All of Agatha: Mrs. McGinty's Dead
Aug. 22nd, 2023 08:38 amThis series of entries is commentary on my lifelong quest to read all of Agatha Christie's works in UK publication order.
Mrs. McGinty's Dead is a novel that beggars belief even for Agatha. The plot of solving the murder of a char woman and the main clue being a newspaper clipping of past murderers who got away with it and one of the past murderers is living in the village and doesn't want their secret discovered. It's Hercule Poirot with Ariadne Oliver and we get some insight into Agatha Christie's dilemmas and anxieties about having her works adapted for the stage. The murder weapon (a sugar cutter, a kind of small axe) is interesting, and there are way, way too many different characters. A nice twist at the end and a final clue that wouldn't work nowadays (in my opinion).
On y va, back to Miss Marple and They Do It With Mirrors which also has a big cast of singular characters but it also has Miss Marple so it'll be more fun.
Mrs. McGinty's Dead is a novel that beggars belief even for Agatha. The plot of solving the murder of a char woman and the main clue being a newspaper clipping of past murderers who got away with it and one of the past murderers is living in the village and doesn't want their secret discovered. It's Hercule Poirot with Ariadne Oliver and we get some insight into Agatha Christie's dilemmas and anxieties about having her works adapted for the stage. The murder weapon (a sugar cutter, a kind of small axe) is interesting, and there are way, way too many different characters. A nice twist at the end and a final clue that wouldn't work nowadays (in my opinion).
On y va, back to Miss Marple and They Do It With Mirrors which also has a big cast of singular characters but it also has Miss Marple so it'll be more fun.