Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple Mysteries) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Agatha Christie (Author) "It is difficult to know quite where to begin this story, but I have fixed my choice on a certain Wednesday at luncheon at the..." (more)
Key Phrases: Miss Marple, Inspector Slack, Price Ridley (more...)

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Christie is hard to surpass. -- Saturday Review of Literature

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Christie is hard to surpass. (Saturday Review of Literature)

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Signet (April 2, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451201159
• ISBN-13: 978-0451201157
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #604,996 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

• This is item 1 in The Miss Marple Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pure Comfort Reading, July 28, 2002

By	sweetmolly (RICHMOND, VA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

This review is from: Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery (Audio Cassette)

Our narrator, Rev. Clements is articulate, self-deprecating and an able Watson to Miss Marple's Holmes. The locale is the village St. Mary's Mead; the victim is the detestable Col. Protheroe. In their proper places are Flighty Wife, Handsome Artist, Ethereal Ingénue, Gruff Physician, Gossipy Maiden Ladies, Timid Curate, and Mysterious Lady. They need no proper names for they appear over and over in Ms. Christie's novels with new names, but are essentially the same people.

Col. Protheroe is shot in the back of head while apparently writing a note in the Vicar's study. On the face of it, this seems impossible. Though there are people all about, no one heard a shot from the house. No one saw anyone go near the study. The maid let him in just fifteen minutes before the body was discovered. A pretty kettle of fish! Two false confessions quickly muddy up the waters, and it is discovered that most everyone had a motive for killing the good Colonel, except Miss Marple, who, if truth were told, didn't like him very well either.

The intricacies are many, timetables are crucial, but Miss Marple is up to the test. I particularly liked the leisurely lives and pace of St. Mary's Mead. Everyone had servants, you could not move from room to room without being announced. There is some nice humor that runs through regarding the surly maid who runs the vicarage. She is a diffident housekeeper and appalling cook. But the vicar's young wife determinedly keeps her on, for if the maid improves, Griselda fears she would be hired away from them. The vicar bears up as well as he can. People only call upon the police when they feel like it, usually after much discussion with friends and neighbors. The lead policeman has the unfortunate name of Inspector Slack, and Miss Marple gently chides him while he disdains her advice (to his sorrow of course.) The vicar walks everywhere because he cannot master a bicycle. I guess a car would be unthinkable, because it is never mentioned.

It all works out to Prime Dame Agatha. And lest you get too comfortable, she will definitely fool you once again. As always---sigh.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ANOTHER SUPERB JOB OF DAME AGATHA, April 7, 2001

By	"[e-mail]" (Yogyakarta, Indonesia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery (Audio Cassette)

Ms.Marple did it again!. This time, our favourite detective had to deal with a murder in her own village, St.Mary Mead. The victim, Colonel Protheroe, was not a very nice person, so his death almost acceptable to everyone in the village. There's a widow, a daughter, and a mysterious lady from his past, plus a number of people who had a very strong motive to do the murder. But once again Ms.Marple discovered the real murderer with her own old-way. The basic idea of this story is not very special, but the plot is. We'll get some laughs as usual and a satisfaction in the end. Two thumbs up for Agatha Christie!!

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fiction's Favorite Spinster Detective in Her First Case, April 23, 2001

By	Antoinette Klein (Hoover, Alabama USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

"The Murder at the Vicarage" is memorable because it introduces the delightful Miss Jane Marple. With her love of gardening, binoculars for bird-watching close-at-hand, and an uncanny ability to find similarities between the present situation and her past experiences and acquaintances, Miss Marple is introduced in her home village of St. Mary Mead. We will return here many times and reacquaint ourselves with the characters introduced in this mystery---the vicar Leonard Clement and his wife Griselda, Mrs. Price Ridley, Colonel Melchett, Dr. Haydock, and others.

The murder victim, Colonel Protheroe, is a hateful man disliked by everyone he had dealings with. Therefore, the list of suspects is much longer than usual. There is the victim's second wife, the visiting artist she loves, a mysterious lady with the telling name of Mrs. Lestrange, a teenage daughter, an archaeologist, and a secretary.

There are plenty of red herrings in this one and it is up to Miss Marple to reveal if the most likely suspect is also the guilty one in this cozy read for those of us who thrive on evil in small village life.