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| The Body in the Library: A Miss Marple Mystery | 
| Author: Agatha Christie
Publisher: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers
Category: Book
List Price: $12.00
Buy New: $2.85
You Save: $9.15 (76%)
New (31) from $2.85
Avg. Customer Rating:  52 reviews
Sales Rank: 148268
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 8.3 x 5.8 x 0.9
ISBN: 157912626X
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9781579126261
ASIN: 157912626X
Publication Date: September 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Christie's "other" detective September 1, 2007
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
After reading a number of Hercule Poirot novels, I decided to give Agatha Christie's other famous detective a try. Enter Miss Jane Marple in The Body in the Library. When a married couple wake up one morning to find a dead girl in their library, they call Miss Marple to help them clear up the mystery. It seems that no one even knows who the poor girl is, let alone how or why her body got into the house. Working in her own somewhat eccentric style, she sets out to find the murderer. In typical Christie fashion, we start to assemble a motley array of suspects for Marple to talk to until she unravels the mystery.
One thing you definitely have to give Christie credit for is that Miss Marple is no female knockoff of Poirot. She is an old Spinster who seems to be able to immediately predict anyone's behavior by comparing them to various people who live in her village. Once she matches the stranger with the correct villager, she seemingly knows everything they are capable of. Frankly, I found this to be pretty unrealistic and even irritating by the time I was halfway through the book. It's all so pat and simplistic that it's pretty ridiculous. I do think the overall tone is meant to be tongue-in-cheek but I can't say it worked for me. Compared to Poirot, Sherlock Holmes, Nero Wolfe, and nearly every detective series I've tried, this one just didn't interest me enough to want to read a second Miss Marple novel. Don't get me wrong, it's far from the worst mystery novel I've read, it just wasn't particularly good either. I would only recommend it to those who are already confirmed Marple fans.
 "a wildly improbable and highly sensational body" June 5, 2007
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
In the author's foreword to The Body in the Library Christie writes: "I laid down for myself certain conditions. The library in question must be a highly orthodox and conventional library. The body, on the other hand, must be a wildly improbably and highly sensational body."
Christie kept to her conditions, and the results were very nice indeed. Whenever I read a Miss Marple book that I really like, I say that "this is my favorite Miss Marple". But I really think that The Body in the Library may well be my actual favorite Miss Marple. I have read that Christie herself thought that it was the best opening she ever wrote.
What makes it a favorite? The contrasts between a flashy dead girl and the house in which she clearly does not belong are a part of it. It allows for a very nice exploration of life in St. Mary Mead. The characters are also top notch. The Bantrys are warm and funny, but still have their own depth. Conway Jefferson, permanently in mourning, is one of the most interesting characters in the Christie body of work. Still very nice to read after all these years.
Grows on you--love Mrs. Bantry; a great character February 21, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Great stuff. Dolly just grows on you....
 Timeless Mystery January 3, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
The well-ordered world of Colonel and Mrs. Bantry is turned on its ear one morning when the body of a young woman is found in their library. Neither the Bantrys nor their staff knew the young woman, Ruby Keene, a dance hostess at the nearby Majestic Hotel. Fearing what the whispers in the village will do to her husband's reputation, Dolly Bantry calls her friend and sleuth, Miss Jane Marple. She and Miss Marple check in to the Majestic Hotel and begin investigating. They meet Conway Jefferson, an old man who had been planning to adopt the victim, and his young in-laws, all survivors of an accident that killed Jefferson's children. Ruby's cousin Josie also works at the hotel, having gotten Ruby the job when she hurt her ankle. Additional suspects are the too-handsome dance instructor, a poorly-spoken young guest of the hotel, and a neighbor of the Bantrys who throws too many film industry parties his neighbors do not approve of. In the end, Miss Marple has the whole thing figured out well in advance of the police, who fall for an obvious red herring before she straightens them out.
Christie writes with typical British wit and humor, wry observations appearing here and there, such as a reference to a woman who regularly ministered to the poor, no matter how hard they tried to avoid her. Miss Marple's character is smarter than everyone else, but not in the least arrogant about it, finding effusive praise somewhat trying and deflecting any boastful claims about her abilities.
An enjoyable read, I recommend this book for a quiet afternoon or evening when it can suck you right into polite English country society and amuse with its light sense of humor. It's easy to see why Christie's books have such timeless appeal.
Agatha Christie is the master July 10, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book had so many red herrings, I couldn't believe it. Agatha Christie proves once again why she's the Queen of Mystery. This one kept me gussing right up until the end. Clever, well-written mystery, multiple suspects, multiple motives...what more can you ask for?
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