One of my goals in 2020 is to read more. See other books I've read or listened to here.
I found this audio book of The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie for free on the internet. I was delighted to find that it was read by Richard E Grant.
The Vicar in the town of St Mary Mead is scaniliized when the town grouch is found dead in his study. The vicar is wrapped up in the mystery and takes a stab at solving it. Luckily, Miss Marple is also on the case.
This was the second Agatha Christie book I have ever read and it was a good one!! I didn’t know at the time that it was the first in the Miss Marple series. I think I lucked out by now having read the first in the Poirot series and the first in Miss Marple. Now that I’m thinking of it, I actually listened to both of them… Interesting. I wonder how I will feel when I physically read a AC book? I’ll find out soon, as my mother has just given me 2 Christie books she has unhauled. The Murder at the Vicarage was hilarious! There were many parts where I laughed out loud and many more where I was broadly smiling! This was a fast paced and interesting mystery that kept me on my toes. I did not guess the ending but I was perhaps most surprised at how little Miss Marple, who is one of Christie’s most well known ameture detective, was actually in this book. This book is narrated by the vicar and he is mostly driving the action with sly Miss Marple only coming in to neatly wrap up the mystery at the end. She pops in and out in other places in the book, but only for a few pages at a time and for most of the book, she only seems like a very small side character. So far, having read one Poriot book and one MM book, I think I liker her mysteries better just for the shear silliness. I would HIGHL:Y recommend this book, and especially this audio book, to anyone who likes mysteries, those who want to explore older mystery/crime writers and novels, anyone who watched the BBC series and those who love a bumbling lead character, a gossipy village setting, or a seemingly impossible death!
Have you read any Agatha Christie? Do you prefer Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot?
This book was in my October Wrap Up.