Customer Reviews: Read 18 more reviews...
 WILL SOMEONE LET THE WOMAN SPEAK? May 20, 2008
What "improvements" have been made for the Signet edition? There are already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins (THE MIRROR CRACK'D FROM SIDE TO SIDE) and Dodd Mead editions of this novel. There are further differences between the Dodd Mead editions republished by Random House/Avenel and the Dodd Mead editions republished by Simon & Shuster/Pocket. There are further additions still in the Bantam, Berkley, and Black Dog & Leventhal editions. For every publishing house putting out her works, there seem to be a new batch of editors altering Agatha Christie's words and the sound of her voice. What's the matter with these publishers? Whose voice do they think we want to hear when we sit down to a novel by Agatha Christie? And what will she sound like twenty years from now? It's frightening that her estate has failed to see the importance of guarding her words as she wrote them. Please tell me I'm not the only one here who senses that a crime has been committed.
 I had to force myself to finish it. March 15, 2008
Slow reading, boring plot, too much beating around the bush and not enough action, too much talk too little action, boring, boring, boring... basically, this book isn't worth it unless you get it used.
Piecing Together the Shards September 1, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
As Miss Marple has always said, small villages allow one to observe all the possible sides of human nature. Such is the case in Miss Marple's small village of St. Mary Mead, when film star Marina Gregg and her husband buy an old mansion, hoping for a peaceful life. Yet when a poisioning occurs during a party at the mansion, all thoughts of a peaceful life are shattered.
Miss Marple herself is wishing for a more peaceful life, recovering from and illness and disliking the woman who has been sent to live with her. She soon becomes embroiled in the mysteries surrounding Marina Gregg, who is certain that the poison was meant for her. When more deaths occur among those who live in the mansion, Marina is desperate to leave, but must allow the police to carry out their investigation. But of course, Miss Marple makes the most of her idle time to research and piece together the reason why that first death had to occur, and finds the murderer in their midst.
"The Mirror Crack'd", which makes much of Tennyson's poem "The Lady of Shalott", is as quick-paced as all of Christie's mysteries. The wide cast of characters, with storylines that may seem superfluous at the beginning, all contribute to the mystery at hand. As usual, the twist of an ending that seems to be Christie's forte, is fitting and believable.
One of My Favorites by Agatha Christie March 10, 2006
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
My 4 Very Favorites of Agatha Christie are
1) Death on the Nile
2) The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
3) Ten Little Indians/ And then there Were None
4) The Body in the Library
I read this book several years ago and remember the plot vividly, as though it was read yesterday.
This book kept me hooked from the back cover to the first chapter to even after the book had ended.
I was quite sad, though, to find Colonel Bantry, one of the characters from "The Body in the Library," dead.
Vintage Miss Marple September 22, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
THE MIRROR CRACK'D finds the quaint village of St. Mary Mead undergoing changes. Besides the charming old village, there is now a supermarket and a modern neighborhood of tract homes. Despite the physical changes taking place in the area, however, human nature remains a constant.
Having taken up residence in the local manor house, movie star Marina Gregg hosts a cocktail party. When one of the neighbor ladies suddenly dies from poison, it appears the fatal concoction might have been meant for Marina.
Aside from Sherlock Holmes, Miss Marple is probably my favorite fictional detective. Her quiet way of getting at the truth is always clever and insightful. She's a delightful character, and Christie can be relied on to create a fascinating plot. Despite the seemingly unconnected details, the clues are there if you can just decipher what they mean. The outcome always ties up the loose ends very satisfactorily.
If there's anything to criticize here, it's that our dear old Miss Marple has become so decrepit that she must have a somewhat annoying companion and, since she rarely gets out of her house, her actual presence in the story is more limited than usual. Christie relys on other characters for most of the legwork in this tale and they aren't quite as engaging as Jane Marple. We just don't get the usual clicking knitting needles to the extent that Miss Marple fans have become accustomed.
That minor criticism aside, this is another first-rate Christie whodunit. It isn't my favorite Miss Marple mystery, but it's pretty darn good just the same. If an entertaining muder mystery is what you seek, THE MIRROR CRACK'D will fill the bill. I recommend it highly.
|
