The Body in the Libraryis probably one of the two most famous Miss Marple novels (the other being The Murder at the Vicarage, which we’ll come to). While it’s not one of the best Agatha Christie books, it remains a worthwhile read, especially for its ingeniously simple and engaging initial setup.įor that reason, it deserves a spot on this list of Agatha Christie books ranked. The lively language that we come to expect from Christie is also largely missing here. This is a great example of a brilliant setup and decent execution that doesn’t quite stick the landing. However, while it has a wonderful setup and opening, the novel is weighed down by a series of awkward coincidences and a heavily expository info dump of a conclusion. A fantastic setup for a murder mystery, even by Christie standards.įrom here we enter a complex web of lies and secrets in pursuit of the killer. What happens instead is that the lights go out, a gunshot rings out, and someone drops dead.

When an ad in the local paper boldly announces an upcoming murder, curious residents flock to the site, most of them expecting a silly game or prank to occur. The fact that it’s not one of the very best Agatha Christie novels shows just how strong of a writer she is, when this novel is still so good.Ī Murder is Announcedis the fifth Miss Marple novel, and one of the best of the bunch.

This is a dark, gothic-inspired tale of past and present colliding, of whispers and rumours and paranoia. This particular Tommy and Tuppence novel puts the spotlight on Tuppence, which is great to see since she’s the more interesting of the two protagonists. Mrs Lancaster cryptically says to Tuppence: “Was it your poor child? There behind the fireplace.” A chilling question.Īfter Ada passes away, they return to the home to find that Mrs Lancaster has been taken away by a relative.īefore Ada died, Mrs Lancaster gifted her a painting of a house that feels oddly familiar to Tuppence.

There, Tuppence meets a strange woman named Mrs Lancaster. We begin with Tommy and Tuppence visiting Tommy’s aunt Ada in a retirement home. This is the fourth Tommy and Tuppence novel (a pair of protagonists who feature in five Agatha Christie novels).īy the Pricking of My Thumbsis just as engrossing and intricately woven as we have come to expect from the best Agatha Christie books.

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