They Do It with Mirrors (Miss Marple, #6)

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They Do It with Mirrors (Miss Marple #6)

3.71 of 5 stars 3.71 · rating details · 7,265 ratings · 230 reviews

Stonygates rehabilitates delinquent boys under the auspices of the Gulbrandsen Foundation. Trustee Christian Gulbrandsen is shot dead in the guest room while paranoid Edgar Lawson shoots near trustee Lewis Serrocold. But Miss Jane Marple is on hand, sent to investigate trouble for thrice-married Carrie Louise Restarick Gulbransen Serrocold by her worried sister Ruth. When...more

Paperback, 224 pages

Published March 1st 2000 by Signet (first published April 1952)

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41st out of 355 books — 608 voters

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Nov 09, 2012 Cheryl rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

How do magicians saw a person in half, moving the severed head in one direction and the legs and feet in another? This is the question Miss Marple asks Chief Inspector Curry. His answer, "THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS." Like a series of mirrors multiplying one image to many, murders abound at Stonygates Country home for wayward boys. At a young age, each adolescent has at least one strike against him, making all capable of the crimes.

Capable, yes; motives, improbable! Take into consideration that one...more How do magicians saw a person in half, moving the severed head in one direction and the legs and feet in another? This is the question Miss Marple asks Chief Inspector Curry. His answer, "THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS." Like a series of mirrors multiplying one image to many, murders abound at Stonygates Country home for wayward boys. At a young age, each adolescent has at least one strike against him, making all capable of the crimes.

Capable, yes; motives, improbable! Take into consideration that one of Miss Marple's oldest friends, Carrie Louise and her third husband Lewis have offered the boys a second chance to live on their substantial estate where discipline is prized along with freedom to participate in the on-site theatre productions. There is a Trust to oversee the efforts, and though the Board questions the philanthropy's goals, the work continues to be funded.

The cast of characters, the illusions created on stage, the production tricks (unseen exits and thrown voices) that keep the audience/readers fooled and misdirected, all play out in this 1952 Agatha Christie mystery. Involved in her first theatre adaptation while writing THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS paralleled real life for the author.

With family members from multiple marriages, grown children and grandchildren from each union, the plot thickens with each person's backstory. One especially is concerning, as they seemingly suffer from delusions and thoughts of persecution.

This is the first mystery where Miss Marple is present when the murders occur. Often Christie makes a social statement in her books, and this seems evident with the duplicitous motives of the main character and the measure of success of the philanthropy.

As young women, Jane, Carrie Louise, and her sister Ruth took the Grand Tour of Europe together, especially recalling their wonderful time in Italy. It is pleasureable to take the reader to another era of Miss Marple's life...a more carefree time compared to solving murders.
Highly Recommended.(less)

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Feb 14, 2013 Anne Toronto1 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: suspense

"Murder with Mirrors" = "They do it with Mirrors" 2009 (Julia McKenzie) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu6OXT...
Elderly Miss Jane Marple is asked by Ruth, friend from dancing debutante years, to investigate trouble at Stonygates, visit to protect her fragile sister Caroline Louise. Carrie is now married to Lewis Serrocold, one trustee for the Gulbrandesen Foundation to rehabilitate delinquent boys. Another trustee is Carrie's stepson by second marriage, Christian Gulbrandsen. Edgar Lewis, ineff...more

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Mar 29, 2013 Laura rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: audio-books, british-literature, read-2013, suspense-thriller

From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Agatha Christie tale featuring June Whitfield as Miss Marpl.

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Jan 19, 2013 Lona Yulianni rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: borrow, mystery-crime

Ini adalah buku perkenalan saya pada Agatha Christie. Dulu-dulu rasanya mau baca agak segan karena takut gak nyampe otaknya -.-"
Well, saya penggemar berat serial crime investigation semacam CSI:NY or CSI Miami. Karena rasanya keren aja gitu tokoh-tokohnya pinter banget, bisa nyambungin antara clue satu dengan clue yang lain. Nah, kayaknya sekarang saya akan bisa menikmati buku-bukunya Agatha Christie :D

Buku ini adalah seri dari Miss Marple Mystery yang ke-6. Jane Marple, seorang nini-nini yang p...more

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May 18, 2011 Laurel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-year-of-agatha

