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thetoreadlistpodcast's review against another edition
4.0
"The Marple Cinematic Universe." - Episode 144, THE TURNOUT IS ANNOUNCED
https://sites.libsyn.com/150491/the-turnout-is-announced
https://sites.libsyn.com/150491/the-turnout-is-announced
preecha's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Overall, I really enjoyed this cosy murder mystery, I think that the whole concept of Gwenda’s resurfacing childhood memories and the coincidence of moving into her childhood home is a cool idea. The slow reveal really projected this sense of uneasiness. I must say that I kind of predicted a lot of the twists and turns somehow, but I think that’s just down to me having read and watched a bunch of true crime and mystery content😂. I feel like a larger critique I have of the book is the reveal of the killer, I feel like it wasn’t much of a payoff for the reader for it to literally be a sudden surfacing of memory. Like wow. That was a little disappointing, perhaps it could have been done better, but I’m just not a fan of this particular reveal , it feels cheap!
221bees's review against another edition
4.0
Not completely certain whether or not this deserves a 3.5 or 4, but I'm feeling generous. Sleeping Murder, or "murder in retrospect," is a Miss Marple novel about a woman whose 20 year-old memory of the murder of her stepmother is triggered by the utterance of dialogue from a 17th century play: Cover her face; mine eyes dazzle; she died young. (This wasn't really believable to me, but once I suspended my disbelief, it was an enjoyable story). While eventually assured that the murder occurred, the woman has no idea who perpetrated it--the crux of the mystery. I liked all the musings over different suspects and reading the main characters' different reasoning methods. And the "secondary characters" (essentially the protagonists who investigated a bulk of the murder) were surprisingly likable (does anyone else find this to be pretty rare in mysteries i.e., it's rare to find non-detective/client characters that are likable)?
This was my fifth Christie but first Marple novel and I was surprised to find that it barely featured its central character; whenever she did pop up, though, she was absolutely delightful.
Fun fact: This novel was written during WWII and sealed up in a vault to be published in the event of Christie's death during the raids. It was, in actuality, published in 1976, months after Christie's death from natural causes.
This was my fifth Christie but first Marple novel and I was surprised to find that it barely featured its central character; whenever she did pop up, though, she was absolutely delightful.
Fun fact: This novel was written during WWII and sealed up in a vault to be published in the event of Christie's death during the raids. It was, in actuality, published in 1976, months after Christie's death from natural causes.
stuffrandom548's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
First Mrs Marple book I’ve read and I must say I do enjoy her character a lot. The premise of an old woman just gossiping and meddling her way through a murder mystery is really fun to read about. Adds a different kind of flavour to a murder mystery story. Not to mention, I liked Gwenda as a character too! Overall, I did enjoy the story (especially the beginning!) but it wasn’t mind blowing to me. While I didn’t figure out who dunnit before the end, I do feel that because of how limited the options are you can figure out that it prob isn’t one of the obvious ones. Though, I will say that realisation that Gwenda had about it possibly being Mrs Erskine got me, cause I thought it could be her haha
I think a 3.5 is a perfect rating for this book, I enjoyed it and I was invested in the mystery but I wasn’t necessarily hooked (i.e. I kept having to force myself to pick up the book, which made reading it last longer than it usually would).
chito915's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
trashstar333's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75