The people of St. Mary Mead get hold of some juicy gossip when a body of an unknown young blonde woman is found in the library of the respectable Bantrys. As the suspicion falls on Colonel Bantry, Mrs. Bantry calls on Miss Marple to help solve this perplexing case. Investigations performed by Colonel Melchett and Inspector Slack of Radfordshire force lead them to the rich invalid, Conway Jefferson. With the inclusion of Conway Jefferson in the case, the investigation spans to The Majestic Hotel in the neighbouring county of Glenshire. But as the number of suspects grows, the police seem to have no headway in the case. Maybe the clever but practical mind of Miss Marple is what they need to solve this complex case.When I read the title of ‘The Body In The Library’, the first thing that popped up into my mind was the boardgame, Cluedo (Have your played it? It's quite fun actually). Maybe it was because of the clichéd setting of the murder in the library of the large house of the Bantrys. Reading the foreword of the author, I think Agatha Christie had the same thing in mind while writing this novel. The Body in the Library is Agatha Christie’s take on the conventional setting of a murder mystery novel. But the ‘conventional’ element of the novel does not prevent it from being ingenious.The characters of the book were intriguing, especially Mr. Conway Jefferson. Unable to cope up with the death of his children in a plane crash, he keeps his daughter-in-law, Adelaide, and son-in-law, Mark, close to him. This obligation to remain continuously close to him does not only make Mark and Adelaide a little bitter towards him but also makes them feel trapped. Then there is the dead girl’s cousin, Josie who rather than being sad at her cousin’s death is actually angry at her for being dead. Even Mrs Bantry is an interesting character. Instead of being disturbed by the discovery of a dead body in her house, she decides to enjoy the situation. Another unusual thing about the book was the number of detectives working on the case. Surprisingly, the characters of the detectives were exact carbon copies of each other, so much so that I had often difficulty in distinguishing them. Maybe this was intentional as Agatha Christie wanted to show the readers that the all the detectives involved in this case, wholly depended upon the circumstantial and forensic evidence to solve the case. On the contrary, Miss Marple chooses to closely study the characters and habits of the suspects and the victim while trying to find the murderer.Though I had heard a lot of praise about Agatha Christie before reading this book, but this is the first Agatha Christie I have ever tried. After reading The Body in the Library, I must say that Agatha Christie is truly the Queen of Mysteries. The suspense that she builds up by the end of the novel is almost unbearable. Your hand will continuously twitch to turn to the last chapter to know the murderer. So, now I am ready to gobble up the rest of the Agatha Christie mysteries. It's a good thing that my sister owns almost 50 of them!!
Agatha Christie knows a thing or two about creating an interesting mystery with a cast of characters a mile long. In the murder of a young, pretty girl the suspects are many and all are suspect in some respect, but only Miss Marple will solve the crime.Unfortunately, compared to my previous experiences with Miss Marple, this book was a disappointment. The murdered girl was unspectacular, the characters were all somewhat unspectacular, and the way everything came together would have me interested one minute and disinterested the next. I think the main issue for me was not the mystery itself, but the way that the character of Miss Marple is fantastically misused. The mystery was well constructed and had all the inappropriate twists and turns, however I wanted something a little more. What I love about Miss Marple is the way that she investigates. For those unfamiliar, Miss Marple is an elderly woman who has enough experience to have had experienced it all. She knows human nature, she can spot a liar, and she knows how to follow clues in a humble way that makes her a marvel. No one sees her coming. What harm can an old woman do? Why not speak honestly, loosely, comfortably to a kind listener? In The Body in the Library the mystery does not follow Miss Marple's investigation, but the many various police officials on the case. I believe there were about three or four of them in total. I didn't care about them in the same way I care about Miss Marple. I don't know anything about them, although they do appear in other Miss Marple books and are familiar with her knowing ways. I wanted more of her. The way the police handle things is all very by the book, the real interesting insights come from the very few interactions Miss Marple has. When she's centre stage, things are intriguing. You want to know what she knows. The way the mystery ended was fun, I really wanted to know who did it. I just wish that the investigation was more captivating. The Body in the Library is a great little mystery that is easy to consume and just perfect for a cold winter night. For those in the mood for some unique British-speak murder, Agatha Christie is always perfection.This review and many others can also be read on my blog Reading Robyn.
What do You think about The Body In The Library (2006)?
While reading this I had no effing clue who to suspect or what had actually happened. So that was very well done, one of the more intriguing mysteries, especially because it involves some of Jane's old friends, so you know they can hardly be suspects, but then how the hell did they end up with a body in their library?It actually starts with one of the greatest opening chapters, where the husband of the house doesn't believe there's actually a body in the library, because that doesn't happen in real life. Hilarious.. except of course someone's dead. But still. I prefer Hercule Poirot to Miss Jane Marple, perhaps because he reminds me of Sherlock Holmes, or because with Poirot we don't stray as much as with Miss Marple. Marple is a more likable character, but she almost seems to be a side character in this. More than half the time she's not even the person we're following. It's weird because in the end she is, of course, the one to solve it, but I felt a little dissatisfied, because I didn't get to experience her getting there. And her methods are rather odd, but effective. Of course if we did see the whole thing through her eyes we'd probably spend most of our time knitting in a corner, thinking and observing, and maybe that's not very interesting in the end (and spoils too much, we want it to be a surprise who's done it!). So she just lurks in the background and makes a few appearances and then solves the whole thing! It's lovely.Still, it's a good book and as I said one of the more intriguing mysteries. I can definitely recommend it.
—Kirstine
This might be my favorite Miss Marple book. I love how cynical she is in this book, and I really enjoyed the play on a familiar plot used in many history books. Dead body in the house (honestly could be any room) yet they don't know who the dead person is. For the past week I've been terribly busy -- from school to work to homework I've barely had free time to really relax and wind down -- so this was read, for the most part, at my job when I had downtime and at school between classes when I didn't feel like doing homework. For that reason, I actually didn't try solving the mystery and just went with whatever things were thrown in to keep me off the case. Loved the ending. Maybe now I'll like Miss Marple mysteries more.
—Caidyn
Once again, Miss Marple is back on the case in this the second novel of the Miss Marple series. This time she is called by her friend Dolly Bantry, who lives in Gossington Hall, because Dolly's maid woke her up in the morning screaming that there was a body in the library. It turns out to be the body of a young girl, dressed in evening finery, and a quick search of missing persons turns up the name of Ruby Keene, who fits the description of the dead girl. Ruby was a dancer at a local resort, and had recently caught the eye of one Jeffrey Conway, an elderly man confined to a wheelchair, who wanted to "adopt" Ruby. But there were several people who didn't want to see that happen, and getting rid of Ruby seemed a good idea at the time. But wait! Just when you think you've got it, Dame Agatha throws you a curveball and you have to go back to square one in your thinking! I tell you, she is a master at her game.Recommended; if you like British mysteries or the English-village cozy type novel, you'll very much enjoy this one.
—Nancy Oakes