(vague spoilers hinted) I read They Do It With Mirrors under its alternate title, Murder with Mirrors, and I do think the publisher's fetish for making all Agatha Christie's books have "death" or "murder" in the titles does this novel a disservice. "They do it with mirrors" is the expression from the theatre that Miss Marple evokes several times to mean that a conjuring trick has been done to fool the audience (in this case the witnesses). Murder with Mirrors ruins the allusion (not the illusion...more (vague spoilers hinted) I read They Do It With Mirrors under its alternate title, Murder with Mirrors, and I do think the publisher's fetish for making all Agatha Christie's books have "death" or "murder" in the titles does this novel a disservice. "They do it with mirrors" is the expression from the theatre that Miss Marple evokes several times to mean that a conjuring trick has been done to fool the audience (in this case the witnesses). Murder with Mirrors ruins the allusion (not the illusion!) and gives the impression that literal mirrors are involved, which they are not; the Victorian Gothic mansion setting is vast and opulent, but there is no equivalent of Versailles' Hall of Mirrors here. Actually, I think either title gives too much away; I came to the correct solution with more ease than I should have, for the simple reason that only one suspect was in any position to have performed a sleight-of-hand trick with this murder.

I did not, however, guess the extent of the motive, and thought that a very clever touch. Murder with Mirrors reminds me of At Bertram's Hotel, though they are over a decade apart. Both feature Miss Marple revisiting her past--places she has been and/or very old friends. And both involve crime on a grand scale, much more involved that a simple whodunnit. This is not really my favorite premise; I think there is nothing better than Christie's classic whodunnits and don't need anything "bigger" behind them.

I wished there were more discussion of the actual College for delinquent youth; it is in the background but only one or two of the boys really feature in the story. I found it quite interesting that this was apparently a "fad" in philanthropy in the 1950s, and was amused that clearly Dame Agatha didn't think much of Psychologists and Psychiatrists, and did not know the difference between them! (I am married to one of the former, so I couldn't NOT notice inaccuracies there). Had the focus of the setting really been an asylum rather than the nearby mansion, I would have found it more compelling. As it was, it seemed a somewhat odd background, although Dame Agatha had her reasons for this setting, as we eventually learn. (less)

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Dec 05, 2010 Dave M. rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: agatha

Three stars, only because I was taken in completely by the reality Christie creates and was genuinely surprised by the ending. Whether that was because a) I was under Christie's spell or b) flying through the lame insipid prose at such a rate that my focus was unhinged and so I didn't notice Christie directing me to stand over the rug because I didn't care, I don't know.

I wanted to blame this reaction on the book coming from the tail end of Christie's body of work, but this isn't the case. It's...more

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Aug 13, 2010 Ana Vicente rated it 2 of 5 stars

I generally love Agatha Christie, and I tend to read her books in one sitting, but that didn't happen with this one.

It's a Marple novel, and I generally do prefer other detectives (it just frustrates me that part of the solution is based on those comparisons with someone on St. Mary Mead), but I don't think that's enough to explain why this book failed to captivate me the way others have.

I think part of it was that I just didn't care about the characters all that much. I especially didn't care a...more

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Aug 06, 2010 Meave rated it 4 of 5 stars

Generally I find I like Marples more than Poirots; maybe it's my prejudices (I don't hate all dudes all the time), hard to say. This one was good, I think. I mean, the whole "jealous ugly older woman" is obnoxious, and the "gorgeous flirtatious young woman really DOES love her plainspoken sort of jerkbag of a husband, REALLY" thread, oh how it grates (take what you can get, girls!), but the mystery was pretty good, and I just love the respect all the police and the really clever people give Miss...more

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Apr 04, 2010 Jessi rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: saw-the-movie, mystery, re-read-often

Oh, I do like this book. But then, Agatha Christie and Miss Marple rarely disappoint. An old school chum is worried about her sister, Carrie Louise, and wants Miss Marple to go check out the situation. Carrie Louise is currently running a boarding school for juvenile delinquents with her third husband. The money comes from her first husband with whom she had one biological and one adopted daughter. The biological daughter, the third husband, the now-deceased adopted daughter's daughter and her h...more

