What do you think?
Murder at the Vicarage: B2
When Colonel Protheroe is found murdered in the study of the vicar, it seems that almost everyone in the village of St Mary Mead had a motive to kill him. This is the first case for Agatha Christie's legendary female detective, Miss Marple. She needs to use all her powers of observation and deduction to solve the mystery.
122 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2018
About the author
Agatha Christie
6,481 books79.4k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
February 15, 2018
I learned many news English words with this adapted book from Agatha Christie that I read and listened to the audio many times in 2017. It's easier than the original one.
November 18, 2024
Maybe 3.5. A fun mystery but not as great on a reread as a lot of Poriots are.
March 3, 2026
One of my favourite Christies now! So exciting. The narrator is the vicar, a nice man with a nice sense of humour, but maybe not the most discerning person in the village; and in a Miss Marple mystery, you know who the most discerning person in the village is :) I really liked the variety of characters and the intricacy of the plot. An enjoyable read!
August 24, 2026
3.75 stars
September 17, 2026
The Interwebs tells me Kit Harington is 39 years old. I had also recently watched “Game of Thrones” for the first time, in which he played Jon Snow. But he did sound like an older fellow as he voiced the Vicar in the story. 😅
Toni Collette, on the other hand, though sounding very much like the no-nonsense, logical amateur sleuth I’d always considered Miss Marple to be … didn’t quite sound as “old lady”-ish as I often picture the small-town detective to be.
Nevertheless, this was an entertaining way for me to take in another Agatha Christie mystery and add to my finished books for this year’s GR challenge.
Thanks to Audible!
Toni Collette, on the other hand, though sounding very much like the no-nonsense, logical amateur sleuth I’d always considered Miss Marple to be … didn’t quite sound as “old lady”-ish as I often picture the small-town detective to be.
Nevertheless, this was an entertaining way for me to take in another Agatha Christie mystery and add to my finished books for this year’s GR challenge.
Thanks to Audible!
September 12, 2026
I love a good whodunnit, but I'm realizing I really don't love graphic audiobooks like this. It's my own fault for not reading the full description, and thinking this was just a full cast audio book.
March 18, 2023
I love CHRISTIE’s Miss Marple.
March 16, 2026
la pega que tengo es que yo me había hecho una teoría supersorprendente y era más chula que el final, pero bueno 😔
que igual estuvo genial, ella es perfecta 💜
que igual estuvo genial, ella es perfecta 💜
January 11, 2019
I am reading this for a Miss Marple readalong with a friend on Instagram. I have never made an effort to read all of the stories chronologically and I usually like to do this for mysteries. I haven't read Agatha for years - probably since high school or earlier. So it was nice to dip back into her and see what Miss Marple is up to - and really, to see how she develops as a character.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Vicar, from whom we get the POV, is possessed of a dry wit that is classically English. I mean, the first quarter of the book is really funny! Of course, then that dead body turns up in his study, so it is tempered somewhat. But I still loved the Vicar. And I was pleased to find that he was a somewhat reliable narrator.
This case was full of red herrings! I almost fell for one. I thought I had it down. But no! I was wrong. I loved how the twists and turns took me from liking someone to suspecting them, and back again. And there is no village quite like St. Mary Mead for busybodies.
I am excited to read the rest of the Miss Marple books. We have drawn our list from the Agatha Christie website, so they are in order of her life, no in the order in which they were written. It might be a bit uneven in the writing that way, but I think it will work out okay. We are calling our year-long readalong #AYearwithMissMarple, so look for the hashtag and join us!
I was pleasantly surprised to find that the Vicar, from whom we get the POV, is possessed of a dry wit that is classically English. I mean, the first quarter of the book is really funny! Of course, then that dead body turns up in his study, so it is tempered somewhat. But I still loved the Vicar. And I was pleased to find that he was a somewhat reliable narrator.
This case was full of red herrings! I almost fell for one. I thought I had it down. But no! I was wrong. I loved how the twists and turns took me from liking someone to suspecting them, and back again. And there is no village quite like St. Mary Mead for busybodies.
