Frances’s Comments (group member since Aug 21, 2017)

Frances’s comments from the Reading the Detectives group.

Jackie wrote: "Wow, I never thought to question Letitia's death but now that we know what her sister is capable of...

Susan in NC wrote

every time I read it, I pick up on yet another twist in the plot

We kn..."

It says in the book that Letitia died of the 'flu, which is quite plausible for the time. Also, I don't think Charlotte would have killed her sister then-Letitia was due to come into a large fortune and would clearly share with Charlotte and leave it to her should she predecease her. Also, this all began as a simple deception to keep Letitia's place in the queue for the money, there was no question of murder until much later.

I'm also not so put off by the Philippa/Edmund match-Philippa would have been cool to him when she thought her husband was still alive somewhere, but would certainly be of an age to wish to marry again, and in those years people mostly fell in love with someone close at hand-the opportunities for her, as a single mother, to meet eligible bachelors was probably pretty limited.

Like others, I very much enjoyed my reread as I love looking for the clues and red-herrings too!

I finally got my copy from the library so I am joining somewhat late and currently only about 1/5 in. As I started I couldn't remember "whodunnit" even though I'd read and watched it before, but there was a "clue" fairly early on which reminded me of the whole plot and solution-Christie is so clever how she does that! Always fun to reread and spot those clues sprinkled along the way.

I have one quibble with the opening post-Miss Marple is not introduced until later-she hasn't appeared yet and I'm at page 60 in my paperback. On page 41, Sir Henry Clithering, ex-Commissioner of Scotland Yard who is consulting on the case, says Lord, I wish I had my own particular Old Pussy here. Wouldn't she like to get her nice ladylike teeth into this. Right up her street it would be...She's just the finest detective God ever made. Natural genius cultivated in a suitable soil...remember that an elderly unmarried woman who knits and gardens is streets ahead of any detective sergeant. She can tell you what might have happened and what ought to have happened and even what actually did happen! And she can tell you why it happened!

So that is our introduction to Miss Jane Marple in this book, even before she appears.

I am so glad-I've really enjoyed the chance to revisit old favourites in order of publication to see how the characters develop (even if there is no overarching story arc for the detectives as occurs in so many other series).

I really like them both, so I don't fit the theory. I suppose there is the contrast between Poirot, a complete outsider with a somewhat peculiar demeanour and behaviour, who is completely confident in his infallibility and says so, and Miss Marple, who is the epitome of an elderly English Gentlewoman, blends in so perfectly that people often don't notice her, behaves exactly as we expect an elderly Englishwoman of a certain class to behave, and is, at least verbally, very diffident and self-effacing. It's actually quite striking how Christie developed two such different characters to feature.

Sandy wrote: "In the Lonesome Road spoiler thread there is a discussion on the potential of a happy marriage between two characters. That reminded me that I had doubts about the Katherine and Derek pairing. Mayb..."

I am just hoping that as he is not marrying for money any more, having inherited all the fortune he needs, that he is in fact following his heart. His first marriage was clearly one where I think both parties married for gain-Derek for money, Ruth for a title-and Ruth arrived in love with someone else. Perhaps this fresh start-and realizing just how awful other potential parties could be-a murderous jewel thief and a gold-digging dancer ready to have him put in jail-will help both Derek and Katherine realize all the good things they have with each other (and a lot of money, titles, and a stately home surely can't hurt their happiness together!)

Judy wrote:Another problem for me is that with Wentworth, unlike Christie, it seems as if true lovers can always be ruled out as suspects (in the books of hers I've read so far, anyway, although most of those were non-Miss Silver Dean Street Press freebies!) So, once Rachel falls for Gale, we know it can't be him, it also can't be Richard or Caroline, and that doesn't leave many suspects!

For those of you who have just read The Mystery of the Blue Train (view spoiler)[ having Knighton so clearly in love with Katherine, and seeming the more sympathetic and suitable of her suitors, it was quite the blow to have him turn out to be one of the killers. But then that's Christie for you! (hide spoiler)]

I just watched the Suchet adaptation of this one and was hugely disappointed! So much of the plot was changed, they completely left out the SMM spinsters (whom I adored), they introduced a whole new plot line for Mr Van Aldin and Mirelle, made Derek Kettering in love with his wife (and therefore not in love with Katherine) and made out that perhaps Katherine was the intended victim, and did a painful "gathering of all the suspects so they could all be accused in turn" denouement. I thought this would have been a wonderfully adaptable Christie plot just as it was, and can't understand why they made so many changes.