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Aug 01, 2009 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Sisters Carrie and Ruth are two of Miss Marple's oldest friends - and it's at the behest of Ruth that Jane accepts an invitation to visit Carrie, because of Ruth's worries that something is not quite right in that household. When she arrives, she discovers any number of potential reasons for Ruth's unease - the delinquents Carrie and and her husband Lewis are attempting to rehabilitate, the flirtatious granddaughter and her sullen husband, and the controlling housekeeper who may or may not have...more Sisters Carrie and Ruth are two of Miss Marple's oldest friends - and it's at the behest of Ruth that Jane accepts an invitation to visit Carrie, because of Ruth's worries that something is not quite right in that household. When she arrives, she discovers any number of potential reasons for Ruth's unease - the delinquents Carrie and and her husband Lewis are attempting to rehabilitate, the flirtatious granddaughter and her sullen husband, and the controlling housekeeper who may or may not have Carrie's best interest at heart - just to name a few of the potential suspects. When Carrie's stepson is murdered with little apparent reason, it becomes frighteningly apparent that the universally loved Carrie's life might be threatened. The entire situation is a shell game, and Miss Marple and the local Inspector must work to unravel the truth from the lies before Carrie becomes a victim of her own benevolent, trusting nature.

They Do It With Mirrors has many of the elements of a classic Christie mystery. The setting is tightly contained to a well-off family home - a family where everything *should* be perfect, but everyone has their secrets. Everything's very genteel, but that veneer of proper English respectability masks some pretty passionate familial discord. In the best Dame Agatha Christie fashion, this cast of characters gives her plenty of opportunity to pack the story with red herrings and misdirection. As far as the actual mystery goes - this story falls a bit short when compared to some of Christie's other gems. The culprit becomes apparent rather early on, which is kind of surprising, but it allows Christie to take a look at their motivations and how exactly this "conjuring trick" of a murder was seemingly so flawlessly executed. What's more interesting for me than the actual case is the analysis of Carrie's character, and how this woman who never seemed to have a good grasp of reality sees situations and people much clearer than others. Enjoyable (aren't all Christies?), but not a runaway favorite.(less)

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Sep 21, 2012 Luffy Monkey D. rated it 4 of 5 stars

This was so very nearly a perfect score. But I found the fate of the criminal and his accomplice too much of an anticlimax. Having said that, this book was an absolute pleasure to read. The characters are memorable. Miss Jane Marple appears in it a lot. We know something new about her youth, but it's not much to go with. Carrie Louise and Ruth could have been temporary props that weren't significant in Miss Marple's past.

There was a certain fluidity in the narrative that I didn't find in Marple...more

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Feb 22, 2008 sarafem rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2008, agatha-christie

Classic Agatha Christie, a good mindless read that you can easily guess the ending to because you know that Christie picks the only ending that makes no sense, and tries to make it sound like it's utterly obvious. This is what I love about the woman. I like to pretend that the Miss Marple series is actually the memoir of a schizophrenic old maid living in an insane asylum; this is the only way any of it ever makes sense. Did I just piss off every Agatha Christie fan? Oh well...

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Jan 21, 2013 sabisteb rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: hörspiele, hörspieleserien, krimi-thriller

Als Jane Marple ihre alte Schulfreundin Ruth Van Rydock besucht und in Erinnerungen schwelgt, kommt die Sprache auf Ruths Schwester Carrie Louise. Ruth, Jane und Carrie waren im Internat in Italien beste Freundinnen, und daher bittet Ruth Jane, Carrie einen Besuch abzustatten. Ruth fürchtet um Carries Leben und vermutet, jemand aus ihrer weitläufigen, teils adoptierten Familie, will sie ermorden.
Jane willigt ein und reist nach Stonygates. Dort haben Carrie und ihr Mann in einem alten viktoriani...more Als Jane Marple ihre alte Schulfreundin Ruth Van Rydock besucht und in Erinnerungen schwelgt, kommt die Sprache auf Ruths Schwester Carrie Louise. Ruth, Jane und Carrie waren im Internat in Italien beste Freundinnen, und daher bittet Ruth Jane, Carrie einen Besuch abzustatten. Ruth fürchtet um Carries Leben und vermutet, jemand aus ihrer weitläufigen, teils adoptierten Familie, will sie ermorden.
Jane willigt ein und reist nach Stonygates. Dort haben Carrie und ihr Mann in einem alten viktorianischen Herrenhaus eine Schule für straffällige und schwer erziehbare Jugendliche eröffnet. Bald kommt noch ein Besuch, Carries Stiefsohn aus erster Ehe und stellt seltsame Fragen. Diese Fragen erscheinen in einem ganz anderen Licht, als er kurz darauf in seinem Zimmer erschossen wird.

