is Agatha Christie’s first mystery to feature the beloved investigator Miss Marple—as a dead body in a clergyman’s study proves to the indomitable sleuth that no place, holy or otherwise, is a sanctuary from homicide.
Miss Marple encounters a compelling murder mystery in the sleepy little village of St. Mary Mead, where under the seemingly peaceful exterior of an English country village lurks intrigue, guilt, deception and death.Colonel Protheroe, local magistrate and overbearing land-owner is the most detested man in the village. Everyone--even in the vicar--wishes he were dead. And very soon he is--shot in the head in the vicar's own study. Faced with a surfeit of suspects, only the inscrutable Miss Marple can unravel the tangled web of clues that will lead to the unmasking of the killer.
Customer Reviews
Rating Breakdown
★★★★★
60%
(4.9K)
★★★★
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★★★
15%
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★★
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Most Helpful Reviews
★★★★★
4.0
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Murder in the Vicar's home - delightful
A solid 4.5 stars for Murder at the Vicarage, the first novel in the Miss Marple cozy mystery series, written by Agatha Christie in 1930. I've read ~ten novels by Christie and this one is near the top of the list for me. From the characters to the setting and the plot to the tone, it's an intriguing and immersive read. It started out a bit slow for me as the scene was being set, but once the murder happened, it took off in quick force. I can happily say that I had 2 potential guesses as the culprit(s), and I was correct (which doesn't always happen). I also knew there was way too much reference to 'time on clocks' for it not to be important; someone messed with the spinning needles to change the appearance of when the murder happened. But only by minutes... and you'll never guess how important it was!
For many, this will be too on-the-nose or over-simplified when it comes to the layout at approach of Miss Marple's investigation. Though she's responsible for solving it, she's not the main character. The vicar tells us the story of what happened to the deceased, and he interacts with the detectives investigating the crime. Another priest is murdered, but he's not very well liked, so it's okay, right? Some think so... but not all the 'little old biddies' (how the book refers to them) are in agreement. The gossip is out of control in this book, but I adored it for what it was -- a clever plot technique to reveal clues and keep us guessing. Add in the very peculiar marriages between the different priests and their wives, and it's baffling what life was like a century ago. But I'd give nearly anything to be part of it.
What appeals to me most in these Marple novels is how she drops a few thoughts, then scatters around. She leaves mysterious notes for someone to come see her, then won't reveal everything she's thinking. She teases us. But it's as much fun as it is frustrating. She knows, but she's not 100% certain how... so she won't say it all at once until she's got every nasty little detail ferreted out.
The poor vicar suffers in this one as the murder happens in his house -- everyone is up in his business. We know it can't be him or his wife, but wow do they look suspicious. Add in the side-stories and you've got one easy read. It just makes me smile to absorb these quaint settings and stories. I think even though this is the last in my April Agatha Christie Readathon, I am going to keep reading one a month this year.
17 people found this helpful
★★★★★
4.0
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It kept me guessing until the end
It's hard to know where to begin...I've read several Hercule Poirot mysteries but this is my first Miss Marple book. I've watched a few of her movies but cant say I remember much about them. There is quite a cast of characters, which also means there were plenty of suspects. There were lots of subtle clues that kept making me change my mind, again and again, as to who the killer was. There were also a few side mysteries, unrelated to the murder, but their clues and people were getting mixed in with the confusion of the murder case.
The story is told from the perspective of the town Vicar, at whose home the murder took place. Elderly spinster Jane Marple lives next door to the vicarage. At first, Miss Marple is not around very much but as the case progresses, she pops up more and more. She really is mostly a background character, which surprised me. I'm interested to read more books to see if that's how they all are.
Anyway, this was a great mystery and I can't wait to read more Marple!
17 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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Bravo!!!
Miss Marple, as always, quite politely whilst tending her garden and enjoying high tea, runs circles mentally around all the detectives trying to solve the murder. She enjoys her hobby of studying human behaviors.
Agatha Christie will always be one of the finest mystery novels that we have the pleasure of reading. I especially like her books for their lack of profanity, sexual exploits, and gruesome scenes. Mrs. Christie reminds us that you don't have to resort to any of those things to have a book that keeps you up all night!!!
I was in middle/junior high school when I first read all of her novels and fell in love with her style of writing. Now almost 30 years later, a grown lady, she is still one of my top 5 favorite authors-- and an author that I would not hesitate giving to a 12-13 year old child if they enjoyed mysteries. Unfortunately, so many of the current fiction right now I am unable to say the same about because of the profanity or inappropriate sexually explicit scenes or gruesome violence.
I cannot highly recommend any Agatha Christie novel highly enough!!!
