The Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie #ReadChristie2024

Title: The Murder at the Vicarage
Author: Agatha Christie
Publication: Dodd, Mead & Co., hardcover, first published in 1930
Genre: Mystery/series

Description: When Colonel Protheroe, a domineering retiree in the village of St. Mary Mead, is murdered, there are many suspects. For weeks, the church ladies have been gossiping that Mrs. Protheroe is a little too friendly with a handsome young artist, Lawrence Redding. As the vicar, Len Clement, returns from an errand, he encounters an agitated Redding coming from the vicarage but refusing to linger. The vicar discovers Colonel Protheroe, shot through the head in his study, and calls the police. The officious Inspector Slack is called in from the next town and practically the first thing he hears is that Mr. Clement told his wife and nephew that anyone who murdered Colonel Protheroe would be doing the world a service; the vicar has an alibi but several do not. While Slack interviews everyone in sight and blusters about with various theories, it is the elderly Miss Marple and her keen observations of human nature who actually untangles several red herrings to solve the murder.

My Impression: Miss Marple debuted in a short story called The Tuesday Night Club in 1927 but The Murder at the Vicarage was her first appearance in a book. She is one of Mr. Clement’s gossipy parishioners:

I shook hands all round and sat down between Miss Marple and Miss Wetherby.

Miss Marple is a white-haired old lady with a gentle, appealing manner – Miss Wetherby is a mixture of vinegar and gush. Of the two Miss Marple is much the more dangerous.

Between speculating about the flirtations of the recently arrived male artist and complaining about a pound note missing from the church collection (imagine a time when that small an amount could cause a crisis), the ladies of St. Mary Mead, a village in Kent about 25 miles from London have much to discuss.

It is typical of the men in law enforcement that they always underestimate Miss Marple:

After leaving a message at the police station, the Chief Constable announced his intention of paying a visit to Miss Marple.

“You’d better come with me, Vicar,” he said. “I don’t want to give a member of your flock hysterics. So lend the weight of your soothing presence.”

I smiled. For all her fragile appearance, Miss Marple is capable of holding her own with any policeman or chief constable in existence.

Miss Marple’s home is next door to the vicarage so well-positioned to have observed any suspicious behavior – and she is determined not to miss anything. Colonel Melchett asks if she saw Mr. Redding go to the vicarage:

“As a matter of fact, he didn’t see me,” said Miss Marple flushing slightly. “Because you see, just at that moment I was bending right over – trying to get up one of those nasty dandelions, you know. So difficult. And then he went through the gate and down to the studio.”

Miss Marple even managed to see some quite distant activity:

“They all walked to toward the village together. At the end of the lane I think, but I can’t be quite sure, they were joined by Miss Cram. I think it must have been Miss Cram, because her skirts were so short.”

“You must have very good eyesight, Miss Marple, if you can observe as far as that.”

“I was observing a bird,” said Miss Marple. “A golden-crested wren, I think he was. A sweet little fellow. I had my glasses out, and that’s how I happened to see Miss Cram (if it was Miss Cram, and I think so) join them.”

Miss Marple lives quietly, with a maid, a garden, and plenty of knitting, but it is her observations of human nature and her uncanny ability to see parallels that alert her to untrustworthiness of her fellow humans that make her a good detective – although here Inspector Slack gets all the credit for solving the case. When she wrote this book, Christie was not intending an entire series featuring Miss Marple or, as she explained later, she would have made her younger than late 60s. Christie wound up writing 12 Miss Marple books. My edition of The Murder at the Vicarage includes the final book in the series, Sleeping Murder, which was published posthumously in 1976.

This is my ninth mystery for Carol’s Cloak and Dagger Challenge.

Source: Personal copy