters are well written and the descriptions of the lack of privacy in a small are incredibly accurate and a recurring theme of Christie's. In typical Christie style of the rules of detection are flirted with but the clues are fairly laid out for the reader to follow, if they can be separated from the red herrings.

Similar Books:

	Title: A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0451201191 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 09 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $5.99
	Title: The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0451199871 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: January, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99
	Title: The Thirteen Problems by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0451200209 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: May, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99
	Title: The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0451201167 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 07 November, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99
	Title: Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0451200195 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: May, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99