book data
3,757 ratings,
3.74
average rating, 153 reviews
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published
January 15th 2005
by Rba Libros
(first published 1942)
details
Paperback, 221 pages
characters
setting
isbn
8478712526
(isbn13: 9788478712526)
description
One morning, Colonel and Dolly Bantry are awakened by their maid and informed that the body of a dead blonde lies on the library floor! They immediate…more
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 4,757)
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avg 3.74
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in January, 2009
What kind of crime/mystery fan hasn't read Agatha Christie? I confess that I've never picked up a book by the acknowledged Queen of Crime. The only possible reason must be their obvious availability. So obvious that one assumes they will always exist as part of the crime landscape, copies in every library and bookstore, one could not possibly forget to read it. I'd get around to it, one day and today was to be it.
As the title states, the body of a young blonde is found in the library...more
As the title states, the body of a young blonde is found in the library...more
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Read in March, 2010
Hey, so I read my first Agatha Christie novel. It didn't hurt me any. I was alternately kind of bored and kind of pleased; I was sometimes pleasantly surprised by the depth to which the human condition was plumbed, so to speak, and yet at other times I thought it was all a bit formulaic and shallow. Clearly Ms. Christie is a woman of many facets.
This particular book is a Miss Marple story, which is why I chose it; it would've been nice to see more of Miss Marple herself. Her scen...more
This particular book is a Miss Marple story, which is why I chose it; it would've been nice to see more of Miss Marple herself. Her scen...more
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recommends it for:
fans of "cozy" mysteries
One of the best (and most typical of her best) of Christie's novels, all of which I have read over the years. I love the Miss Marple mysteries best, followed by the Tommy & Tuppence series. Reading Christie is like eating comfort food...best saved for a cold winter day when you need something to take your mind off the rest of the world. This is wrapped-up-on-the-couch-in-an-afghan reading :)
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Read in January, 2010
Another Miss Marple story! I really do like her more than Poirot: much less egotistical -- though I'm basing on that on only having read one Poirot book, I suppose, so maybe I didn't get the whole of Poirot's character. I liked that this one wasn't in the style of a first person narrator's account, like the other two I've read. Ultimately I think I preferred that, because a lot of the charm of the first Miss Marple book came from the character of the vicar, but it was nice to have it a bit diffe...more
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Read in January, 1992
recommends it for:
mystery lovers who prefer cozies to hard boiled stuff
This novel starts with an old friend of Miss Marple, Dolly Bantry, waking up one day only to be informed by the butler that there is a dead woman on the carpet of her library. Since neither she nor her husband knows the girl, she is at first inclined to see the real live murder as a great lark. Then she realizes that tongues will wag and that her husband will be the one who bears the brunt of it, and she decides that she needs to solve the crime and save his reputation. So she calls her old f...more
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Read in March, 2009
My very first Agatha Christie novel, took a while I know. The book was charming, that seems about the best word. The whole setting was entreached in an England long past, or perhaps never truly existed. So at times you maybe roll your eyes at some things (Oh my reputation is ruined!) or have to look beyond the evolved meanings of some words (at least I should think they meant fantastic as in 'hard to believe' rather than than 'wonderful' re; a corpse in your house).
The whole premise of t...more
The whole premise of t...more
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Read in June, 1987
I don't remember many details about this story, except that it was entertaining enough to distract me from increasingly sharp labor pains during the very early hours of June 18, 1987!
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8 comments
Read in February, 2001
I didn't find the Miss Marple as compelling as the Poirot I had read. That being said - if you are a mystery fan how can you not like an Agatha Christie?
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Un cadavre dans la bibliothèque: voilà, de l'aveu même de la romancière, une situation très banale du roman policier.
Mais si les propriétaires de la maison ignorent totalement de qui il s'agit ?
Si la victime est une jeune femme un tantinet vulgaire, danseuse de son métier - le genre de personne qu'on ne peut en aucun cas rencontrer chez l'honorable colonel Bantry et son épouse ?
Alors, c'est une énigme particulièrement coriace, telle que les aime M...more
Mais si les propriétaires de la maison ignorent totalement de qui il s'agit ?
Si la victime est une jeune femme un tantinet vulgaire, danseuse de son métier - le genre de personne qu'on ne peut en aucun cas rencontrer chez l'honorable colonel Bantry et son épouse ?
