The Mirror Crack'd by Agatha Christie

Back blurb of The Mirror Crack'd by Agatha Christie: At her Victorian mansion in St. Mary Mead, Marina Gregg received her visitors like a queen holding court. Moments later, one of her guests was dead - poisoned. Was it murder by mistake? The fading film star's tumultuous past featured an abundant cast of suspects and Scotland Yard was stymied.

Miss Jane Marple, the elderly spinster with an unerrring eye for evil, begins to see the shocking truth ... as a daring killer strikes again.

My take

Whodunit? A major clue was a "look" on Marina Gregg's face as she met with the murdered woman. A look that evoked Alfred Tennyson's Lady Shalott:

Out flew the web and floated wide;
The mirror crack'd from side to side;
"The curse is upon me," cried
The Lady of Shalott

You can easily finish this book at a leisurely rate in a half day. The story is fast-paced, has twists-and-turns, relationships (husbands, lovers, children), revelations and red herrings to keep you riveted and reading. As this is a mystery, it would be totally crazy for me to go into the details of the story!

For those who have yet to read Agatha Christie, this mystery features Miss Jane Marple. I've always loved the character of the "harmless" old (and unaging) lady, Miss Marple, who has such a wonderful grasp of human psychology that she solves murders and crimes by remembering things from her endless store of people she's known in her life.

Here Miss Marple does it again, and the tragic ending bespeaks of many a star's search for elusive happiness.

P.S. This is among my older books and it's been years since I've read it. So a re-read was in order! Agatha Christie was my first major obsession (ok, after Nancy Drew) and I made my acquaintance with Hercule Poirot through one of my grandmother's books. Then on, I was hooked on all things Agatha Christie. I started collecting them, scouring used bookstores, and borrowing from friends.