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The Moving Finger
The Moving Finger: A Miss Marple Mystery | Agatha Christie
53 posts | 101 read | 31 to read
The indomitable sleuth Miss Marple is led to a small town with shameful secrets in Agatha Christies classic detective story, The Moving Finger. Lymstock is a town with more than its share of scandalous secretsa town where even a sudden outbreak of anonymous hate mail causes only a minor stir. But all that changes when one of the recipients, Mrs. Symmington, commits suicide. Her final note says I cant go on, but Miss Marple questions the coroners verdict of suicide. Soon nobody is sure of anyoneas secrets stop being shameful and start becoming deadly.
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review
OutsmartYourShelf
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Mehso-so

Jerry Burton & his sister Joanna rent a house for the summer in the village of Lymstock. Jerry needs somewhere quiet to recuperate from his accident & what quieter place than the quintessential English village. The idyll is soon spoiled though when a series of poison-pen letters are sent around the village & almost no-one escapes the vitriol. Cue Miss Marple, doyen of human nature.

OutsmartYourShelf The narrator for this book is Jerry Burton & he's a bit like Hastings from the Poirot books, only slightly less irritating. It's one of the slowest books in the series where not a lot seems to happen for most it, but what was really odd about the book is that Miss Marple doesn't appear until almost the end. Even then she didn't really seem to do much but solves the mystery almost immediately. 1mo
OutsmartYourShelf I really can't mark a Miss Marple book that features Miss Marple so little higher than an average 3⭐

Full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5439098411
Read 15th-17th Feb 2024

#ReadAway2024 #BacklistReadathon #SeriesLove2024 #192025 (1943)

@Andrew65 @DieAReader @GHABI4ROSES
@clwojick @thearomaofbooks
@TheSpineView @Librarybelle
1mo
willaful Oh, I love this one. Finding a copy of the original British edition -- much longer than the standard American version -- was a real life highlight for me! This was before they were digitized and I think all the newer versions are complete. 1mo
See All 7 Comments
DieAReader 🥳Great 1mo
Librarybelle This is one I have yet to read…some day! 1mo
TheSpineView Fantastic! 1mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 1mo
30 likes7 comments
review
Robotswithpersonality
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Pickpick

That was candy. As I've come to expect from the Marple books, it took its time to lay out the characters, the lead up, the crime, the clues, and even more so than previously Marple herself and her crime solving insights were tacked on to the very, very end.I felt more connected to this narrator, he seemed a little more empathetic, even if given the period it was written in there were a number of choice phrases to make a modern reader cringe. 1/2

Robotswithpersonality 2/2 I think it was the surprise romantic subplots in the eleventh hour that tipped it for me, as silly as they were, it let the ending of a murder mystery be something other than scandalous/grim. Had a good time. 3mo
7 likes1 comment
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Robotswithpersonality
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Sometimes a passage just grabs you and won't let go.

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Robotswithpersonality
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That's a new one on me.
Pusillanimity: lack of courage or determination; timidity.

6 likes1 stack add
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Jen2
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Pickpick

A Christie for Christmas!🎄

Ruthiella Love Miss Marple! 4mo
48 likes1 comment
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Laughterhp
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Mehso-so

How is this a Miss Marple book when she only shows up in the last 50 pages? Maybe less..

This one was okay. A brother and sister go to a town to recover after he gets into a plane accident. Everyone starts getting letters with nasty rumors and accusations. There is a death because of the letters and the mystery unfolds.

willaful The English edition -- which is the one they digitized, so much easier to find now -- is so much better! The American edition was shortened for magazine publication. 4mo
51 likes1 comment
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IndoorDame
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Pickpick

This month‘s #bookspin was a gem! I started slowly working my way through all the Miss Marple‘s in Jan and plan to continue since I‘ve never read the whole set in order. One of the things that keeps them from getting at all repetitive is that she‘s not exactly the central character. In this one there‘s no mention of her til the last 50 pages. And even then, while she does, obvs, solve the mystery, she only shows up in a handful of scenes.

