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"Bodies are always being found in libraries in books. I've never known a case in real life."
The strangled corpse of a young blonde woman is found on the floor of the very respectable Mr. and Mrs. Bantry's library. They've never seen her before in their lives.
Mrs. Bantry promptly asks her friend Mrs. Marple to come over. Mrs. Marple says she's happy to provide what comfort she can. Mrs. Bantry replies, "I don't want comfort. But you're so good at bodies."
This book was enjoyable and a very good fair-play puzzle, but only sometimes hit the delightful fun of Murder at the Vicarage. (My favorite parts were the glee with which Mrs. Bantry approaches the bizarre murder early on, and the truly unexpected secret attached to the young man who recently moved to town and annoyed everyone by partying hard and carousing with blondes.)
The hard-partying dissolute young man is a surprise woobie SECRET HERO whose HEALTH WAS SHATTERED rescuing FOUR CHILDREN AND A DOG from a burning house! The sleazy blonde with whom he's living in sin is actually his perfectly nice wife! They're SECRETLY MARRIED because they're so annoyed the judgmental folks of St. Mary's Mead caring so much whether they are or aren't!
I correctly guessed that the bodies had been switched. I started wondering about that the moment they mentioned the missing girl guide, and because the hair/makeup were so distinctive that I thought it might make people only see that. But I thought Josie identified the corpse as Ruby by accident, because she was strangled and Josie just recognized her hair, clothes, and makeup, not that she did it on purpose.
I really liked the reason for the bizarre incongruity of an unknown body being dumped in the least likely house: the body had originally been dumped in a much more likely house to frame its owner. Only he found it early and, due to being both panicked and drunk, dumped it in someone else's house!
Christie scale: MEDIUM levels of CLASSISM and RACISM.
The strangled corpse of a young blonde woman is found on the floor of the very respectable Mr. and Mrs. Bantry's library. They've never seen her before in their lives.
Mrs. Bantry promptly asks her friend Mrs. Marple to come over. Mrs. Marple says she's happy to provide what comfort she can. Mrs. Bantry replies, "I don't want comfort. But you're so good at bodies."
This book was enjoyable and a very good fair-play puzzle, but only sometimes hit the delightful fun of Murder at the Vicarage. (My favorite parts were the glee with which Mrs. Bantry approaches the bizarre murder early on, and the truly unexpected secret attached to the young man who recently moved to town and annoyed everyone by partying hard and carousing with blondes.)
The hard-partying dissolute young man is a surprise woobie SECRET HERO whose HEALTH WAS SHATTERED rescuing FOUR CHILDREN AND A DOG from a burning house! The sleazy blonde with whom he's living in sin is actually his perfectly nice wife! They're SECRETLY MARRIED because they're so annoyed the judgmental folks of St. Mary's Mead caring so much whether they are or aren't!
I correctly guessed that the bodies had been switched. I started wondering about that the moment they mentioned the missing girl guide, and because the hair/makeup were so distinctive that I thought it might make people only see that. But I thought Josie identified the corpse as Ruby by accident, because she was strangled and Josie just recognized her hair, clothes, and makeup, not that she did it on purpose.
I really liked the reason for the bizarre incongruity of an unknown body being dumped in the least likely house: the body had originally been dumped in a much more likely house to frame its owner. Only he found it early and, due to being both panicked and drunk, dumped it in someone else's house!
Christie scale: MEDIUM levels of CLASSISM and RACISM.
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