This story is much better than The Moving Finger but not as good as The Body in the Library. I highly recommend you read the review entitled "Idolatry", that reviewer covered most of my viewpoints.
I thought this story was progressing splendidly until the murder of Miss Murgatroyd occurred. That particular sequence of events was SO formulaic I became quite angry. As one reviewer wrote:"the killer just happens to be visiting Miss Murgatroyd EXACTLY when she's remembering crucial information about the night of the first murder." The likelihood of such a synchronicity was highly improbable. BUT the real insult to the viewer is, two women are intensely working on recreating the events of the murder and suddenly, out of the blue, one woman races off to collect her (seemingly magical) dog. That just didn't wash. We're supposed to believe the dog's SO damned important that waiting an additional three minutes to agree on the name of the probable murderer before leaving was just too much to ask of any human. REALLY?
It was blatantly (and painfully) obvious that Murgatroyd was about to be murdered. So that was a gratuitous and unreasonable death. In fact, one has to ask: Why didn't the woman take Miss Murgatroyd with her to pick up the dog, so they could finish their conversation while driving? That whole segment was WAY too manipulated. And it tarnished my belief in the notion that Christie is a great writer. Skilled writers don't MAKE events happen, they LET events happen.
People can intelligently disagree whether Joan Hickson's version is the best characterization. However, imho, she's not always spot on. Sometimes she fails to manifest that cutting edge which presents herself as a kindly old lady on the outside YET has a keen eye out for liars. She TALKS about not trusting people but we often fail to see that in her eyes. Hickson needed to manifest a placid disarming face with a big Cheshire cat grin while at the same time flashing her cold intense eyes. She didn't do that. And the "real" Miss Marple would have.
I've never read Christie but I understand this series does a fair job of staying true to her books. As other honest commentators have stated: Christie's works are uneven. Some of her stories are keen whereas others are outright dogs (couldn't help it).
I thought this story was progressing splendidly until the murder of Miss Murgatroyd occurred. That particular sequence of events was SO formulaic I became quite angry. As one reviewer wrote:"the killer just happens to be visiting Miss Murgatroyd EXACTLY when she's remembering crucial information about the night of the first murder." The likelihood of such a synchronicity was highly improbable. BUT the real insult to the viewer is, two women are intensely working on recreating the events of the murder and suddenly, out of the blue, one woman races off to collect her (seemingly magical) dog. That just didn't wash. We're supposed to believe the dog's SO damned important that waiting an additional three minutes to agree on the name of the probable murderer before leaving was just too much to ask of any human. REALLY?
It was blatantly (and painfully) obvious that Murgatroyd was about to be murdered. So that was a gratuitous and unreasonable death. In fact, one has to ask: Why didn't the woman take Miss Murgatroyd with her to pick up the dog, so they could finish their conversation while driving? That whole segment was WAY too manipulated. And it tarnished my belief in the notion that Christie is a great writer. Skilled writers don't MAKE events happen, they LET events happen.
People can intelligently disagree whether Joan Hickson's version is the best characterization. However, imho, she's not always spot on. Sometimes she fails to manifest that cutting edge which presents herself as a kindly old lady on the outside YET has a keen eye out for liars. She TALKS about not trusting people but we often fail to see that in her eyes. Hickson needed to manifest a placid disarming face with a big Cheshire cat grin while at the same time flashing her cold intense eyes. She didn't do that. And the "real" Miss Marple would have.
I've never read Christie but I understand this series does a fair job of staying true to her books. As other honest commentators have stated: Christie's works are uneven. Some of her stories are keen whereas others are outright dogs (couldn't help it).