I am excited to read the rest of the Miss Marple books. We have drawn our list from the Agatha Christie website, so they are in order of her life, no in the order in which they were written. It might be a bit uneven in the writing that way, but I think it will work out okay. We are calling our year-long readalong #AYearwithMissMarple, so look for the hashtag and join us!
January 12, 2020
Seriously dated this book, her first I believe, was originally published in 1930. Good introduction to the ‘real’ Miss Marple but for me the most significant ideas were how a servant simply could not have an idea, or that a woman could be a murderer, is just completely incomprehensible to middle class chaps who had come home from the Great War a decade or so before the setting of this, very class conscious tale, written with a very clear middle class, 1930’s audience in mind. We have become so used in the films and tv shows to take on the persona of the times, without the mores. Re-read the books and just prepare to be mildly shocked, especially if you are a modern ‘woke’ woman.
January 15, 2026
Recommended: sure
For a small town whodunnit, for many tangled clues and red herrings and a fascinating conclusion
Thoughts:
It seems to be the standard that Christie has her novels narrated by a non-detective narrator, and this falls into that category. I assume it's so we the reader can get an explanation of everything from the knowledgeable person(s), in case we (along with the narrator) didn't catch the significance of certain pieces.
Mrs Marple is just an observant and nosy old woman, not a formal officer or detective like I'm accustomed to from Poirot novels. I am curious about how else she gets involved in things in her line of the series, since she in this first one featuring her, she lives in a small town in this one and I can't imagine there will constantly be murders happening here. She did have a line where she mentioned a few other mysteries she's solved, big and small, so maybe some of those will come up? Hmm.
This also had some visuals of location layouts and charts which I really appreciated because I would be on a page listening to the house being described and trying to visualize it, then turn the page and have a drawing of it instead to reference back to. Super helpful! And it even helped me catch one small clue before it was mentioned in the story, which was extremely gratifying (even though it ended up not much mattering to the resolution). And right along the point where I was thinking to myself, "Wow I should really write out a timeline of everything that's happened because there has been so much discourse around timing" that the narrator did just that. Ah-ha! Perfect.
I was curious about the narrator, the Vicar. I didn't realize his name was Clement until far too long into the story, and it made me totally miss a vital piece in the case for a while. xD Oh well. But still, he seems to be almost faking it with his religion, as though he thinks he is not actually pious enough to be in his position. But maybe that's just par for the course for the truly good people in those positions? Right, not that they have no doubt, but that they have doubt and faith despite the doubt. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Anyway, Clement was odd.
Reading this as a buddy read was fun, as Agatha Christie novels are PERFECT for in-the-moment discussion after each chapter. There's always some new clue or revelation, or person acting strangely, or secret revealed. It totally changes what you think, or muddies up what you thought you were sure about, and it is so fun!! Thanks as always to Nicole for our now-traditional December buddy read. :)
And of course, the resolution. AHHHH, CHRISTIE, YOU GOT ME AGAIN! This result to me was as shocking as when I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (my first ever Christie novel), but also the complete opposite. I had such a fun time reading this and then had to laugh at the end at how wrong I was the entire time.
~See more reviews and book talk at MyBookJoy.com!~
For a small town whodunnit, for many tangled clues and red herrings and a fascinating conclusion
Thoughts:
It seems to be the standard that Christie has her novels narrated by a non-detective narrator, and this falls into that category. I assume it's so we the reader can get an explanation of everything from the knowledgeable person(s), in case we (along with the narrator) didn't catch the significance of certain pieces.
Mrs Marple is just an observant and nosy old woman, not a formal officer or detective like I'm accustomed to from Poirot novels. I am curious about how else she gets involved in things in her line of the series, since she in this first one featuring her, she lives in a small town in this one and I can't imagine there will constantly be murders happening here. She did have a line where she mentioned a few other mysteries she's solved, big and small, so maybe some of those will come up? Hmm.
This also had some visuals of location layouts and charts which I really appreciated because I would be on a page listening to the house being described and trying to visualize it, then turn the page and have a drawing of it instead to reference back to. Super helpful! And it even helped me catch one small clue before it was mentioned in the story, which was extremely gratifying (even though it ended up not much mattering to the resolution). And right along the point where I was thinking to myself, "Wow I should really write out a timeline of everything that's happened because there has been so much discourse around timing" that the narrator did just that. Ah-ha! Perfect.
