Murder with Mirrors

As in all her books, Agatha Christie leaves no detail dangling. Carrie Louise, one of Jane Marple's old schoolchums, seems a little out of touch with reality. What is perfectly obvious to everyone else is totally untrue to her. At the end Dame Christie explains how Jane figured out the crime by paying attention to Carrie Louise's supposed nonsense. Also, as usual the book is sprinkled with wise insights into human character. The story is about a couple of do-gooders (Carrie Louise and her third husband Lewis) who believe that young criminals can be rehabilitated with the right opportunity and set up a hospital to do just that. One of the members of the Board of Directors shows up unexpectedly and is shot to death that night. The prime suspect is the American outsider, who is married to Carrie Louise's granddaugher (by adoption). Of course, everyone present -- lots of relatives -- is suspected. Lewis finally reveals that the Director came to warn them that someone was trying to poison Carrie Louise with arsenic and was unfortunately murdered before he could identify the culprit. Carrie Louise is very rich, having benefitted from her two prior marriages, and from her natural birth. So any of her children, stepchildren, grandchildren, etc., would have a reason to murder her. Everyone is sure Lewis did not do it because he loves her too much. Christie's plots are always wonderful, but her comment on society make her books a cut above all others. For me, she's the best writer who ever lived.

What "improvements" have been made for the Bantam edition? There are already major differences in punctuation, word choices, and scene breaks between the original Collins (THEY DO IT WITH MIRRORS) and Dodd Mead editions of this novel. There are further differences between the Dodd Mead editions republished by Random House/Avenel and the Dodd Mead editions republished by Simon & Shuster/Pocket. There are further additions still in the Signet, Berkley, and Black Dog & Leventhal editions. For every publishing house putting out her works, there seem to be a new batch of editors altering Agatha Christie's words and the sound of her voice. What's the matter with these publishers? Whose voice do they think we want to hear when we sit down to a novel by Agatha Christie? And what will she sound like twenty years from now? It's frightening that her estate has failed to see the importance of guarding her words as she wrote them. Please tell me I'm not the only one here who senses that a crime has been committed.

I have said previously that sometimes Miss Marple gives me the creeps, but in this book I found her character very likable. I would say it is one of the better Miss Marple mysteries I've read, however, I'm only half finished with them! I enjoyed the ending as well.

Strange things have been happening at Stonygates, the home of Carrie Louise Martin, an old friend of Miss Marple's. Carrie Louise's sister, Ruth Van Rydock, has asked Miss Marple to visit Carrie Louise and determine what the trouble is and to alleviate her worries about her sister. Agatha Christie once again takes us into a family estate overrun with family members. This family is particularly complex because Carrie Louise has been married three times and there is a wide assortment of relatives including stepsons, a widowed daughter, grandchildren, and even a current husband. The husband is deeply involved with corrective training and has turned the family home into a school where first offenders come for counseling and attention. So to this already strained situation, Mrs. Christie includes psychologists and therapists and a situation ripe for murder.Indeed, three murders occur and there is much unpleasantness before Miss Marple explains it all. This story (also published under the title "Murder With Mirrors") was adapted for TV in 1991 with Joan Hickson in the role of Miss Marple and Jean Simmons as Carrie Louise.

This is one of Agatha Christie's finest mysteries. Although it is set in the post WWII era it is not dated like alot of mysteries of that era. One of Miss Marple's childhood friends is worried about her unworldly sister and sends her good friend Jane to find out what's wrong. The sister, Carrie, is very wealthy and has turned her estate into a type of reformatory school. It is suspected that Carrie is being poisoned, and alot of strange things are happening at the school. This is a great mystery and I recommend it highly.