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! 7mo
MariaW What a beautiful book cover 😍 7mo
64 likes1 stack add2 comments
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IndoorDame
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When at last I was taken out of the plaster, and the doctors had pulled me about to their hearts' content, and nurses had wheedled me into cautiously using my limbs, and I had been nauseated by their practically using baby talk to me, Marcus Kent told me I was to go and live in the country. #firstlinefridays @ShyBookOwl

dabbe Wow! Quite an opening! 🤩 7mo
48 likes1 comment
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IndoorDame
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TheAromaofBooks Oooo what a fun cover!!! I've never seen this one! 7mo
IndoorDame @TheAromaofBooks just started this yesterday. Sooo good so far! And I adore these covers! I have a set of the first 5 in this style. 7mo
Eggs Great cover art 💚🖤💚 7mo
See All 8 Comments
curiouserandcurioser @IndoorDame I just finished this recently-so good:) Ive been making my way through all the Miss Marples, slowly:) 7mo
IndoorDame @curiouserandcurioser I‘ve been doing the same thing this year! 7mo
curiouserandcurioser @IndoorDame great minds think alike, huh?:) 7mo
IndoorDame @curiouserandcurioser ☺️☺️☺️ 7mo
mabell This is such a great cover for this book! 7mo
56 likes8 comments
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emmaturi
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Pickpick

I liked this Christie novel set in a small village. Brother and sister team, try to solve the mystery of poison pen letters and then a murder or two.

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ImperfectCJ
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Pickpick

My first Hoopla borrow! This is a fun one. I like how the story plays out. Over time, Christie has become more subtle in how she conveys characters' emotions, biases, and hangups that keep them from drawing accurate conclusions, and this has really improved her storytelling (although it does mean there's less of Miss Marple in this one, which is a little sad to me).

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MommyWantsToReadHerBook
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Oh, so hideously old and beyond all hope of attractiveness!

Suet624 😳🤪😀 10mo
Aimeesue 😂😂😂 10mo
43 likes2 comments
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jlhammar
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Pickpick

I‘m so enjoying making my way through Christie‘s Miss Marple mysteries this year (this was my third). I think she had a real knack for writing engaging male narrators - the vicar in the first book, Jerry Burton in this one. I only wished for more Marple. She doesn‘t even make an appearance until the last quarter!

Readerann Agatha Christie remains my favorite mystery writer! 12mo
AshleyHoss820 I haven‘t read a Miss Marple yet, but I‘m planning to fix that this year! 12mo
jlhammar @Readerann I can understand why! Have you read the Christie biography by Lucy Worsley yet? Really good. 12mo
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KathyWheeler I love the covers of these latest editions. 12mo
jlhammar @AshleyHoss820 They're so fun. Hope you enjoy! 12mo
willaful @KathyWheeler It is very evocative! I have to have a look at the others. 12mo
68 likes1 stack add6 comments
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elkeOriginal
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Pickpick

A village with a rash of poison pen letters that lead to death. The narrator is rehabbing in the country and quickly becomes embroiled in the community of interesting characters and tries his hand at sussing out the culprit.
Most enjoyable was the humor peppered throughout - some LOL comments, for sure!
But while this IS a Miss Marple, fair warning she plays a small part. She sweeps in to put the final pieces together. As we need her to!

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rwmg
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Pickpick

Advised by his doctor to rest after a flying injury, Jack Burton rents a house just outside Lymstock with his sister only to find their peaceful retreat enmeshed in poison pen letters, suicide, and murder.

Miss Marple only puts in an appearance in the last quarter of the book but it's still fun watching the other characters try to solve the mystery and getting so close without being able to make the final leap.

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Ninja2020
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Pickpick

Really enjoyed this, completely got the wrong murderer. I‘ll never make detective 🕵️‍♀️ #Agathachristie #christie #movingfinger

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truthinfiction

“I think you‘re the nicest person in the world—but I‘m not in love with you.”
“I‘ll make you love me.”
“That wouldn‘t do. I don‘t want to be made.”

