About the book
BOOK SUMMARY
When Colonel Protheroe is found murdered in the vicar’s study, the quiet village of St. Mary Mead offers no shortage of suspects. As the vicar follows the investigation, Miss Marple draws on her knowledge of her neighbors to untangle conflicting stories and hidden motives.
Published 1930
Mystery & Thriller
304 pages
A clever introduction to Miss Marple
October 2, 2026
This was an excellent mystery, with a well-constructed plot and an inventive resolution. It checks all the important boxes of a great mystery, including a carefully laid trail of clues, a variety of plausible suspects, and a solution that is both surprising and convincing. It’s definitely the type of mystery that makes you admire the author’s cleverness once all the pieces fall into place. The writing itself is clear and pleasant, making for an easy, enjoyable read. But I come to a book like this more for the ingenuity of the mystery than for the literary qualities of the prose.
This was my first Miss Marple mystery, and I was surprised to discover that she isn’t the narrator and isn’t even particularly central to the story. But it makes sense that Christie chose to keep Miss Marple at arm’s length from the reader to avoid giving too much away too quickly. Keeping her somewhat on the sidelines allows us to investigate the mystery alongside the vicar and then appreciate the cleverness of her observations when everything comes together at the end. She’s a fun character.
I think my only small complaint is that there may have been a few too many characters, some of whom seemed to muddle the story without contributing much to it. Still, that’s a relatively minor criticism of what I thought was a very well-crafted mystery. I don’t want to go too crazy with my praise just yet, though, because I’ve heard there are several Miss Marple novels that are even better than this one, and I’m looking forward to reading them.