Party games...

When a mysterious notice appears in the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette, the villagers don't take it very seriously.

‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m. Friends please accept this, the only intimation.’

The prevailing feeling is that this is a rather odd invitation from Miss Letitia Blacklock, owner of Little Paddocks, perhaps to some kind of murder mystery evening. So all her friends decide to show up at the appointed time. Miss Blacklock knows nothing about it but, being a sensible woman, she realises the villagers are likely to descend on her and makes preparations for a little drinks party anyway. Once everyone is assembled, a shocking event occurs and the end result is that a man lies dead. It's up to the police, ably assisted by Miss Marple, to find out who he was and why he died...

This has always been one of my favourite Christies, mainly because I thinks she excels herself in both plotting and characterisation. It also has one of the best beginnings, as Christie ranges round the village introducing us to all the characters by means of telling us which newspapers they routinely have delivered. Newspapers in Britain have always been such an indicator of class, social position, education, political standpoint; and Christie uses this brilliantly to very quickly telegraph (no pun intended) the social mix of the village.

Published in 1950, this is post-war Britain, and the first chapter gives us a little microcosm of British middle-class society of the time – old soldiers, the traditionally rich fading into genteel poverty, the new business classes taking over as the wealthy ones, women beginning to find their place in the workforce, people displaced from their original homes forming a mobile and fluctuating population, so that even in villages neighbours no longer know all the long histories of their neighbours – now people have to be judged on what they choose to reveal of themselves. Anyone who thinks Golden Age crime fiction has nothing much to say about society should read this chapter and think again. Christie, of course, understood totally that crime fiction is first and foremost an entertainment though, so all this information is transmitted with warmth and humour, and all in the space of a few hundred words. Many modern crime writers would probably take 150 pages, bore us all to death, and still not produce anything half as insightful...

There is one aspect of the book I don't enjoy and that's the treatment of Mitzi, Miss Blacklock's foreign maid. A war refugee from Eastern Europe, she is portrayed with a kind of cruel casualness – her anxiety dismissed as hysteria, her horror stories of her life in the war dismissed as either exaggeration or with an attitude of contempt for her not having the British stiff upper lip. It's odd, because this book also has some of Christie's kindest and most moving characterisations – poor old Bunny, Miss Blacklock's companion, who shows us all the tragedy of the genteel poor at that time, and the Misses Hinchcliffe and Murgatroyd, never openly described as lesbian, but portrayed with great sympathy and warmth.

I'm not going to give any details of the plot for fear of spoilers. However, this is entirely fair play – not only are all the clues in there, but Miss Marple kindly summarises them all towards the end to give us one last chance to solve it for ourselves. I've read this one so often over the years that I know whodunit and why and now I can more or less anticipate the clues before we get to them, but I think I was suitably baffled first time I read it. Even knowing how it all works out, I still find it an immensely enjoyable read, allowing me to admire Christie's skill at its remarkable height.

This time around I listened to the wonderful Joan Hickson narrating it. She really is perfect for the Miss Marple books. Her old-fashioned accent is just right, and she completely gets the tone of the books – the mixture of tragedy and humour, the sympathy for human foibles and weaknesses, the little romantic interludes. In this one she made me laugh with the younger characters and moved me to tears with Bunny's story (I've always had a huge soft spot for Bunny – she's one of my favourite Christie characters). Marvellous stuff – the ideal partnership of author and narrator. Highly recommended.

6 people found this helpful

Wonderful.

One of Agatha’s best read by my favourite Marple; Joan Hickson. I love this story and the characters, the ingenuity of the plot and the setting. Murder in a cosy house surrounded by friends and one of them is the killer. Delicious Death........

2 people found this helpful

Very Bad narrator

All the voices are the same and you can hardly ever tell who is speaking

1 person found this helpful

Great

A great performance by Joan Hickman - really brings the tale to life - gripped from the first sentence

1 person found this helpful

Excellent

Excellently narrated Miss Marple story. As it's not written from lead Male character viewpoint, Joan Hickson makes a first class job of it. I almost want to say I prefer this to the screen versions. Typical Agatha Christie mystery. Greatl

A true classic

For me Joan Hickson is the ONLY Miss Marple, and it is wonderful to have her narrate the books....I’m going to have to get the rest now!

Murder and mystery within little Britain

A murder is announced within the local paper of a small village leading to various inhabitants to descend upon the house in question believing this to be a fun lark. We, the reader, are subsequently lead through some murders and obligatory red herrings before the ‘big reveal’. The sleuth is Miss Marple, an elderly and small woman in appearance but with a ‘mind like a sink’ investigates and helps the police apprehend the correct villain. A cleverly written book with some musings about human nature, particularly about greed and the impact of money could have on a person. It is interesting that many of the thoughts continue to have relevance within today’s society. The story was read by the simply amazing Joan Hickson (Miss Marple, BBC 1984-1992) and the Miss Marple that I recall from my childhood with a lot of affection. I listened to the majority of this book on a long train journey and was simply a lovely way to spend the time.

brilliant book, marvelous performance

Joan Hickson is amazing. totally worth every penny and the time spent listening to it

Enjoyed it

This one of my favourites of Miss Marple and read by Joan Hickson is yet again a treat, I find listening to her is very calming and I often fall asleep of a night time to her voice which is such a shame. You may want to change the ending that was read by Emilia Fox when in fact it is still Joan Hickson reading the book, and I am not referring to The 4:50 from Paddington.

Great Book but...

I liked the book but unlike watching on the tv it's hard to keep track of character's and who is who. Though after the reveal I'll be re-reading until I pick up the clues myself.