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.