A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries) - A Murder Is Announced

This was the first Agatha Christie I ever read, and it remains my favorite. I love the town of Lymstock, and Little Furze; Miss Emily, Partridge, and the rest of the characters.
When I purchased the Kindle version and began to read, I was disappointed at the changes. I've read my 50 paperback so often, I can recite whole passages, and the Kindle book is different. "I can see I've not explained about Lymstock" is missing, and with it, the charm of Jerry and his sister's introduction to the town.

***Spoilers ahead***

When Jerry throws their first Poison Pen letter on the fire, I think the narrative fails when the original, "It hurt, but not a lot," was edited.

There are other examples. Christie's strength was in her characterizations. With the Kindle "edits", her characters aren't nearly as vibrant nor interesting. I'm not saying the Kindle books aren't good, but the original flavor is lost. Newbies to Christies will read these and wonder what the fuss was about.

I've purchased about 20 of these for my Kindle. I've reread several of the ones I've loved in my falling to shreds paperbacks, and I'm appalled at the editing and rewriting. I'd so hoped to cull my paper library, but the originals are SO much better than the Kindleized versions, that's not going to happen.

Kindle for convenience, 5 stars. Content, zero.

Who authorized this?

Agatha Christie is a classic. Very British! The story was set in a small English community back when everyone knew each other or did they. This is a mystery that is solved without gadgets and technology. Just simple reasoning based on clues. Enjoyable.

How could anyone go wrong with an Hagatha Agatha Mystery. I have her complete set but still reread them from time to time. No matter how many times you read them, you still forget who the killer was. I love that about her books. And to see one on Kindle made my heart sing. So of course I had to sign up for it. Thank you and of course I toot her works to anyone who would listen. Happy day!

This is classic Christie. I always think she may have left the formula--but not here. The end is predictable after the first half . If you find yourself alone on a rainy day read it. Otherwise go to the library and look for something more adventerous

Who doesn't love Agatha Christie and her Belgium detective, Hercule Poirot and his fussy mustache? I am trying to read all of her novels (and there are quite a few!) and having them available as ebooks has made this "job" a real pleasure.

This is classic Christie. I always think she may have left the formula--but not here. The end is predictable after the first half . If you find yourself alone on a rainy day read it. Otherwise go to the library and look for something more adventerous

Who doesn't love Agatha Christie and her Belgium detective, Hercule Poirot and his fussy mustache? I am trying to read all of her novels (and there are quite a few!) and having them available as ebooks has made this "job" a real pleasure.

Since Agatha Christie is one of my favourite authors, there is nothing I can say that will do her work justice!! She is amazing and also gives us an insight into the early 20th century Britain. She is a first class writer and keeps her readers engrossed, never fails to satisfy.

This was a nice book that kept me entertained. This is the 2nd book Poirot appears in (the quirky investigator)-Mystery at Styles is the first. This book doesn't make you have to get the first book in the series to understand what's happening, though. This was the 2nd Agatha Christie book I read and now I want to read another!

This book was an exceptional good read and very hard to put down. The plot started off a little slow, but once it picked up it had a lot of twists and unexpected turns. I stayed up for several hours to finish the book. I highly recommend this book to avid mystery book fans.

As some other reviewers mentioned, this is NOT the Agatha Christie book. Instead, it is a stage adaptation by Leslie Darbon. As a stage play, I'm sure it's fine (not that I've read through it). However, it is extremely frustrating that nowhere in the product description (that appears at the top) does it say that this is NOT the original Agatha Christie novel. Had I wished to purchase an adapted script, I would've purchased one.

The one star is not for the person adapting the novel; it is for the store for making it totally confusing!

Any fan of Agatha Christie and Hercules Poirot will enjoy this book. Once again, Poirot and Hastings are called upon to assist a client, this time in France, but arrive too late to prevent his murder. The detectives do not know what was worrying the dead man so they must discover more about their client in order to eventually solve the murder. Lots of back story with some twists and turns, including the romance of the dead man's son with the daughter of a woman who figured prominently, and disagreeably, with the dead man in the past. Needless to say, the father was not happy and the son was willing to defy his father at all costs, perhaps even murder.

Poirot matches wits with a condescending Frenchman and Hastings has a little fling of his own with a mysterious young woman. In that regard, this book reinforces Hastings' later behavior of never suspecting ulterior motives when it comes to women. Hastings is always the knight in shining armor.

Grade: B+

Too much conversation and not enough action! I wanted this one specifically because it's the one where Captain Hastings met his wife (who, by the way, didn't seem to be his type at all). The twins angle made it neat for a happily ever after for our good Hastings, but some of the scenes stretched credibility. I didn't care for the reader; she could have done a much better job. The many french-accented characters sort of blurred together. Still, it is Dame Agatha - it is Poirot, and there is always a good time to be had.