Miss Marple’s lovely (and wealthy) nephew has sent her to an island in the Caribbean for a nice holiday. Except there’s no such thing as a “nice holiday” if you’re in an Agatha Christie novel. There’s quite a cast of characters at the Golden Palm Hotel. Miss Marple meets Major Palgrave, who loves telling stories about his past – many of which may not be true. He offers to show her a picture of a murderer (not knowing about her history with the murdery stuff). They’re interrupted, and she doesn’t get to see the picture. And the next day? He’s […]

“The mirror crack’d from side to side, ‘The curse has come upon me cried the Lady of Shalott.’” Much has changed in St. Mary Mead since we first met Miss Marple. The village is expanding, and there is a bunch of new development. In fact, the new neighborhoods that are being added are collectively called “The Development” by the original locals. Miss Marple goes for a walk there one day, and takes a spill in front of the Badcock’s house. Heather Badcock helps Miss Marple, and tells her a story about a past encounter with the new owner of Gossington […]

This is the third novel to feature Miss Marple (the 2nd, The Body in the Library, I reviewed in a previous Cannonball). She doesn’t show up for a bit, though. The story starts with Jerry and Joanna Burton, cosmopolitan London siblings, taking a house in the country so Jerry can recover from a plane crash. They’re settling in, meeting the neighbors, and then they get an anonymous letter accusing them of not being brother and sister (if you know what I mean). Turns out a bunch of their other neighbors have gotten similar letters, accusing people of all kinds of […]