“The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side” by Agatha Christie – Changing with the Times

Very few are those who would expect to see their grand criminal mastermind plans fall apart at the intrusion of an old lady, and yet it is a feat that Miss Marple has been able to accomplish time and time again, visibly toughened into iron by all the horrors she must have witnessed ever since her retirement began.

In The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie she is at it again, as the author now takes us back to St. Mary's Mead, Miss Marple's own quaint little village, albeit one that has changed considerably since her last visit.

Young couples have moved into the homes, and they even had the nerve to open up a supermarket. Amongst many interesting personalities are the American film star Marina Gregg, and her husband Jason Rudd. It doesn't take long for things to get interesting after Miss Marple's arrival (as is always the case), as a most foul murder takes place.

A poisoned cocktail at a party destined for Marina Gregg finds itself into the hands of her admirer, and of course, kills him as dead as can be. With nothing short of a suspicious stare and movie magazines at the hairdresser to go on, Miss Marple does what she does best and ultimately brings the culprit to light.

First of all, there is one major way in which this book differentiates from other Miss Marple mysteries, at least in my opinion, and it consists of the protagonist herself having a rather diminished presence compared to what we are used to.

It does make sense that Miss Marple is getting older and needs young legs to do the physical work for her, but in the end the truth is that it sometimes leaves us stuck with characters who are, unfortunately, less engaging than Jane herself.

However, that is not to say that they aren't engaging and that the parts without Miss Marple are boring and unworthy... rather, it feels like in this specific aspect, Christie doesn't live up to the unimaginably high standards she has set for herself.

None of that really ruins the book in any way in my opinion, especially when we get into the actual meat of the book, the murder mystery. Out of all the Jane Marple mysteries this is one with a much more elaborate and complex murder scheme, and not only in terms of the planning but also when it comes to the motive behind the act.

The seemingly unrelated details are found aplenty and the clues are left just far out enough for you to see, but never easy to notice. You can most certainly solve this mystery along the beloved protagonist, but rest assured that even if you consider yourself a veteran of the genre you are going to have your work cut out for you.

All things considered, the minor criticism of Miss Marple's diminished presence aside, The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side is a most enjoyable and engaging murder mystery, one that is fair, keeps you on your toes until the very end and sweeps you off your feet with a bomb of a resolution.

Definitely recommended to Agatha Christie enthusiasts and anyone who enjoys Whodunit murder books.

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Agatha Christie (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) Personal site Agatha Christie is thought of by many as being the grandmother of murder mysteries. Throughout her novels, which include the classics And Then There Were None and Death on the Nile, Christie developed many groundbreaking techniques for her time, most of which are being used in one way or another by modern murder mystery writers.