8 likes2 stack adds
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Nute
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Pickpick

Finished this time!
I was surprised at the comedic aspect of this book. I actually chuckled out loud at certain passages. I don‘t recall being tickled by Agatha Christie‘s writing before. Has anyone else ever thought her also gifted with a funny sense-of-humor? Maybe it was the quaintness of it all. Weird about it being called a Miss Marple Mystery when she had only a hot second presence, but it was in that timing that things became crystal clear!

Scochrane26 I think her Miss Marple books have more humor than her others. 4y
truthinfiction I am reading The Body in the library by her these days. It's my first miss marple and I haven't seen a lot of her so far. Unlike Poirot books where the entire book almost revolves around him. 4y
Nute @Scochrane26 Yes, I‘m discovering that point and believe it to be true! I really was smiling and chuckling in a few places. 4y
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Nute @bookstea So True! Poirot is through and through the entire plot line of his books even present upon the opening chapter of some books. I was amazed at Miss Marple‘s brief appearance in The Moving Finger. I watched the BBC series adaptation after reading the book and that aspect was greatly altered. 4y
truthinfiction @Nute You were right. This book is humorous. There was one particular dialogue where I couldn't help but laugh out loud. Jerry remarking upon Miss Barton's perceived notion of men. One thing that is irking me is how Jerry, and even the Police, leave Megan out of the list of suspects. Not only she fits the bill when it comes to being an outcast and enraged at the society, she also had ample opportunity to handle the book at Burton's and kill Agnes. 4y
truthinfiction Not to mention that she suddenly made up her mind to go home after Agnes rung up Partridge and she was one character who was openly afraid after Mrs. Symmington's suicide. 4y
Nute @bookstea Aww...absolutely agree! I suspected Megan for a while as the obvious in-my-face guilty person and it was the main reason that you stated above - The Outcast and we can take it a step further - The Outcast disregarded even within her own home. But there‘s an underlying softness to her - she wanted to be considered, valued and simply included. I didn‘t think that she would risk inclusiveness for the sake of murder. 4y
Nute @bookstea What did you think of Jerry‘s romantic interest in Megan? 4y
Nute @bookstea I have to put myself in a different frame of mind when reading Agatha Christie‘s books. I have to hold closely to the time period of her writing. Some ideologies, some acceptable turns of phrases...at times I‘m caught off-guard. Miss Barton‘s notions of male behavior and attributes...Oh, my!🥴 4y
truthinfiction @Nute I was rather fond of Megan. In my opinion, she was perhaps one of the very few likeable characters. While Ms. Holland had physical beauty, I think Megan was beautiful as a person. Her honesty and unaffectedness were quite touching. But, I didn't anticipate Jerry actually falling in love with her because as Joanna said he must have seen as pitiful or as an abandoned dog. Nevertheless, I was most pleasantly surprised by their union. 4y
truthinfiction @Nute You know, so far, I have never been able to guess the real killer in any of the Christie's books. This time, I reached close to the motive part i.e. the anonymous letters were just a front for getting rid of Mrs. Symmington but I was looking in the wrong direction the entire time and never once suspected Mr. Symmington. Dame Christie sure is sneaky. 4y
truthinfiction @Nute You know, that is exactly what I was talking about when I mentioned the part which made me laugh out loud. It was hilarious. 😂 4y
truthinfiction I have finished the book and ever since then I have been missing Lymstock. What did you read after finishing this one? 4y
Nute @bookstea I‘ve missed talking with you about Agatha Christie novels. How are you? For the catch-up: I have decided to read The Body in the Library in the month of October. What are you reading? 4y
80 likes14 comments
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Nute
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I pushed it aside for another book last year. Now it has come around again!

