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Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple, #1)

Agatha Christie

Start date: January 1, 2017

Finish date: January 31, 2017

Discussion: Group Challenges

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* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
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What Members Thought

Dec 20, 2016 Susan rated it it was amazing

This first Miss Marple mystery is deceptively gentle, with much of the story narrated by the mild mannered vicar. When he returns to the vicarage to find the body of Colonel Protheroe shot in his study, the vicar becomes involved in the murder investigation, aided by his neighbour Miss Marple. There is a wonderful list of suspects, motives and false trails along the way, until Jane Marple untangles the threads and makes everything clear.

Not only is this a masterfully plotted story, but it introd ...more

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Dec 20, 2016 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Revisit. Miss Marple’s first outing and my first read for a Miss Marple Challenge in 2017. Miss Marple shares with Poirot that when you look at either of them (an old ‘fluffy’ lady in a little English village or a perhaps deliberately, funny looking ‘furriner’), one wouldn’t think them detectives. But her sharp observation skills and vast knowledge of human nature ensure that she has the right answer every time, be the crime small or as grave as a murder. This one sees the less than well liked c ...more

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Apr 14, 2018 Kavita rated it it was amazing

Shelves: uk, mystery, jazz-age, golden-age-mystery

The first appearance of Miss Marple is in Murder at the Vicarage and the old lady has not had enough experience and hence lacks the confidence. The narrator is the vicar, which works very well for this book and gave it a bit of a Roger Ackroyd feel. I think this is perhaps one of the best Marple books in the series, even though her involvement is not so intense. But she is the one who solves the mystery that stumps the good inspector!

The vicar is called away on a wild goose chase and when he ret ...more

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Jun 16, 2017 Anissa rated it really liked it

Shelves: british-fiction-uk-ireland, series, 2017, cozy-mystery

I have long been a Christie fan and Miss Jane Marple fan but recently realized that I had never read the one that began it all. A terrible error that needed to be corrected and now I have. I particularly liked that it wasn't told from Jane's POV so the reader is introduced to her through the lens of the narrator & others when not in her presence. I very much enjoyed it and definitely recommend it. ...more

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Oct 12, 2015 Ellen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mystery-sleuth, my-favorites, mystery-cozy, christie, miss-marple

Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie.

The Vicar, Mr. Clement, has his hands full with Colonel Protheroe having been murdered at the Vicarage. The list of suspects has no end since the colonel had hardly a single friend amongst the towns people. Then enters Miss Marple in her very first appearance.

This story had a slow start buy kept me riveted to each passing page. Miss Marple was mostly in the background until the end which I found splendiferous!

7 likes · Like · see review

Feb 15, 2019 Jazzy Lemon rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, british-authors

In which we first meet the legendary Miss Marple.

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Jan 04, 2017 Damaskcat rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: miss-marple

The idyllic village of St Mary Mead is the setting for this classic murder mystery. Colonel Protheroe is found shot dead in the vicar's study much to the incumbent's distress and embarrassment. Fortunately the vicar's next door neighbour is Miss Marple, that ever inquisitive spinster who sees everything and understands human nature better than most.

There are plenty of suspects in this well constructed story. Half the village, including the vicar, has at one time or another wished the victim out ...more

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Mar 04, 2018 Pranit rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, miss-marple

My first Miss Marple story. I was pushing this series since a very long time. It just amazes me how one person can write so many novels & short stories yet make it difficult to figure the real murderer all the time! A wonderful characterisation by the Queen of crime. I’m going to read more of this series. Set in a very different place, Miss Marple isn’t your everyday detective. She uses her personal touch & old age to the best of her advantage to solve the crime.

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