I was curious about the narrator, the Vicar. I didn't realize his name was Clement until far too long into the story, and it made me totally miss a vital piece in the case for a while. xD Oh well. But still, he seems to be almost faking it with his religion, as though he thinks he is not actually pious enough to be in his position. But maybe that's just par for the course for the truly good people in those positions? Right, not that they have no doubt, but that they have doubt and faith despite the doubt. Maybe I'm overthinking it. Anyway, Clement was odd.
Reading this as a buddy read was fun, as Agatha Christie novels are PERFECT for in-the-moment discussion after each chapter. There's always some new clue or revelation, or person acting strangely, or secret revealed. It totally changes what you think, or muddies up what you thought you were sure about, and it is so fun!! Thanks as always to Nicole for our now-traditional December buddy read. :)
And of course, the resolution. AHHHH, CHRISTIE, YOU GOT ME AGAIN! This result to me was as shocking as when I read The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (my first ever Christie novel), but also the complete opposite. I had such a fun time reading this and then had to laugh at the end at how wrong I was the entire time.
~See more reviews and book talk at MyBookJoy.com!~
August 18, 2026
The Murder at the Vicarage is a good story but this new audio adaptation is a bit of a let-down. After the high quality Audible dramatised Hercule Poirot adaptations (with Peter Dinklage) I was expecting something similar. However the producers of this first Miss Marple Audible adaptation decided to frame the story using a flash-back narrative which falls a bit flat for me. It's like you are dipping in and out of the story bit by bit, as opposed to hearing the story told as it was in the book.
Toni Collette does not sound like an old biddy either. Which is how Miss Marple is referred to... even in the dialogue of this adaptation. (The term "old spinster" was also used.) For me, Toni Collette's Miss Marple sounds too young to be an old lady. Even the cover photograph doesn't look much like an old lady. Although Toni Colette probably would win the award for Most Glamorous Miss Marple.
If the producers of this adaptation were going to have a younger Miss Marple, that could have worked, as there is nothing wrong with modernising adaptations of old novels. But then they would have needed to remove the references to Miss Marple being an old biddy. After saying that, it's Miss Marple's age that has given her life experiences of human nature, which a younger woman might not have.
However, this was a well performed story and the soundscape was just right for the production, with nice background music and ambient sounds. It sounded really good with headphones. This dramatised version of The Murder at the Vicarage is well worth a listen, as it is a good murder mystery.
Toni Collette does not sound like an old biddy either. Which is how Miss Marple is referred to... even in the dialogue of this adaptation. (The term "old spinster" was also used.) For me, Toni Collette's Miss Marple sounds too young to be an old lady. Even the cover photograph doesn't look much like an old lady. Although Toni Colette probably would win the award for Most Glamorous Miss Marple.
If the producers of this adaptation were going to have a younger Miss Marple, that could have worked, as there is nothing wrong with modernising adaptations of old novels. But then they would have needed to remove the references to Miss Marple being an old biddy. After saying that, it's Miss Marple's age that has given her life experiences of human nature, which a younger woman might not have.
However, this was a well performed story and the soundscape was just right for the production, with nice background music and ambient sounds. It sounded really good with headphones. This dramatised version of The Murder at the Vicarage is well worth a listen, as it is a good murder mystery.
May 4, 2026
Perfect little mystery for a busy mom
I am partial to Agatha’s Poirot character but I did enjoy how short the characters were in this book and how if I only had a short period of time I could easily squeeze in a chapter or two and go using “my little grey cells” to try and figure out who done it. This particular book is actually very well done since you end up suspecting everyone in the village at one point or another (except for the vicar who you are seeing the story unfold through his eyes). Because there are so many suspects I found it hard to narrow down exactly who did it but it was satisfying to see who was involved in the end. I felt like it was a 4 star book instead of a 5 star because some books just give you that beautiful feeling that makes your soul sigh at the end of them. This one didn’t do that for me so even though it is written well I had to knock one star off since I have felt that sigh with some of Christie’s other books but for some reason not this one.