In diesem Fall ermittelt tatsächlich wieder mal Jane Marple. Die Hauptschwierigkeit dieses Hörspiels sind die unglaublich vielen Sprecher. Carrie hat eine sehr verzweigte Familie, teils aus diversen Ehen adoptiert, dann noch deren Kinder und Ehepartner, das macht es teilweise ein wenig unübersichtlich. Die Sprecher sind aber so gut besetzt, dass man den Überblick behält und sogar im Laufe der Geschichte versteht, wer mit wem wie warum irgendwie verwandt oder verschwägert ist. Dieses Verwirrspiel der Personen wird dafür verwendet, einen eigentlich sehr vorhersehbaren Plot aufzupeppen. Mir war der Täter gleich klar, er war zu offensichtlich (vielleicht denke ich schon zu sehr in Agatha Christies Art, ihre Plots aufzubauen), für mich ging es eigentlich nur noch um das Motiv. Die Auflösung ist doch gegen Ende sehr schnell und abrupt. Die Protagonisten stecken die diversen Morde und Todesfälle zu gut, zu unterkühlt weg, da trauert keiner, das ist irgendwie extrem irritierend und unecht wirkend. Hallo, hier sterben 5 Leute im Laufe kurzer Zeit und was machen sie, sie plauschen und trinken Tee und sprechen das Ergebnis des Falls durch.
Insgesamt jedoch ein Hörspiel mit Top Sprechern mit Stimmen und Akzenten, die sie gut unterscheidbar machen, so dass man auch bei dieser ausgedehnten Besetzerrunde nicht, oder eher nur selten, den Überblick verliert. Erneut mit June Whitfield als Miss Marple.
Da der Fall in sich abgeschlossen ist und keinerlei Bezüge zu älteren Fällen aufweist, kann man ihn problemlos außer der Reihe hören.
(less)

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Sep 27, 2010 Mike A. rated it 2 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Oct 18, 2009 Megan rated it 3 of 5 stars

Miss Marple, at a friend's request, moves into a manor house full of guests; when the situation gives way to murder, she's on hand to help police crack the case.

+:
-No hint, as ever, right up until the case is cracked, of who might have been responsible. Anybody who seems guilty, usually isn't...unless they are. Anybody who seems innocent usually is...except for a few people, who aren't. This is what makes Dame Christie a genius.
-The use of arsenic poisoning in a book is always a plus.

-:
-Not su...more

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Aug 16, 2009 F.R. rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

How does one explain Christie?

There is the truly unexciting prose style, the dreadful exposition-heavy dialogue, the characters that strive even for two-dimensions, and plots which – to quote Raymond Chandler – “only a halfwit could guess” the solution.

And yet when I pick up a copy I don’t end up slamming it into a wall in frustration at its various shortcomings.

I guess that the prose style is just competent enough, and the array of characters (chinless wonders all) archetypal enough for the rea...more

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Aug 22, 2010 Jo rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery

I chanced to stumble accross this book, one of the few I haven't read by Agatha Christie. I don't think I would pick this as a representative work of hers, but as usual, it kept me off balance (exactly the thing for a mystery, right?). It also had a rather interesting commentary on the danger of puting causes before individuals.

This particular book did lead me to reflect a bit on the dim view that Agatha Christie takes of human nature. I'm never quite sure what character to root for, because you...more

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Nov 28, 2009 pinknantucket rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: ms-readathon-2006

You know, I’ve never read an Agatha Christie before. I know, I know, what have I been doing with myself? Reading Georgette Heyer and Dorothy Sayers instead, that’s what. But anyway, how did I like it? Not bad actually, and this book was even a Miss Marple adventure, who I’ve never been terribly interested in on the telly – she’s much more enjoyable in person. Maybe I’ll even like Poirot, if I read him instead of watch!! Anyway, it’s a good thing I liked Christie’s book, because I understand ther...more

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Dec 06, 2010 rainbow3 rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This looked fun for some classic mystery reading moments. According to Fantastic Fiction, my fave spot for clarifying book series details, this is book five in the Miss Marple Series and also known as Murder with Mirrors.

Book cover: A sense of danger pervades the rambling Victorian mansion in which Jane Marple’s friend Carrie Louise lives. Used as a rehabilitation centre for delinquents, the building tem with dangerous inmates, one of whom attempts to shoot the administrator, Lewis Serracold. N...more This looked fun for some classic mystery reading moments. According to Fantastic Fiction, my fave spot for clarifying book series details, this is book five in the Miss Marple Series and also known as Murder with Mirrors.

