“The Body in the Library,” by Agatha Christie

FM's ratings:

          1. Premise 7
          2. Prose 7
          3. Plot 8
          4. Characters 7
          5. Overall 7

Comments (optional - but try to keep it under 3000 words!)

This is only the third Agatha Christie book I have read – one Hercule Poirot, one Miss Marple (this one) and one “other” – and the writing is consistently adequate.  The emphasis here is on plot; which is understandable from a “mystery writer.”  And while Miss Marple herself is a pretty interesting character, we don’t see enough of her or get inside her head very much at all.  The rest of the characters rise very little above stereotypes.  Miss Marple observes little, seemingly irrelevant details and draws the correct conclusions from them.  Such details must be the cornerstone around which entire novels are constructed, at least in the writings of Christie.  Not much humor in the meantime, except for an occasional chuckle about how quaint the little old lady is. The dialog is just interesting enough to salvage an otherwise ho-hum run-of-the-mill mystery.  I will continue to read her books from time to time, but I can’t say that I would necessarily recommend them.