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Another four of Agatha Christieâe(tm)s twelve, celebrated Miss Marple novels in a single volume, bound in the stylish livery of the new series. A Caribbean Mystery As Miss Marple dozes in the West Indian sun, an old soldier talks of elephant shooting and scandals. Then he dies âe" shortly after offering to show her a picture of a murderer. Itâe(tm)s not long before the deceptively frail detective finds herself investigating a most exotic murderâe¦ A Pocket Full of Rye Rex Fortescue, âe~kingâe(tm) of a financial empire, was in his counting house; his âe~queenâe(tm) was in the parlourâe¦and thatâe(tm)s exactly where they were when they died. There are baffling similarities between the rhyme and the crime and it takes all Miss Marpleâe(tm)s ingenuity to find themâe¦ The Mirror Crackâe(tm)d from Side to Side Marina Gregg, the famous actress, witnesses a murder in her country home. But what gave her the expression of frozen terror that only Dolly Bantry saw? Dolly, of course, knows just who can find out: her old friend Miss Marpleâe¦ They Do It With Mirrors To fulfil a promise to an old schoolfriend, Miss Marple stays in a country house âe" with 200 juvenile delinquents and seven heirs to an old ladyâe(tm)s fortune. One of them is a murderer âe" with, it seems, a talent for being in two places at onceâe¦… (more)
User reviews
A Caribean Mystery
This is one of the few Miss Marple's that I don't already know from a
So in the story, Miss Marple has been sent to the Caribean for the winter by her nephew Raymond. One evening, another resident asks if she wants to see a snapshot of a murderer, is interupted before he can find said photo and promptly gets bumped off during the night. So who overheard & realised that there was a photograph to incriminate them? The usual twists & turns ensue until Miss Marple saves the day & solves the mystery.
A Pocket Full of Rye
This one, I had seen on TV, so had a fair idea of all that would happen, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment too much. It was still interesting to see how the book and adaptation varied.
As always, there's a murder (or three) and a convoluted plot and, of course, Miss Marple turning up and solving it. Always amazes me, the way an old lady can talk her way into staying in these grand houses with not as much as a bye or leave.
The Mirror Cracked from Side to Side
This one I did struggle with a little in that I could not get Elizabeth Taylor out of my head whilst reading it. Having said that, the film had a few differing characterisations and had very little of the 'colour' that the book contained re the domestic arrangements of Miss Marple and the changes that time had wrought on St Mary Mead. That was the saving grace as the twists & turns were all too well know to me.
They do it with mirrors
Didn't read this one as it I'd already read it a few years ago. It was the first of Agatha Christie's books I'd ever read & I must have enjoyed it as I've been working my way through the rest ever since.
Lastly, one big disappointment in these collections is that they dot back & forth in time. Why did the editors think that was a good idea? A Caribean Mystery & The Mirror cracked are from late in Miss Marple's life, whilst They do it with Mirrors is the first & A Pocket Full of Rye is also fairly early. Would be much better, in my opinion, to put them in chronological order.
The age of these books is starting to show in the attitudes of the characters toward women, black people, "lower class" and generally anyone who isn't rich , white and English -but I think it is important not to change these things as this is a real and accurate representation of what was once considered normal and acceptable behavior. It shows how far we have come and I would recommend these books to older kids and teens as they make great launching points for discussions about gender, race and discrimination all wrapped up in a highly readable mystery format (and there is no gratuitous sex, gore or violence).
A caribbean Mystery starts the book but is actually one of the later Miss Marple stories (1964). Not bad but I did pick the murderer within the first two chapters.(2.5 stars)
A Pocket full of Rye is set a good 10 years before Caribbean Mystery (written 1953). The story is a bit more complex and the action is from the perspective of the police inspector for the most part (I quite like the way Christie does that). (4.5 stars).
Mirror Crack'd is again features an "old" Miss Marple (written 1962). Most of the action takes place in the presence of other characters and Miss Marple works things out from that. This one I have seen a couple of times on TV and I did skip over a bit as I clearly remembered the plot(3 stars).
They do it with Mirrors (written 1952) again features a younger Miss Marple but also one of the most unlikely character motivations *Caution spoiler in the next sentence!* (embezzling from an philanthropic fund to get money for a slightly different type of -highly unlikely to be allowed- philanthropic idea! Really!?) But did get a glimpse of young Miss Marple and there were plenty of unlikely deaths :D (3.5 stars).