i.besteph My favorite author ever! Stacked, thanks for sharing. :) 4y
NeedsMoreBooks Love the bookmark! 4y
veritysalter I love this one. 4y
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Nute @AnotherMissBennet I‘m very fond of Agatha Christie as well! My enjoyment of her stories started in my teen years and has continued very strongly into my adult years. 4y
Nute @NeedsMoreBooks Thank you! I LOVE bookmarks! I was very sad to discover yesterday while surfing through Litsy that I had missed the annual Bookmark Swap.🙁 It is my favorite Litsy event. I‘ll have to make a diligent effort to be on the lookout for it next time. 4y
Nute @veritysalter I do also! It was a fun read of a cozy mystery. 4y
89 likes3 stack adds6 comments
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umbrellagirl
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Switching from Poirot to Marple. #agathachristieclubR2 #myyearwithagatha

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LiteraryinLawrence
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Pickpick

I love Agatha Christie. 💜 I had read this one many years ago but absolutely did not remember the ending, so it was a satisfying reread. Miss Marple is only a minor presence at the end, though of course she makes all the difference to solve the mystery!

Nute This is my next selection by her. I hope to get to it by the end of the year. I try to read 1-2 books from her collection annually. Some are rereads but most are first time around. 4y
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Scochrane26
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Pickpick

I really loved this one. Miss marple didn‘t come into the story until late in the book, but I guess all the murders can‘t happen in her little village. Good characters & 2 romances. A good mystery & a lot of assumptions about women that cause men to overlook facts. #scarathlon #teamslaughter @Clwojick 2pts-mystery #scaryscavengerhunt -black cover

@4thhouseontheleft #screamathon
Book 1/10 for #bfcr4

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Nute
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#24B4Monday - EndGame: Not only was I bouncing back and forth between books...not only was I under the influence of cold medications...not only was I on Litsy when I should have been reading...The REAL Doozy (maybe it‘s not so extraordinary) -> I fell asleep on the clock. So there we have it: thirteen hours is a fiction, sincere and well-intended, but an incorrect accounting of time as I spent some of that time drifting, dreaming and snoozing.👇🏽

Nute The Moving Finger was off to a good start, but for reasons unknown got pushed aside for Still Life which held my attention & significant progress was made. I can see why this series is a favorite of many. I‘m really digging Inspector Gamache. There was an attempt to read some obscure book about folks and their passion for reading (I like weird stuff like that). Though I was feeling miserable, I think that reading was just what the doctor ordered! 5y
Andrew65 Reading is great for recharge, and allowing the body to recover. A great time with your illness. 👍😊👏👏👏 5y
Clwojick I always end up falling asleep with the timer on 😂 5y
65 likes3 comments
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Nute
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I‘m reading on my Nook. It‘s as old as the hills, but I still love it. I don‘t think that it can be updated anymore, and when I tried to purchase a book I received an error message directing me to Nook.com. So that‘s a bummer if I can‘t purchase directly from the store on the device. BUT still I love it, maybe more than my kindle. I don‘t really use either of them all that much...not like I thought I would.😯
This is one of the selections for👇🏽

Andrew65 Not an Agatha Christie book that I have read. 5y
DrexEdit I love my old as the hills nook also. It's like VHS vs. Beta or DVD vs. Blu-ray. I'm glad to see the nooks are still surviving out there! 😊 💜 5y
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Nute @Andrew65 Keepin‘ it real right now...I read Agatha Christie‘s books not in chronological order, not in publishing order, but by the way they show up in my blue-ray series collection staring Joan Hickson. Isn‘t that funny!😆 I probably wouldn‘t have selected this as a most pressing Agatha Christie read, but it is the next in queue. 5y
Nute @DrexEdit Yes! I don‘t think that B&N got a chance to realize that they did do this thing right! 5y
Andrew65 @Nute Joan Hickson playing Mrs Marple, now that‘s bringing back memories...including the voice she used. 5y
72 likes6 comments
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Julsmarshall
Pickpick

Done! Loved this one, the characters were delightful. There were a couple of insensitive words which always shock me and take me out of the story 😝 Even though it was first published in 1942, I always wonder why don‘t they don‘t just them out of newer versions. Overall, a charming story that makes me want to travel to England and solve a murder.

