Product Description

Agatha Christie's first ever Miss Marple mystery, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers. 'Anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe,' declared the parson, brandishing a carving knife above a joint of roast beef, 'would be doing the world at large a service!' It was a careless remark for a man of the cloth. And one which was to come back and haunt the clergyman just a few hours later. From seven potential murderers, Miss Marple must seek out the suspect who has both motive and opportunity.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12370 in Books
• Published on: 2002-03-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
"The acknowledged queen of detective fiction." Observer "When she really hits her stride, as she does here, she is hard to surpass." Saturday Review of Literature "Her gift is pure genius." Observer

About the Author
Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and became, quite simply, the best-selling novelist in history. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, written towards the end of the First World War, introduced us to Hercule Poirot, who was to become the most popular detective in crime fiction since Sherlock Holmes. She is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in over 100 foreign countries. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 19 plays, and six novels under the name of Mary Westmacott.

Customer Reviews

Gentle but brilliant
This isn't the most widenly known Agatha Christie book but it is one of my favourites.

A cleverly thought out plot that is full of red herrings! I love the way Miss Marple is always figuring things out just before the police especially Inspector Slack!

Even though this is a gentle story with no big shocks or gun battles this story keeps me hooked as well as keeps me coming back to it time and time again.

It's clever enough to keep a person intrigued but not so clever that you have to really concentrate to know what is going on.

This book is a fantastic at showing how observant and how well Miss Marple knows 'human nature'. A must read for all Agatha Christie fans!

Introducing Miss. Marple
This is the first book which we read about Agatha Christie's Miss. Marple. Jane Marple has an abiding interest in human nature and an eye for detail that makes her an excellent detective. In this book Col. Protheroe is found shot to death in Reverand Clements Study (sound like the game clue,). There are several possible suspects, the police grow frustrated while our Miss. marple watches and waits. There are enough twist and turns in the clues to makes us find the wrong killer.....But we see the truth as it is explained. A delightful murder mystery.

Classic Mystery as You'd Expect
It's no secret that no one in St. Mary Mead likes Colonel Protheroe. He is strict, somber, and by the numbers. But when the vicar returns home late for a meeting, he's surprised to find Colonel Protheroe shot through the head. The local police are called in and two people confess. Yet something doesn't seem quite right. Fortunately, Miss Marple lives next door. With her sharp mind talent for learning gossip, she just might make sense of everything that's happening.

Ok, I confess. I love a good cozy mystery but have yet to read much Christie. I can tell I need to change that. This book had me confused from the get go. There were so many red herrings it was hard to tell what was really happening. Yet it all came together at the end in a logical conclusion.

Agatha Christie is a class mystery writer for a reason. Anyone who loves a good puzzle with a surprising conclusion will love this book.