More Miss Marple

May has become Miss Marple Month. Books 54 and 55 were also Miss Marple mysteries.

#54, the Murder at the Vicarage, is Miss Marple's first case. In this novel readers are introduced to Miss Marple, the village of Saint Mary Mead, and some recurring characters such as Doctor Haydock, Miss Marple's nephew Raymond West, and Chief Constable Melchett. Over time, Agatha Christie's portrayal of Miss Marple changed. She is always an octogenarian old pussy, but in The Murder at the Vicarage, Miss Marple is portrayed as an old cat--a gossip who thinks the worst of people, and isn't particularly well-liked. In later novels, Miss Marple is not catty, and although she knows a great deal about the goings-on in the village of Saint Mary Mead, she is well-liked and respected.

One evening, Colonel Protheroe, the town Magistrate, is found stabbed in the vicar's study.  Miss Marple says she can think of at least seven people who could have killed Colonel Protheroe. First, local artist Lawrence Redding claims to have murdered him. Lawrence was having an affair with Mrs. Protheroe. Then Mrs. Protheroe confesses to the murder in order to exonerate Lawrence. Suspicion also falls on the vicar, who was overheard to have wished Colonel Protheroe dead. One of Miss Marple's hunches was correct.

#55 What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw: The week before Christmas Mrs. McGillicuddy has gone to London to complete her holiday shopping. On the 4:50 to Paddington (4:50 to Paddington is an alternate title) Mrs. McGillicuddy wakes from a nap and as the train slows down, she glimpses a man strangling a woman on another train. She duly reports what she saw to a conductor, who is skeptical. She then tells her friend Miss Marple what she saw and Miss Marple shares the story with the police. The police find nothing.

Miss Marple believes her friend and so she takes matters into her own hands. She hires Lucy Eyelesbarrow, an Oxford-educated upstairs-downstairs maid and domestic wonder to look for the body. By looking at railway maps and riding the 4:50 from Paddington herself, Miss Marple determines the most likely place for the body to have been dumped. Lucy secures a position in the Crackenthorpe household and begins her search for a body. The original body as well as two more turn up before Miss Marple is able to solve the case.

#53 Nemesis

Nemesis is another Miss Marple mystery. Miss Marple receives a letter from Mr. Rafiel's solicitors following his death. Mr. Rafiel was a wealth financier who helped Miss Marple solve the murders in A Caribbean Mystery. The solicitors explain that Mr. Rafiel has asked Miss Marple to act as Nemesis and to seek justice on his behalf. Should she succeed, she will receive 20,000 pounds. Miss Marple accepts the challenge and the wheels are set in motion. First, she is instructed to go on a Home and Garden Tour (all expenses paid by Mr. Rafiel). On the tour, various people who were acquaintances of Mr. Rafiel seek her out and divulge information. Miss Marple has to figure our what crime she is supposed to be avenging and who she can and cannot trust.

Of course Miss Marple succeeds and is awarded her 20,000 pounds.

Apparently, I have three copies of this novel: the above hardback, a paperback, and the third copy is part of a collection of 5 Miss Marple mysteries.

Remembered Death and A Caribbean Mystery

Books 51 and 52 are both by Agatha Christie and since I finished one yesterday and the other today, I decided to do one post.

Remembered Death/Sparkling Cyanide:

At Rosemary Barton's birthday, her guests saw her drink champagne and then collapse. The verdict was suicide, she has been depressed following a bout of the flu. Six months later, her husband George received an anonymous letter that said his wife had been murdered. Questions were asked and the invitees began to remember things. But someone remembered one thing too many and the murderer struck again.

• George Barton: Rosemary's devoted husband
• Iris: Rosemary's younger sister. Penniless while Rosemary was alive, she inherited Rosemary's fortune.
• Stephen Farraday: a rising member of Parliament. He had an affair with Rosemary. Public knowledge of the affair would be disastrous for his career.
• Lady Alexandra Farraday: Stephen's wife. She may or may not have been aware of his affair with Rosemary.
• Anthony Browne: A shifty American who deals in armaments. He also had an affair with Rosemary.
• Ruth Lessing: George Barton's secretary. She loves her boss and without Rosemary in the picture, she could make a fine wife for him.
• Lucilla Drake: a distant relative of Rosemary and Iris. She looked after the girls following their parents' deaths. Believes everything her son, Victor says. 
• Victor Drake: a good-for-nothing scoundrel who frequently wires his mother for money.