Book cover: A sense of danger pervades the rambling Victorian mansion in which Jane Marple’s friend Carrie Louise lives. Used as a rehabilitation centre for delinquents, the building tem with dangerous inmates, one of whom attempts to shoot the administrator, Lewis Serracold. Neither is injured.
The same cannot be said of a mysterious visitor – shot dead simultaneously in another part to the building in another part of the building. Miss Marple must use all her cunning to solve the riddle of the strangers visit…and his murder.
-----------------------------------------------------

Somehow, unusually for me, I had a vague thought that the character who turns out to have committed the murder may have done it. Though I had not a clue how the murder was pulled off I had figured money was a likely cause. However in all honestly I am always more interested in the why than the who. The fun here for me was in getting to know the characters and wondering just how their lives may be altered by the books end. In addition and perhaps more significantly wondering how the readers idea of individual characters would be altered at the books end. However as always with Christies books there are a host of characters peopling the setting and really most are only sketched in. It seems to me that Christies books hinge around the reveal, and how it is that many of the players are not as they might first appear. They are all about the who-dun-it. So its little wonder that I like other mystery writers better. This was entertaining nevertheless.

I do love maps and house plans in books though it’s rather more than frustrating when there were inexactitudes between the house plan and the text. [Grumpy detail bit...] Here the plan is on page 36 and two pages later a side door into the house is mentioned in the text. It would have helped orientate this reader if the door was clearly marked, side door, on the house plan. But it wasn’t. Then when the murder victim, er… guest, Christian Gulbrandsen, who has difficulty walking, arrives its decided he will go in the oak suite as there will be no stairs. As for the house plan it pin-points that a guest room is on the lower floor and I have to assume that this is the oak suite for on the plan it is called the guest room not the oak suite. Annoying, mark it as the oak suite on the plan please, I shriek, to the unknown plan maker. Lets have no query over it. Be exact! Oh goodness, I wonder if anyone one else hates these types of wee anomalies. [Grumpy, bit over!]

My main read at the moment is another crime fiction ‘A Long Shadow’ Charles Todd, which is a more intense read than this and I am enjoying it immensely so am happy to make it last for as long as I can. So this is was my light relief for in-between times. (less)

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Sep 08, 2012 Robert rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2012

I'm not sure if it because I read it many years ago (I don't recall, exactly) or because of the overly suggestive description on the jacket but for whatever reason the ending seemed telegraphed and the puzzle (which is really most of what an Agatha Christie book is all about) wasn't puzzling. It was interesting to think about Christie's philosophizing which she transparently has several of her characters speak (spout?). The main thrust was that we often spend a great deal of effort trying to res...more

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Aug 07, 2009 Mazel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: policier

Le sort de Carrie-Louise inspire de vagues inquiétudes à son entourage.

A sa soeur Ruth, d'abord, et à son fils. A son troisième mari, Lewis Serrocold.

Oui, parce que Carrie-Louise, qui a une fille et en a adopté une autre, a été mariée trois fois avec des hommes eux-mêmes déjà mariés — ce qui fait toute une tripotée de beaux-fils, de belles-filles et de petits-enfants directs ou par alliance.

Tout ce monde vit dans un institut pour jeunes délinquants un peu détraqués.

Une maison de fous, dit l'i...more

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Aug 28, 2011 lucie parenkyuma rated it 2 of 5 stars

Having to finish reading this book, I was fairly disappointed on Agatha's description of how Miss Marple handled the murder case. Not intending to boast, but then, the culprit is a shockingly easy to guess, compared to other books written by her, despite the unnecessary, confusing clues been stacked one by one.

The plot began when Ruth, an old friend of Miss Marple, expressed her anxiety in regards of Carrie Louise, a frail, but loved by all, also an old friend of theirs. Being a caring and loya...more

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Jun 25, 2010 Lady Knight rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mystery, adult, england-uk, historical-fiction, crime

While not a big fan of Miss Marple, "They Do It With Mirrors" was a decent read. Definitely not Christie's best work, but not horrible.