I am partial to Agatha’s Poirot character but I did enjoy how short the characters were in this book and how if I only had a short period of time I could easily squeeze in a chapter or two and go using “my little grey cells” to try and figure out who done it. This particular book is actually very well done since you end up suspecting everyone in the village at one point or another (except for the vicar who you are seeing the story unfold through his eyes). Because there are so many suspects I found it hard to narrow down exactly who did it but it was satisfying to see who was involved in the end. I felt like it was a 4 star book instead of a 5 star because some books just give you that beautiful feeling that makes your soul sigh at the end of them. This one didn’t do that for me so even though it is written well I had to knock one star off since I have felt that sigh with some of Christie’s other books but for some reason not this one.
February 20, 2023
I wanted to read Murder at the Vicarage because it is Agatha Christie's first Miss Marple book. After reading a bunch of Hercules Poirot mysteries, I enjoyed this one. The descriptions of a rural English country village and a focus on the "pussies" - the little old ladies nosing about everyone else's business was amusing. Christie's humor really struck me this time around. I was also struck by her quite conservative outlook and traditionalist POV, which I think comes through more strongly in this book than in the Hercules books. (Maybe because of her own closeness to the subject matter?) I won't bother going into more plot details, as plenty of info on that already available... Christie never fails to "wow" me, when at the end of the book, she throws off the curtains of the mystery and reveals ALL. :-)
September 4, 2026
Audiobook
Audible Original Full Cast Dramatisation
It's Agatha Christie so it's an automatic 5 stars from me. However. Sigh.
The good: I LOVED the production. The music and the performances (Toni and Kit were obviously fantastic, but the entire cast was splendid) were fantastic.
The pea in my mattress: I didn't love the actual adaptation. A lot of the story is told as flashbacks being shared by Miss Marple and the Vicar as they try to solve the mystery together. Obviously, more Kit Harrington is always a good thing, but something about the execution felt a bit clunky to me.
But. I'm also under a LOT of stress right now. Perhaps I'm finding fault where there is none. I reread (and listen) to Christie often (they're comfort reads for me) so I'm sure I'll revisit this at some point.
Audible Original Full Cast Dramatisation
It's Agatha Christie so it's an automatic 5 stars from me. However. Sigh.
The good: I LOVED the production. The music and the performances (Toni and Kit were obviously fantastic, but the entire cast was splendid) were fantastic.
The pea in my mattress: I didn't love the actual adaptation. A lot of the story is told as flashbacks being shared by Miss Marple and the Vicar as they try to solve the mystery together. Obviously, more Kit Harrington is always a good thing, but something about the execution felt a bit clunky to me.
But. I'm also under a LOT of stress right now. Perhaps I'm finding fault where there is none. I reread (and listen) to Christie often (they're comfort reads for me) so I'm sure I'll revisit this at some point.
March 22, 2026
I was quite astonished to find that Miss Marple had been a side character with few appearances.
I watched a few of the television shows in the past and perceived her to be a main character.
The novel was experienced through the eyes of the Vicar.
He's permitted by the inspector to attend investigations as a comfort to his flock.
Vicar Clement, along with several of the amateur sleuth gossips in the village, piece together the puzzle pieces of what really happened to Colonel Protheroe.
A neighbor, Miss Marple, witnessed the comings and goings of the vicarage from her garden.
With her keen eye for details and comparisons of human characteristics, she deciphered whodunit.
I watched a few of the television shows in the past and perceived her to be a main character.
The novel was experienced through the eyes of the Vicar.
He's permitted by the inspector to attend investigations as a comfort to his flock.
Vicar Clement, along with several of the amateur sleuth gossips in the village, piece together the puzzle pieces of what really happened to Colonel Protheroe.
A neighbor, Miss Marple, witnessed the comings and goings of the vicarage from her garden.
With her keen eye for details and comparisons of human characteristics, she deciphered whodunit.
July 7, 2026
What an exceptional fun-to-read Agatha Christie
Having viewed both adaptations for television of this book, and viewed each multiple times, finally I've read the original story as Christie wrote it. The book makes so much more sense than either of the television series. Christie was master of her time's vocabulary which makes reading a fun search for early 20th century British English meanings which we no longer use or have modified with different users. This is a true 5 ☆ Miss Marple and it is an early introduction of the smart spinster.