14 people found this helpful
★★★★★
4.0
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Not enough Miss Marple but a cracking good story nonetheless
This isn't my absolute favourite Agatha Christie simply because I felt like our dear Miss Marple was a tertiary figure in this storyline. Though naturally as it is with all detective stories, the truth will out at the end as it did in this one courtesy of the fabulously curious Miss Marple.
In this story the murder of the cantankerous old Col. Protheroe occurs in the office of the village vicar -- who just happens to live next door to the all-seeing Miss Marple.
Throughout this storyline we have the vicar acting as both narrator and detective, eager to find out who would kill a man whilst he sat authoring a note to that same vicar. We sense both kindness and exasperation with the village busybodies as he investigates this evil crime. Throughout, he occasionally refers to Miss Marple in that her opinions are invariably the "correct" opinion (as opposed to the malicious gossip that he hears from all of the other elderly women in the village).
At one point the vicar says something like, "in England there is no detective equal to the spinster lady with plenty of time on her hands" and in this story there are allusions to crimes that may or may not be connected to the murder. First, we hear about the possibility that someone is dipping into Church funds. Later on we find out that a character who is investigating archaeological burial mounds called barrows may not be the expert that he has claimed to be to everyone in this small village.
One nice thing that I must shout out to you fellow Kindle owners is that when you read these old Agatha Christie novels you immediately become aware the number of times that you use the built-in dictionary simply because she used a lot of vocabulary that are no longer used by those of us living, breathing and reading books almost a century past when she had written those same tales.
It amazes me that even though her storylines were written before the Roaring Twenties, in some cases, all of those stories are fabulous. You may guess a few plot points, but I think that the writer did that to keep us involved in her plot-line. Rarely do you guess everything, at least I have not yet done so, before Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot fills in the actual deliciousness of the killer or killers.
Bottom-line with any Agatha Christie? The most obvious is usually the one that did the evil-deed. In "Murder at the Vicarage" we meet Miss Marple for the first time (and, like I stated previously, my only complaint is that there was more of the vicar and less of Miss Marple).
Eventually the vicar and Miss Marple will sit down together in order to pull all of their combined facts. Just when the vicar has you convinced in one person being the bad guy or girl for whatever reason -- watch out because the old lady/detective is going to come out of leftfield and surprise you with the actual evildoers...
This is a book that is well worth your time. I only gave it four stars for the simple reason that while it is called a Miss Marple book it seems to me that this was a detective tale using the vicar as both narrator and amateur sleuth who would occasionally run into and across the opinions of the aforementioned Miss Marple. I can imagine that either Miss Christie and/or her publisher liked the humour, intelligence and wit of the minor character of the little old lady living next door to the vicar. Regardless, I'm glad that more was made of the Miss Marple character in Agatha Christie' s successive books.
8 people found this helpful
★★★★★
4.0
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Actually 3-1/2 Stars
Agatha Christie's "The Murder at the Vicarage" is both the first Miss Marple book she wrote and the first I've read. Unfortunately, it's not quite up to what I expected. Oh, the writing is very good with fine descriptions and characters and there are little bits of humor here and there to liven things up. But, the plot just didn't grab me. I felt more like I was reading about life in a small town instead of about murder. Probably my biggest issue with the story, though, is what Miss Marple is not: she's not a detective, she's not the protagonist, she's not even a main character. She's practically a secondary character with a few advisory, though key, scenes. If she had been closer to the vicar who narrates the story (sort of like Poirot to Hastings in [[ASIN:B00EX9MF98 The Mysterious Affair at Styles (Illustrated)]]), I'd have been happier with rating the book at a Very Good 4 stars out of 5. It's really not a full 4 star book. It's more like a 3-1/2 star book. Regardless, it's good reading and a start to a classic series. So, give it a go.
The novels featuring Miss Marple are:
1. [[ASIN:B000FC12XW The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple Mysteries)]]
2. [[ASIN:B000FC10WU The Body in the Library (Miss Marple Mysteries)]]
3. [[ASIN:B000FC1PL6 The Moving Finger: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)]]
4. [[ASIN:B000FC12YG A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)]]
5. [[ASIN:B000FC1PLG They Do It With Mirrors: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)]]
6. [[ASIN:B00512KUBQ A Pocket Full of Rye: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)]]
7. [[ASIN:B000FC1PLQ 4:50 from Paddington (Miss Marple Mysteries)]]
8. [[ASIN:B000FC1RCS The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (Miss Marple Mysteries)]]
9. [[ASIN:B000FC10ZW A Caribbean Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)]]
10. At Bertram's Hotel (Miss Marple Mysteries)
11. Nemesis: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)
12. Sleeping Murder (Miss Marple Mysteries)
5 people found this helpful
★★★★★
3.0
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Agatha knows what she's doing!
