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The Body in the Library (Miss Marple, #2)

Agatha Christie

Start date: April 1, 2025

Finish date: April 30, 2025

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: The second Miss Marple novel
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* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
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* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) - SPOILER Thread
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What Members Thought

May 09, 2017 Abbey rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: myst-cosies, myst-set-andor-auth-uk, myst-fems-project, favorites, vintage, own, reviewed, series

Colonel Bantry has found the strangled body of an exotic blonde bombshell lying on his library hearth - and the neighbors are beginning to talk! When Miss Marple takes an interest, though, things begin to move along nicely, and its all far more convoluted - and sordid - than the genteel Bantrys could have imagined.

A curmudgeonly financier, his self-absorbed adult children, a couple of pragmatic and clever hotel workers, tons of money and influence, a wild local lad, some smitten girls, the film Colonel Bantry has found the strangled body of an exotic blonde bombshell lying on his library hearth - and the neighbors are beginning to talk! When Miss Marple takes an interest, though, things begin to move along nicely, and its all far more convoluted - and sordid - than the genteel Bantrys could have imagined.

A curmudgeonly financier, his self-absorbed adult children, a couple of pragmatic and clever hotel workers, tons of money and influence, a wild local lad, some smitten girls, the film business, mix into a classic Christie plot filled with twists, turns, and doublebacks galore. Plus the glorious settings of A Great House, a fancy Hotel, and an excessively genteel little village, and lets not forget Miss Marple...

This is one of those convoluted, twisted plots of hers, mixed with some really nice bits of psychologizing about the Bantry family and their place in local society, and of class consciousness in general, and although very moving in places it's generally approached with a light touch.

FILMED VERSION:
This was the first Marple filmed with Joan Hickson in the 1980s, and it was simply perfect, superb on all counts! Good to look at, excellent acting all around, paced a bit better than the book too, and then there's Ms Hickson. She was absolute perfection as Miss Marple despite not looking much like Christie's descriptions, but then, none of the actresses who have attempted the role has, and although Geraldine McEwan came closest in appearance (thin, bony) I found the dozen films she starred in during the early 2000s to be incredibly annoying, with enormous amounts of plot rewritten and Ms McEwan using "cutsy" mannerisms that only served to direct our attention to her. Quite annoying overall, and although the later Julia Mackenzie films were a bit better, the continual rewriting really bugged me.

Those two series were ok decent mysteries, just not much Christie left in 'em. The Hickson films were all excellent, true to the author, and I recommend them highly. Available to stream on BritBox. ...more

5 likes · Like · see review

May 03, 2015 Deborah rated it really liked it

Shelves: marple-challenge

Classic mystery. A perfect beach read.

Reread in 2017

3 likes · Like · see review

Nov 10, 2016 Bev rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: bought-2015, mount-tbr-2016, british-mystery, vintage-mystery, mystery, library-mystery

Colonel Arthur Bantry and his wife Dolly wake up one fine morning to discover their usually well-ordered house in disarray (or at least their household staff to be dismayed). Mary, their maid, on her usual morning rounds had opened the curtains in the library, letting the sunshine in to reveal the body of a blonde woman on the hearth rug. The Bantrys have a difficult time believing that they didn't just dream that Mary came in and announced she'd found a body, but Dolly finally convinces Arthur Colonel Arthur Bantry and his wife Dolly wake up one fine morning to discover their usually well-ordered house in disarray (or at least their household staff to be dismayed). Mary, their maid, on her usual morning rounds had opened the curtains in the library, letting the sunshine in to reveal the body of a blonde woman on the hearth rug. The Bantrys have a difficult time believing that they didn't just dream that Mary came in and announced she'd found a body, but Dolly finally convinces Arthur to go and see. And then when it's proved that there really is a body in the library, the first thing to be done after ringing up the police is to get Miss Marple over as soon as possible to begin sleuthing like mad. Dolly very naturally wants to play detective--after all it's her very first dead body--but she knows that she won't be able to make heads or tails of it. Jane Marple will take care of that and Dolly can play Watson to Miss Marple's Sherlock Holmes.

What I feel is that if one has got to have a murder actually happening in one's house, one might as well enjoy it, if you know what I mean. (Dolly Bantry)

Of course, it's not all just fun and games. Dolly is also very worried about how her husband will take the police scrutiny and she knows that the village gossips will be hard at work offering up theories before any official investigation begins. She's hoping that Miss Marple will have the crime solved before the tongues can begin wagging.

But it's not quite that easy to discover how a cheaply dressed dance hostess from the Majestic Hotel wound up on floor of the library at Gossington Hall. While there are no real connections to the Bantrys (other than the fact that Colonel Bantry had lunched at the Majestic just the week before), there are several leads that come to light during the course of Miss Marple's investigations--alongside those of the official police--Inspector Slack and Chief Constable Colonel Melchett. There is Basil Blake, a local young man with connections to the film industry. Blake has been the subject of local gossip due to his frequent parties and the platinum blonde who has been living with him. And he's been known to dance with Ruby Keene--was she making trouble for him with his own blonde?

It's also discovered that Ruby had insinuated herself into the lives of a wealthy family by making herself agreeable to the patriarch, Conway Jefferson. He had taken such a shine to the girl that he had decided to adopt her and add her to his will to the tune of 50,000 pounds. That didn't go down so very well with his son-in-law and daughter-in-law. Did they do away with a young woman they felt was a gold digger before she could get the gold? Then there's Ruby's cousin, Josie Turner. When Josie is called upon to identify the body and then visit Gossington Hall (so Slack can see if she recognizes Bantry), Miss Marple notices that she seems more angry with her cousin than sorrowful at her death. Did Ruby get mixed up with a young man and ruin her chances with Jefferson? Was Josie depending on a share of the winnings and do away with her cousin in a fit of anger? And what about the missing Girl Guide, Pamela Reeve? Miss Marple is convinced that she fits into the puzzle somewhere. It will take several parallels with village life and a cunning trap devised by Miss Marple to capture the villain.

Miss Marple is at her inquisitive best. She sips tea at the Majestic and listens to the suspects chatter away about poor Ruby. She goes round with her collection box to check in on Basil Blake. She's comfortably cozy to around, but shrewd as all get out when it comes to analyzing the crime. As she says about one of the suspects,

Yes, I do [like him]. Most women would. But he can't take me in. He's a very attractive person, I think.But a little unwise, perhaps, to talk as much as he does.

No, they can't take her in. And that's one of the things we like so much about Miss Marple. Most people think she's led such a sheltered life in St. Mary Mead, but her everyday experiences give her a view direct to the heart of the matter. An excellent vintage mystery that, like so many of Christie's words, takes what is now a standard of detective fiction (the body in the library) and gives it a merry twist. ★★★★ and a half.

First posted on my blog ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Dec 10, 2016 Janet rated it really liked it

Cozy, indeed... Clever, intricate, and funny as well.

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 27, 2017 Jennifer M rated it it was amazing

Shelves: z-read-2017, z-read-2023

I enjoyed this book. I was expecting Miss Marple to be in it a bit more, but i did enjoy it.

It was a little difficult keeping track of the different policemen for me, but I loved all of their quirks. The ending was great, and seeing who the culprit was was satisfying since I didn't like this character.
I can't really say much more without giving spoilers, and since I don't like spoilers I'll just say it's worth the read. ...more

1 like · Like · see review