KathyWheeler This is one of my favorites. 5y
38 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Julsmarshall
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Working today, but reading as I can! First up, Miss Markle! @DeweysReadathon #readathon #travellingreader

56 likes2 stack adds
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S3V3N
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Pickpick

My first read by Agatha Christie. I loved the writing and it wasn't excessively long. I listened on audio and that made it even better. I have others by her on hold on Overdrive and one dowloaded.

Librarybelle So glad you enjoyed it! 5y
16 likes1 comment
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vlwelser
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Pickpick

This one is pretty good. Oddly, Miss Marple is only in it for a blink. 💖📚

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Minispok
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"In everybody's life there are hidden chapters which they hope may never be known."

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Tamatha
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Next up in the Miss Marple series!

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BarbaraJean
This post contains spoilers
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Just for a fleeting moment I thought of Mrs. Symmington and Agnes Woddell in their graves in the churchyard and wondered if they would agree, and then I remembered that Agnes‘s boy hadn‘t been very fond of her and that Mrs. Symmington hadn‘t been very nice to Megan and, what the hell? we‘ve all got to die some time! And I agreed with happy Miss Emily that everything was for the best in the best of possible worlds.

BarbaraJean This absolutely turned my stomach. I was already having major issues with the romance subplot, and then this... 😠 I rated the book 3 stars / so-so overall, but this section nearly bumped it down to 2 stars / pan. UGH. 6y
HKGirl Totally agree with you on this! That romance was creepy imo 6y
BarbaraJean @HKGirl Yep—creepy for sure! That, combined with this quote, had me hating the narrator by the end! 6y
5 likes3 comments
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BarbaraJean
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Mehso-so

If you like your mysteries with lots of Miss Marple, this book is not for you. If you like a romance subplot free of paternalistic misogyny, this book is also not for you.

I didn‘t mind Miss Marple not showing up till the last quarter of the book—as a mystery-solving deus ex machina—but the “romance” and a couple of other issues left me feeling pretty ‘meh‘ about this one. First time I haven‘t thoroughly enjoyed a Christie novel, so there‘s that!

MommyWantsToReadHerBook Aww, sorry you didn't like it! I guess I'm weird I'm that I don't really let the misogyny and other transgressions of her writing on the 30s influencey enjoyment of her books, I forgive her and move on 😊 That being said, the reali 6y
MommyWantsToReadHerBook Aaargh I was still busy. The ridiculous stereotypes of foreigners in the international espionage novels do irritate me to the point that I don't really enjoy them. 6y
BarbaraJean @MommyWantsToReadHerBook Yeah—usually I can give this kind of thing a bit of a pass as a product of its time, but it really rubbed me the wrong way in this one! I think since it was the narrator spouting such problematic comments, it was harder to dismiss. Added to one very callous remark about the murder victims, it just left a bad taste in my mouth. But I haven‘t felt that way with her other books, so I‘ll keep reading! 😊 6y
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BarbaraJean
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“I forget exactly what they said. Something very silly about Caleb and the schoolmistress, I think. Quite absurd, because Caleb has absolutely no taste for fornication. He never has had. So lucky, being a clergyman.”
“Quite,” I said. “Oh, quite.”

😂🤣

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erista
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Definitely started more books than I finished this month. I haven't been reading as much the last couple weeks but hopefully that will pick up soon.

SilversReviews LOVED The Broken Girls. 6y
48 likes2 comments
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erista
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Miss Marple doesn't make her appearance in this one until 70% and only briefly a few times after that, but it was enjoyable. I thought I'd figured this one out but nope, she got me this time.

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erista
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Saturday morning reading with Frankie.