Like most I have been aware of Agatha Christie for most of my life. With no real effort and a love of PBS I have been exposed to several famous detectives created by Christie. Somehow I have gone this long without actually reading one of her books. This book marks the introduction of one of Christie's most popular amateur sleuths, Miss Marple. The writing, characters, plot, and mystery are solid and seemed like they could have been written just yesterday. The story is told from the perspective of a small town vicar who discovers a body at the vicarage. I tried my best to pay attention and figure out whodunit, but I considered so many suspects and couldn't figure it out. Obviously Christie knew what she was doing.
4 people found this helpful
★★★★★
5.0
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The First Marple Book
The first Miss Marple book. For any fan of Agatha Christie, Miss Marple, or English Detective fiction, this one is a must-read. Jane Marple is consistently underestimated by cops and professionals; yet this elderly amateur lady is a keen observer of life and detail. Flying under the radar, if you will, she is able to pull clues out of people's behavior, and tie together disparate facts, until she has a solution.
She is never nasty, always kind, and always right. I just love her. And I think Agatha Christie was a rare talent...decades later her work is still crisp, clear, and never fels stale or dated.
4 people found this helpful
★★★★★
4.0
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Fun Miss Marple Who-Done-It
This enjoyable mystery set in the iconic English village of St. Mary Mead introduced acutely observant Miss Marple to the world. The story is told from the point-of-view of the vicar whose household is upset when the most disliked man of the village is murdered in the vicarage study. We see Miss Marple through his eyes and although she seems at first to be a peripheral character -- which, after decades of our knowing and enjoying Miss Marple, we know she is not! -- she is the one with the keys to unlock the mystery of who killed the victim.
We follow the vicar through his days as he talks to witnesses, suspects, and the police. He's a sympathetic character and not a stereotypical "upright" vicar whose every thought is pure! Indeed, he often has rather uncharitable thoughts about many of the people he encounters, although he tries to behave well.
Not as complex as some of Christie's later Marple mysteries, but still a fun read, and at the current freebie price for the Kindle, it was a "must have" for my Kindle library! I'd originally read it about 35 or 40 years ago, and have read it at least once or twice since, but it was still a pleasure to revisit St. Mary Mead!
One other good thing about this Kindle version: it has the diagrams included. So when the vicar mentions a drawing of his house or of the village, you will see the diagram, very clear, at the end of that chapter.
4 people found this helpful
★★★★★
4.0
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Classic Christie!
This is the first of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple mysteries. While the story is good, it's also a little rough around the edges, and lacks the deft handling visible in later stories. Of course, that's perfectly understandable, even Miss Marple did not emerge fully-formed from her creator's head (she's no Athena!). The recurring characters from the later Miss Marple mysteries have not yet been introduced (or if they are introduced in this book, they're not fully fleshed-out).
The story is interesting, and well-done. There are a lot of clues scattered about and the reader will feel that they're one step ahead of the vicar in identifying them (which I like, I'm bad at picking out clues!). There are several possible murderers and plenty of red herrings; the ending comes as a bit of a surprise.
If you like Christie's mysteries, you will probably enjoy reading about Miss Marple's debut as a detective.
Note on Kindle formatting: Very good. I did not notice any issues whatsoever.
4 people found this helpful
★★★★★
4.0
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The Clock, the Note, the Unhappy Wife and the Detective Spinster
Agatha's first Miss Marple mystery merits a far better cover than the garish, Gothic tombstone, which has nothing to do with this intricate plot.
There were so many characters (and with such curious names) you might think you're reading a Russian novel. Originally published in 1930 in the UK by the Collins Crime Club, the novel shows its age because no one can afford servants in the 21st century. Feminists are offended, and rightly so, by the cruel depiction of elderly women as harpies in the novel who seem to have nothing to do but spy on their neighbors and gossip.
I must say I was startled by Christie's dark view of human nature. There is nothing quaint or cosy or charming about St. Mary's Mead. There is adultery, a psychopath, fake identities, robbery, pettiness, jealousy, corruption, pernicious gossip, and almost no family love or the gentler virtue of kindness. Too many of the female characters are deeply unhappy and trapped in loveless relationships with no means of achieving financial independence through a meaningful career. (In the 1930s marriage was a woman's career.)
This is not a mystery about WHO done it -- it's rather obvious who had the most piercing motive to murder the heartless Protheroe; it's rather a murder mystery about HOW it was done.
Dostoevsky makes murder believable. The reader understands why and how Raskolnikov can be driven by illness, despair, and poverty to murder the miserly pawnbroker. I was never convinced that a women, who struck me as intelligent, would have consented to murder her husband by shooting him in the back of the head. Why didn't she just divorce Protheroe or elope with Redding? Would a woman that intelligent be so easily manipulated by the seductive Redding? I also did not find it believable that the minister's wife had an affair with the rakishly handsome Redding prior to her marriage.
Christie is a marvelous storyteller. Her pages turn easily. It's much harder to forget the misery of those who live such unhappy lives in this country village.
