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She left the web, she left the loom

She made three paces thro’ the room

She saw the water-flower bloom,

She saw the helmet and the plume,

She look’d down to Camelot.

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.

~The Lady of Shalott (1832) By Alfred, Lord Tennyson

About the Book

When Heather Badcock drops dead suddenly, it raises too many questions. It is no wonder that even a small village can hide many secrets. Miss Marple might be the one to unearth them even before the police can have a chance. It is very much possible that the murderer’s intended victim was someone else. As the story unfolds, all the pieces will fall into place and might end up shocking everyone. Nevertheless, ripples have now been caused over the surface of the water that is no longer peaceful.

Review

4 out of 5 Stars

First of all, I want to confess that I am Agatha Christie’s fan. My review might very well be biased. But I did enjoy this book a lot. This is my first Miss Marple mystery and I have to say that I quite admired her sharp wit and amazing observation skills. I think I might even like her better than Hercule Poirot, whom I’ve come to admire for quite some time now. In any case, Agatha Christie has woven another great murder mystery here and I found it highly entertaining.

Miss Marple is an old lady who lives in a small village. For the most part, she is like any other old woman, set in her ways, and wary of the changing world. Things are changing though, new ‘Developments’ are happening and people are changing as well. Young people dress differently, they talk differently, and they behave in an entirely different manner. There are many new faces around her home town. But many things have remained the same. On the inside, people haven’t changed as much as one would think and murders still happen.

Mrs. Heather Badcock is a kind woman by all accounts. Then she ends up dead out of the blue and everyone is baffled. That’s when Miss Marple decides to help the police solve the mystery around her death. Who would want to kill such a harmless and kind woman, her husband perhaps? Maybe she wasn’t killer’s target. After all, it happened during a party and there were many people there.

As questions are asked, things start making sense and soon the mystery is solved. A very well-written story. I love how the author first prepares the stage, then a murder happens, and then in a very logical way the mystery is unfolded to reveal the truth. I especially loved The Lady of Shalott analogy used to describe how the glamorous actress Marina Gregg looked while talking to Mrs. Heather Badcock. And the book ends in a perfect way. So, all in all, a great read if you enjoy a good old murder mystery, without too much drama and theatrics. I did!

‘He said: “She has a lovely face;

God in His mercy lend her grace,

The Lady of Shalott.”‘

Favorite Quotes

“I’m not very good at forgetting, I’m afraid.”

“She didn’t know at all,” said Miss Marple slowly, “what the world was like. She didn’t know what people were like. She’d never thought about them. And so, you see, she couldn’t guard against things happening to her.”

“It’s one of those days when flowers won’t do anything you want them to.”

“She can’t help it. She’s made that way.”

“You can’t tell, of course,” said Dr. Gilchrist, “how people are going to react. You can’t tell however well you know them. They can always surprise you.”

P.S. Have you read any of Agatha Christie’s novels? Did you like it or do you like murder mysteries in general? Do share your thoughts and happy reading!