Reviews

The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side by Agatha Christie

laurareadsdaily's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

kocherreads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense

• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

about_wind_and_willows's review against another edition

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

beccafinney3's review against another edition

mysterious sad 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

Great twist and very miss marple which I love 

booknerdjo's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

affiknittyreads's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism and Murder

dk_d1337d's review against another edition

4.0

What is it about a murder where the victim was a disease vector that makes it hard to sympathize with them in 2022???? I guess I will never know

ginaparrish's review against another edition

3.0

This is one of Christie's slower books because the plot is fairly straight forward. Not my favorite but I do love Miss Marple in it.

megegghan's review against another edition

4.0

Awesome amount of Marple and village gossip. This one didn't really pick up until about 2/3 of the way in.

agrippinaes's review against another edition

3.0

I feel a bit weird writing a review like this for an Agatha Christie novel, but I’ll give it ago. The mystery is very strong and well-plotted. The solution is seeded very well and I really enjoyed being able to pick the story apart and work it out for myself. I worked out the bare bones of it before I got to the final revelation, and I was pleased when I got it right!

The characters were interesting. They were very well-drawn, so to speak, given how short the novel was and how briefly some of them appeared. They were very realistic and believable. I also liked the atmosphere of the story, and the idea of the world moving too fast for Miss Marple and some of her contemporaries to keep up with. It was an interesting angle to look at the era through, with all of the commentary on servants and modernity.

There was also some humour in Miss Marple finding herself in a position of having a home help / nurse forced on her, but it was also quite a sad idea. I was glad when that was resolved happily!

I found some bits towards the end a bit repetitive and unnecessary -

the extra murders didn’t make a lot of sense to me - I understood the motives behind them, but they also confused the plot a little bit.

I would recommend it if you want a well-plotted traditional murder mystery.

Content Warnings:

Murder, racist language, ableist language (The edition I read was published in the 1970s and I suspect a lot of that has been edited out of newer editions, but I’m not 100% sure.)