Having viewed both adaptations for television of this book, and viewed each multiple times, finally I've read the original story as Christie wrote it. The book makes so much more sense than either of the television series. Christie was master of her time's vocabulary which makes reading a fun search for early 20th century British English meanings which we no longer use or have modified with different users. This is a true 5 ☆ Miss Marple and it is an early introduction of the smart spinster.
September 30, 2026
Well this one was a mixed bag... But I don't mean the story... The story was stellar as always from the Queen Of Crime but it was the audio that fell a bit short in the sound department... The background score did not entirely remain in the background, hindering the listening experience enough times that I decided I'd rather read Agatha than listen!
The story was delightfully mysterious till the very end and the twist utterly unanticipated!
The story was delightfully mysterious till the very end and the twist utterly unanticipated!
October 1, 2026
I'm marking this Read at 92% because eh, good enough. Turns out I'm not a fan of "full cast" audiobooks, assuming they're all like this. The voice actors were great, but I found the weird music and background noises irritating and repetitive. I understand that it's supposed to feel immersive, but cool it with the twittering birds and clinking china. The actual novel is still a 5-star read, though.
December 28, 2021
Quick and simple read. It's a reduced version of the book, so lots of information are thrown into you to have less stuff to explain, making the reading little overwhelming. That doesn't make the reading less enjoying, since the urge to know the murderer hook you to the history. I might start reading Mrs Christie's books in the future
January 22, 2026
Christie at her best
Miss Marple is great fun as a character. Meanwhile, there are tons of clues and so many of them are red herrings, but when Marple explains her solution it does seems like the only one that works. I'm tempted to read it again and track everything that happens so I can confirm it!
Miss Marple is great fun as a character. Meanwhile, there are tons of clues and so many of them are red herrings, but when Marple explains her solution it does seems like the only one that works. I'm tempted to read it again and track everything that happens so I can confirm it!
August 18, 2026
I love the trope of the vicar solving crime + Miss Marple the most wonderful of amateur sleuths. They both assert that solving crime is all about caring about your community and I adore their compassion & empathy with a tricky puzzle of a situation.
This is a wonderful adaptation. I loved it. I hope all the Miss Marple books are going to be made this way!
This is a wonderful adaptation. I loved it. I hope all the Miss Marple books are going to be made this way!
October 7, 2026
Great cast but horrible audio mixing. I love the cast when I could actually hear them. The sound mixing was so awful there were moments. I could barely understand what the actors were saying. Most of the time they had a weird pointless echo on them and then other times the sound effects were so loud they drowned out the performance. Otherwise, this would’ve been an awesome audio play.
February 26, 2021
Listened to a dramatized version by BBC Radio through my podcast app. Miss Marple has always been my favourite Spinster. I'm not sure I'd like her as my neighbour though, with her super awareness of anything "somewhat peculiar".
July 1, 2023
Agatha's books have sold in the billions -- only the Bible and Shakespeare have out-sold her. "The Murder at the Vicarage" is a prime example of her being the Queen of Mystery Writers. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
September 27, 2024
This was my first Agatha Christie- yay! Vivid details and well formulated characters- awesome writing. Miss Marple is a witty and observant main character who "sees" things others do not.
This is the fist in teh series, and I shall be reading the others!
This is the fist in teh series, and I shall be reading the others!
August 29, 2026
I don't think the story works well as a multi-cast adaptation, where everything is essentially told via dialogue and sound effects. Everything has to be explicitly said aloud, with no room for many other literary methods.
September 1, 2026
Interesting adaptation, more like a radio show than anything else. Toni Collette has a too-young voice for Miss Marple, and La Voix´s voice is so recognisable that it is distracting. I enjoyed it but not as brilliant as hoped!
September 5, 2026
Fascinating.
My first Mrs. Marple mystery and I enjoyed it. Was left guessing who the killer was until the end. The cast of characters were entertaining and brought to life by the audio cast.
Well done.
My first Mrs. Marple mystery and I enjoyed it. Was left guessing who the killer was until the end. The cast of characters were entertaining and brought to life by the audio cast.
Well done.
March 25, 2023
I am officially a fan. Agathie Christie is addicting and I am hooked.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews