The Body in the Library

The Body in the Library (1942) Agatha Christie

Colonel and Mrs. Bantry are quite shocked to discover a body in their library–a very young blonde body. The Colonel calls the police, but Mrs. Bantry knows better, and calls Miss Marple.

Again, like Murder at the Vicarage, I noticed that much of the story seemed timeless.

…(T)he old man found it much pleasanter to have a young, cheerful girl telling him how lever and amusing he was than to have his sister continually pointing out his faults to them.

‘No, I woudln’t. I wouldn’t tell a soul.’

‘People who use that phrase are always the last to live up to it.’

And I’ve always remembered this bit about marriage.

‘…(It) has been said, you know (and, I think, quite truly), that you can only really get under anybody’s skin if you are married to them. When there is no — no legal bond, people are much more careful, they have to keep assuring themselves how happy and halcyon everything is.

I’m not sure if, in this age of divorce, this is quite as true as it used to be, but it’s always stuck with me.

Unlike the first Miss Marple story, this isn’t told in the first person, but we do know that Miss Marple is going to solve the mystery.
Rating: 8/10

Published by William Morrow

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