I'm pretty sure I've read this fairly recently but will probably try to reread at some point this month.

I really enjoyed this one, even on a second reading. I love a good train setting, and I liked Katherine Grey immensely and was completely taken in by Knighton (again!)-he seemed (or was made to seem) a much better prospect for Katherine than the womanizing Derek Kettering. I do like how Christie has even her killers falling in love!

I really liked her spinsters in St Mary Mead-the one was wonderful in leaving all her money to her companion and away from her nasty relatives, the second was quite funny in her rather rude but obviously full-of-affection letters and speeches to Katherine, and her description of Knighton looking like a sheep was great.

I agree, it was an overly complicated plot, but I do love a good jewel robbery and a money-grubbing exotic dancer with a temperament and a heavy accent! I'm still not sure where the real rubies ended up, but I loved all the disguises and how Katherine was transformed by an excellent wardrobe. I do hope she and Derek are able to make a go of it and that he is in fact stabilized by the love of (and the loving of) a good woman.

Sandy wrote: "Another trope: hire a detective and then ignore his advice.."

Agreed-Rachel was increasingly and obviously foolish in her choices around who to trust.

However far more annoying to me was the absolute wet blanket that was Caroline-a more whimpering, simpering, snivelling baby of a young woman is hard to imagine. (Sandy you're too charitable to just point out she lacked common sense-she lacked a spine!) Also, not to realize that Cosmo was blackmailing her himself suggests she lacked a brain as well.

Judy-I agree about the servant-I'm assuming Gale will be doing a decent clear out of the various hangers-on and I suspect he'll at minimum make some changes in Louisa's demeanour and what she can get away with if she stays. I also agree with Sandy that Gale was one of the few likeable characters in the whole thing.

Anyway, overall I did enjoy this and would read other Miss Silver's if I didn't have way to many series on the go at present!

I just finished this and quite enjoyed it-I will head over to the spoiler thread now.

I will be joining this read once my copy comes in from the library.

I'm about a third of the way in and enjoying this, although I fail to understand the "kind wealthy person who allows their incredibly annoying and demanding family to sponge off them endlessly" trope-I'd just kick them all out within the first month, but I guess that would be the end of a host of mysteries! (Not to be confused with the "nasty wealthy person who allows their incredibly annoying and demanding family to sponge off them endlessly" trope!)

Along with Lucy's silence were also her musings about prison being safer for her-not only locking her in but also locking danger out. What was that danger?

Susan wrote: " A gallery in the middle of nowhere. Even the cruise ship don't run trips there.."

In fact there are cruise ships that go to Shetland-their arrival expands the population of Lerwick quite significantly, and as beddista (though fictional) is on the mainland presumably someone could get a taxi out there.

I was in Shetland on a small group tour (there were 13 of us) a couple of years ago and most of the people there-a mix of Americans, Canadians, and Brits I believe-were there because of the "Shetland" show (and one woman was there for the knitting!).

I'd held off on writing here as I finished this one early and honestly couldn't remember enough to comment, but agree with comments above that I would have liked to learn more about Lucy's silence, and also that the whole Africa component of the story seemed underdeveloped. What is going on with the missing prince, the role of Lucy's father seemed overly vague, and I struggled to get a good sense of what was going on in the company. Good catch about Crosby and the au pair-yes that did seem like a flirtation!

Is there any thought that Miss Marple was supposed to die at the end of the book, the way she wrote one in which Poirot dies but held off on publishing it, so that no one could continue writing about him? Otherwise it does seem odd that she held off on publishing this one or so long.

Can I ask how we ended up doing this one at this point in the challenge? Goodreads lists it as the 12th Marple, as does my William Morrow edition, and it appears to have been published in 1976. I'm very happy to have read this one, but wondered if there was some disagreement about the publishing or writing order.

I really enjoyed this one, and as it was a reread (or at least I'd seen the Hickson version) I loved watching Christie lay out the clues. When MM says at the end that she never believes anything anyone says, it really clicked, as reading this time made me see all the ways that Kennedy was able to twist things to his advantage-all the "information" he was able to give them-and the forged handwriting sample-and also how he was able to manipulate Helen and her husband in the first place.

Christie really does Psychology well-the whole idea of featuring a brother who is a fine upstanding community pillar having obsessive and likely borderline incestuous thoughts about his much younger sister was probably somewhat forward for the time.

I realized that I have also read this one, and as I have several other things to read this month I'll be skipping this one, though may pop by to check out comments. I am gong to join for the rest of the Shetland series however.