JoScho Frankie is a cutie. I have a cat name Frank which is short for Frankenstein. 6y
erista @JoScho Thank you, I love the origins of your cat's name. 6y
JoScho Thanks! He was a stray and covered with scars when we found him so we thought it was appropriate. 6y
47 likes3 comments
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erista
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Just starting #24in48 now with my comfy reading clothes in my comfy reading chair. Starting this Christie now. #latetotheparty #readathon

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JDMagnus
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On a Dame Agatha marathon. As randomly picked by my girlfriend, I'm now on to my first Miss Marple book after a long while! I have a feeling this one's going to be good 😁

69 likes1 stack add
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Lizpixie
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#SizzlinSummerBooks #day17 #ItsAllAMystery I love me a great mystery novel. Be it Cozy Mystery, Historical Mystery, Australian Mystery or Old School Mystery, I'll read them all. Agatha Christie, Alan Bradley, Carola Dunn, Sulari Gentill & P.G.Wodehouse just to name a few of my favourite mystery writers. I highly recommend every book & author in this picture.

PurpleyPumpkin Great collection!👍🏽😉 7y
erzascarletbookgasm Love your collection! This is so right up my alley! 💜 7y
JazzFeathers What a beautiful collection. Need to axplore it 😆 7y
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Dragon
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A stack of my #wellloved Christie's

Rachbb3 ❤❤❤ 7y
Dragon Thanks @Lizpixie I'm joining that club 👍😀🐉 7y
Dragon Thanks @Rachbb3 I do love my Christie's.😀 7y
60 likes4 comments
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SaraRosett
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Jess_Read_This
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My first Christie novel and so far it's a delight! Listening to a proper narrator introduce the characters with matter of fact observations has made me smile in approval more than once. #agathachristie #whodunnit #mystery #januaryread #missmarple #bookish

Lizpixie This is one of my favourites!👍 7y
Jess_Read_This @Lizpixie I just started listening last night and love it! I can't believe I've lived so long without reading Agatha Christie! 7y
KarenUK Oooh I love Richard E Grant... I'll have to check out this narration 💕 7y
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Jess_Read_This @KarenUK He's superb! He makes the story even more enjoyable! 7y
Lizpixie I'll have to check out the audiobooks now, I live Richard E Grant! You know he played Miss Marple's nephew Raymond in season 2 on tv. 7y
Jess_Read_This @Lizpixie *gasp* No, I didn't know that! I'm going to have to rewatch that season! 7y
Lizpixie I think it was season 2, it was the Nemesis episode. 7y
SaraRosett One of my favorite #Christie novels! 7y
Jess_Read_This @SaraRosett Even though it's my first, I can see it being my favorite as well. I just bought myself a print a copy of it so I can do a reread in its print form! 7y
SaraRosett @Jess_Read_This: I really enjoyed the setting and the brother/sister sleuths. 7y
39 likes3 stack adds10 comments
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brennahawleycraig
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#Allisnotlost when reading a classic and kickass mystery writer with a #catoflitsy nearby (on a Lisa Frank blanket)! #agathachristie @Liberty

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sarahbellum
Moving Finger | Agatha Christie
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Sick day, rainy day reading. "No smoke without fire." ? #agathachristie #mystery

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Lizpixie
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Pickpick

Book 1 of 2017 is done!Yay!!🎉Fitting I think to start off the new year with Dame Agatha.This book is one of my favourite Marples,it's narrated by a new character & she doesn't actually appear until the last third of the book, but she's brought in at the perfect moment.Jerry Burton & his sister Joanna have come to stay in Lymstock so he can recover from a plane crash. But poison pen letters are stirring things up & then Mrs Symmington dies.🔪

LauraBrook Woo, congrats on finishing number 1 already! 👏🏼 7y
Dragon Great choice for your first book of 2017 !! 🎉 7y
62 likes2 stack adds3 comments
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Amie
Moving Finger | Agatha Christie
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Pickpick

Miss Marple doesn't even arrive on the scene until about 70% of the way through the book. I like that the stories in this series are told from points of view other than the "starring" detective's. It allows for a greater range in the stories.

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Amie
Moving Finger | Agatha Christie
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Time for some Agatha Christie. Slowly working my way through the Miss Marple series. 🔎📚

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mabell
Moving Finger | Agatha Christie
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"No smoke without fire, that's what I say."

[narrator] I had no idea how horribly tired I was going to get of that particular phrase.

Foreshadowing ...