A Caribbean Mystery:

Miss Marple is enjoying a holiday in the Caribbean courtesy of her nephew and his wife. While, there, Miss Marple listens to Major Palgrave's endless stories about his travels and former exploits. Major Palgrave claims to know of a  murderer, and what's more, he has a photograph of this person (the photograph was given to him by a friend). That night Major Palgrave dies. At first, his death is attributed to high blood pressure and too much alcohol. But Miss Marple has her doubts and further investigations prove that he was murdered. Several people had heard Major Palgrave tell this story about a murderer, and no one is safe until the murderer is caught.

I don't like the cover of my English version, but I do like the cover my French version (The Major Talked Too Much).

Book 50: Closed Casket

Closed Casket : The New Hercule Poirot Mystery by Sophie Hannah

As I've mentioned before, Agatha Christie is my favorite author and Poirot is my favorite detective of hers. I was hesitant to read Hannah's newest Poirot adventure and was convinced I wouldn't like it. I did enjoy the story (I read the entire thing in one day), but not as a Hercule mystery. While there were elements common to Christie's novels, I felt they were underdeveloped and/or completely random.

Lady Athelinda Playford is a famous novelist of the Shrimp Seddon mysteries for children. (This was reminiscent of Ariadne Oliver). Lady Playford invites Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard and Hercule Poirot to stay at her country estate, Lillieoak, County Cork Ireland. Prior to their arrival, Lady Playford meets with Micheal Gathercole, her solicitor, and asks him to rewrite her will. Lady Playford's new will leaves everything to her secretary, Mr. Joseph Scotcher who is terminally ill with Bright's disease. Left out of her will are her two children, Viscount Harry and his wife Viscountess Dorothy, and her daughter Claudia and her fiancee Dr. Randall Kimpton.

Lady Playford announces her revised will during dinner. As expected, the information isn't received well. Her children are shocked, as is Joseph Scotcher. That night someone is murdered. The incompetent Irish Inspector begrudgingly agrees to let Poirot and Catchpool assist with the investigation. Poirot uses his little grey cells, takes a trip to England to gather information, and finally gathers everyone together to unmask the murderer.

One of the things I love about Poirot is his sense of self-importance and his lack of modesty. In Closed Casket, I found Poirot rather subdued. I honestly think Poirot could have been replaced with a differently named private investigator and the story would have been fine.

A Paris Apartment

Book 49: A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable

April Vogt, a Continental Furniture Specialist at Sothebys, is sent to Paris to inventory the contents of a Parisian apartment that has been sealed for 70 years, since 1939.

The apartment once belonged to Marthe de Florian, a demimondaine of the Belle Epoque. Marthe's treasures are numerous, but the most shocking of all is a previously unknown portrait by the artist Boldini. April also discovers Marthe's journals which provide provenance for the items in the apartment, but also help her discover who Marthe was. Or who she appeared to be.

Marthe's journals help April discover things about herself. April has left a cheating husband in New York , (whether temporarily or permanently she has yet to decide), a family crisis that has been brewing for decades, and her less-than satisfying career in New York. As her personal life reaches a tipping point, April is tempted by wine, pastries, and the handsome solicitor who works on behalf of Marthe's heir.

Will the auction give Marthe the glory she so desperately sought and allow April to find her happy ending?

I found both Marthe's and April's stories compelling. April uses the journals as a way to escape her present-day problems and the two narratives are interspersed.


This novel is based on true events. See here for a look at Marthe de Florian's apartment:

http://shareably.net/art-found-in-paris-apartment-that-
was-vacant-since-1939/

Marthe's portrait by Giovanni Boldini