Jane Marple, at the request of Ruth, has gotten herself invited to Stonygates, the home of a childhood friend, Carrie Louise. Ruth is worried that her sister (Carrie Louise) is in danger of some sort at Stonygates and that all is not well. At first Jane sees nothing out of the ordinary (true everyone is surly and ill at ease with each other, but that likely come...more

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Mar 11, 2013 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

I last read this ages ago. Ages. So when I was in the mood for an easy, easy read where I didn't have to think, I picked it up. It was this or The Cat Among the Pigeons. (Really, I should have gone with the Poirot.) I remembered much of the backstory, several of the characters, and who did it. So I was reading it for the pleasure of rediscovering the details and the language. There were moments when I stopped and simply appreciated how Christie used the a broad vocabulary without sounding preten...more

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Apr 11, 2013 Cata rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, biblioteca

1,5 estrelas

Depois de uma abstinência de quase três meses, por fim voltei a pegar em Agatha Christie com Jogo de Espelhos

Neste livro, Miss Marple continua a ser a mesma idosa adorável e extremamente astuta de sempre... Mas confesso que o livro não me conquistou. Imaginem a seguinte cena: está alguém no deserto a se arrastar pela areia fraco e a morrer de sede, quando de repente encontra um belo óasis. Ao vê-lo, faz um último esforço para chegar à água, mas quando está quase a alcançá-la morre. É...more

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Oct 09, 2011 Beth rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: mysteries

I read this book under the title, "Murder with Mirrors". I've only read one other Agatha Christie novel, but given how much I love mysteries and how classic she is I decided to give her another try. I enjoy these books, but they do not "wow" me. Although I definitely didn't figure out "who done it" prior to the reveal in the book, which is always a good thing.

I will say that this particular book reminded me of Clue. It made me wonder if the board game was actually based on an Agatha Christie nov...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Linh La added it

March 11, 2011

This is my first Agatha Christie book and I had really high hopes for it. I don't know if it was just this particular book but I was a bit disappointed as everyone painted Agatha Christie to be the best mystery author of all times. They Did It With Mirrors is your typical who-dun-it mystery novel and I actually figured out quite early on (before the real detectives were called in) who the murderer was. I did like how Miss Marple sorts out her thoughts to the readers so that we can...more

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Mar 11, 2011 Bigyellowtaxi1 rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: agatha-christie, marple, crime

Not for me, this one. The centre for delinquents setting lacked the intimacy that is usually associated with Miss Marple. The family tree was unwieldy and took a great deal of getting used to. There were a great number of them and they weren’t introduced with a great deal of care. Getting your head around all the relationships wasn’t helped by the nicknames and multiple marriages that abounded, or the superfluous detail (was it necessary to know about Ruth’s multiple marriages at all?). Carrie L...more

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Aug 16, 2009 Swissmiss rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A simple and yet intensely complex story. The trick and genius is in giving us all the clues right from the beginning, but not revealing their meaning until the end. If you can guess the solution before the last chapter, you should be writing these yourself. No Deux Ex Machina is necessary, no previously-unseen twin brother, no obscure knowledge about poisons that only a true expert would know. Although there are a dizzying array of suspects, each one has their own story and their own thread to...more

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Jan 22, 2010 Nikki rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: crime, mystery

Miss Marple was a bit more of a constant in this book than in others, which was quite nice -- I think it's best when the detective character is more of a character, like Philip Marlowe or Peter Wimsey, or whatever. In this book Miss Marple, and her childhood friend -- mostly her childhood friend, I think -- are the bigger attractions. The plot was, somehow, predictable -- either predictable to anyone, or just predictable because I'm getting far too used to Agatha Christie's writing and way of co...more

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About Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Agatha Mary Clarissa Miller was born in Torquay, Devon, England, U.K., as the youngest of three. The Millers had two other children: Margaret Frary Miller (1879–1950), called Madge, who was eleven years Agatha's senior, and Louis Montant Miller (1880...more

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Books by Agatha Christie

Murder on the Orient Express (Hercule Poirot, #10)

The Mysterious Affair At Styles (Hercule Poirot #1)

Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple, #1)

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Quotes from They Do It with Mirrors

“People who can be very good can be very bad too. - Carrie Louise” — 10 people liked it

“People will quite often do anything for money. - Jane Marple” — 4 people liked it

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title link	preview: They Do It with Mirrors
avg rating	preview: They Do It with Mirrors Goodreads rating: 3.71 (7265 ratings)
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BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68930.They_Do_It_with_Mirrors?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309283939l/68930.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68930.They_Do_It_with_Mirrors?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]They Do It with Mirrors by Agatha Christie[/url]

They Do It with Mirrors (Miss Marple #6)

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