Black Dog & Leventhal, 1965
270 pages
Miss Marple Mystery
4/5 stars
Source: Bought
Summary: Bertram's Hotel seems like a nice old-fashioned hotel, hearkening back to Edwardian England. But something is off with a canon going missing, wild celebrities hanging around, and finally a shocking murder and a near miss. Luckily Miss Marple is there to aid the police in their investigation.
Thoughts: At first I wasn't sure what was going on as no crimes seemed to be happening. It was just a leisurely trip to and around London. However Miss Marple is ever curious and it is through her that we get the first idea that something is going on. The problem is that everything seems too perfect. Hard to believe that's a problem but it is. And because of that, a major crime syndicate (I think they can be called that) is unmasked and will be brought to justice.
We meet two new policemen, one is affectionately called Father who is a very good policeman despite his appearance which causes many people to underestimate. Other characters are wild Bess Sedgwick and her estranged daughter Elvira, neither of whom I really liked although I was interested to find out what role they played. Canon Pennyfather is the man who goes missing partly due to his own absentmindedness-he was sweetly endearing.
I did not figure out the mystery or the murderer but I was pleased with the end. At first it seems like the murder will not be prosecuted (like Poirot does in Murder on the Orient Express) but then the policeman says he will go after that person and have him/her arrested. I was very pleased.
Overall: The best Christie I read this week with an interesting cast of characters.
Cover: I quite like the green and the doorman.
It seems that the best Christie novels feature Miss Marple instead of Poirot. I kind of like that, a woman solving mysteries.
ReplyDeleteChristie was really good, it seems impossible for the reader to figure out the mysteries on their own.