The Murder at the Vicarage

I've finally reached the point, in my quest to immerse myself in the works of Agatha Christie , to where I've gotten to the first novel featuring Miss Marple - The Murder at the Vicarage. Until recently, my exposure to works featuring Miss Marple (and Hercule Poirot) has been through movies and television only. As I write this, The Murder at the Vicarage. is the 11th Agatha Christie novel I've read.

I've found that I'm not as fond of her novels which do not feature either Marple or Poirot. I'll continue to read those, of course. As much as I love the Poirot character, I'm putting The Murder at the Vicarage as my favorite, so far. I'm taking into account the fact that the ending of the first Miss Marple novel has similarities to the ending of the first Hercule Poirot novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles.

It never ceases to amaze me that I'm always surprised when the killer is revealed in an Agatha Christie novel. I can never predict who he or she will turn out to be in the end.

The novel was adapted twice for British television. Once in December 1986, with Joan Hickson as Miss Marple and a second time in 2004 with Geraldine McEwan in the leading role. It's quite possible that I've watched both, but that would have been ages ago. Neither helped me solve the mystery in the novel.