Christie, Agatha -- The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1962)
Review by Nick Fuller
4/5
A rather alien note is struck in St. Mary Mead by the modern Development and by the presence of the drug-addicted, neurotic American entourage (based, one may ask, on what experience?) of the glamorous Marina Gregg, arguably as batty as any of them — not without reason, however, since it soon becomes clear that the poison that killed the St. John's Ambulance secretary was intended for her. Despite excessive coincidence in the form of Miss G.'s husbands and adopted children, the plotting is tight without the digressions and dithering that would appear a year or two later; and Miss Marple does a good job of working out the motive, the secret of which is better kept than that of the murderer's identity.
Comments (1)
Jon said
at 9:02 am on Jan 27, 2010
Blurb: What was it that Marina Gregg, the famous film actress, saw just before a murder was committed in her house? What or who caused her expression to change so violently that one observer was reminded of Alfred Tennyson: -
Out flew the web and floated wide
The mirror crack’d from side to side
‘The curse is come upon me,’ cried
The Lady of Shalott.
A few minutes later a body lay dead in Marina’s large house—the second time a victim of wilful murder had been discovered there.
In this new full-length Agatha Christie novel Miss Marple, whose house in St Mary Mead is close to the scene of the crime, finds a perfect opportunity to indulge in the particular kind of “unravelling” at which she is adept. Agatha Christie’s millions of fans will enjoy trying to anticipate Miss Marple, as they will enjoy the humour and characterisation of this ingenious and exciting story.
Yet again Agatha Christie demonstrates that in the field of the crime novel her achievement is unique and distinguished.
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