Alors, c'est une énigme particulièrement coriace, telle que les aime M...more
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Read in October, 2008
A jolly good mystery classic from Agatha C. Quite a delightful read in very proper English. The story of a body found in the library of Gossington Hall, but no one knew who the dead girl was. Miss Marple and others work their way through complex relationships, expected and unexpected behaviour to finally uncover the truth. The twists are gentle but intriguing but I was probably not focussed enough on the writing style of this genre to have picked the murderer before it was revealed. A delightful...more
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Read in July, 2008
Not too terribly long ago (though independently of the Doctor Who episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp", it must be said), my partner got into the mood to read some good ol' fashioned Agatha Christie. Since I had never actually read a word of hers, I thought it was high time I gave one of her books a shot. The one that Dara had bought is the second of the Miss Marples: The Body in the Library.
And it's certainly an interesting little mystery, I'll give it that. Miss Marple didn't...more
And it's certainly an interesting little mystery, I'll give it that. Miss Marple didn't...more
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Read in April, 2005
Once again, Miss Marple is back on the case in this the second novel of the Miss Marple series. This time she is called by her friend Dolly Bantry, who lives in Gossington Hall, because Dolly's maid woke her up in the morning screaming that there was a body in the library. It turns out to be the body of a young girl, dressed in evening finery, and a quick search of missing persons turns up the name of Ruby Keene, who fits the description of the dead girl. Ruby was a dancer at a local resort, and...more
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Read in September, 2008
The Body in the Library tells the story of a mysterious body of a murdered young woman found in an old couple's library. It features the adorable Miss Marple, an old village lady whose understanding of human nature proved her much sharper than people expected her to be. Interestingly, though it is a Miss Marple mystery, much of the book does not feature her until at good halfway into the story, assisting the police's investigation in her own distinct grandmotherly way.
I guess it's a ...more
I guess it's a ...more
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Read in May, 2009
I give this 3 stars, but only in relation to other kickass Christie mysteries-- in relation to mysteries in general, I'd probably give it 4 stars.
I gave it a lower rating because of the implausibility of the crime. It's an ingenious solution as always, but mega-improbable. That said, the book is still highly entertaining as a novel, and contains some very interesting sociological observations. In the halls and lobbies of the rich, you can find clever impecunious characters on the mak...more
I gave it a lower rating because of the implausibility of the crime. It's an ingenious solution as always, but mega-improbable. That said, the book is still highly entertaining as a novel, and contains some very interesting sociological observations. In the halls and lobbies of the rich, you can find clever impecunious characters on the mak...more
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Read in July, 2009
I don't want to say too much, but just so you know. Sometimes things don't belong where they are. Other times, things belong exactly where they are. And, sometimes there are those who are not who they say they are, even if they might appear to be exactly whom they say they are. And sometimes, there are those who are exactly who they say they are and appear like they are suspects, but aren't really, unless you count that they might be suspected of other crimes other than the one that they are ...more
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Read in August, 2008
This is my second Agatha Christie novel, the first being, "And Then There Were None" which I thoroughly enjoyed and thought was fantastic. This book was very entertaining, I was left almost spellbound, wondering how it would all fit together, the only qualms I had about this book were the names of all the characters. I just couldn't keep some of the people straight. I confused the policemen with some of the suspects because I couldn't seem to keep their names in my mind. It might b...more
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Read in January, 2009
This was my first Miss Marple book, and definitely won't be my last, what a wonderful character she is! So much more likeable than Poirot, and I love the way she parallels human behaviours in the murderers with the actions of persons in the small village where she lives. Everyone thinks she is just a silly old lady, but she soon proves them all wrong with her detective skills!
Nobody does suspense like Agatha Christie, this is a book (as are all her books) to be read in one sitting, totall...more
Nobody does suspense like Agatha Christie, this is a book (as are all her books) to be read in one sitting, totall...more
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Unfortunately, I watched most to all of the Miss Marple stories on tv, and so I knew what happened. I'd would still recommend reading the stories even so, if you have done the same. I don't think any of the television interpretations do justice to the stories. Christie gives such life and color to her characters, which is nearly impossible to capture on screen, as far as I'm concerned.
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After quite some time Went back to Agatha Christie. Still easily one of the finest atuthor of crime novels. Thinking Detectives seem to be a vanishing tribe. Most of the new crime novels are more action oriented.
Not one of her best books but still an interesting and light read.For those who are interested in Detective novels Agataha Christie is a must.No book of hers will disappoint you.
Not one of her best books but still an interesting and light read.For those who are interested in Detective novels Agataha Christie is a must.No book of hers will disappoint you.
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Read in July, 2009
I am having a hard time reviewing the Agatha Christie mysteries. Because I have not been much of a mystery reader, I keep comparing them to my only other experience in the genre - the Peter Wimsey novels by Dorothy Sayers. Based on that comparison, I find the Christie books lacking - the characters (both recurring and one-time) are significantly less interesting, humor is lacking, the mysteries are less compelling, and the writing much less skilled. That being said, I have eagerly read the first...more
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