Genre: Murder Mystery Format: Novel Setting: HouseLocation: England Murder Methods: Poison, Strangling Recurring Characters: Miss Marple, Inspector Neele
Synopsis
Sing a song of sixpence a pocket full of rye,
Four and twenty blackbirds baked in a pie,
When the pie was opened the birds began to sing,
Oh wasn’t that a dainty dish to set before the king?
Rex Fortesque was not so fortunate, he wasn’t presented with a pie, he was murdered! The only clue is the rye found in his trousers pocket. When two more murders ensue only Jane Marple is able to see a pattern – a childhood rhyme with a link to the victims’ past. Murder though, is anything but child’s play.
In this novel, Christie introduced the astute Inspector Neele who would later assist Poirot in Third Girl. There is a very personal element to this story for Miss Marple as one of the victims is her former maid, Gladys. The novel was adapted by the BBC and stars Joan Hickson as Miss Marple and in 2009 was broadcast with Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple. It is considered by critics to be one of her greatest achievements with the New York Times claiming it to be, “The best of the novels starring Christie’s Marple.”