Miss Marple Investigates: The Moving Finger Mystery

Rennyrij: One sign of a good book is being able to re-read it and enjoy it anew each time. This is one!

United States on Dec 13, 2023

Amazon Customer: Loved it....nicely packaged and came in perfect shape. Very impressed!

United States on Oct 22, 2023

Ann B.: This was a story I had a hard time putting down! Because it was so different from the movie that I needed to know all the differences.
Add this book to the top of your reading list if you like Agatha Christie mysteries!

United States on Oct 01, 2023

JSchenck: A very enjoyable mystery by the Dame herself. I've read it before years ago, but had forgotten most of the plot. That means I got too discover it anew! Reading Agatha Christie is like a visit to England. Wonderful!

United States on Aug 19, 2023

REC: Another great read with so many twists and turns.
It could have been written this year.

United Kingdom on Jul 30, 2023

10/11: The book starts with the setting of Lymstock and the main characters and side characters are introduced to us. Until the fifth chapter, the murder isn't portrayed in the book and there are developments but slow-paced, like what actually happens in the village. The book is narrated by Jeremy, the main character and hence isn't boring.
And Miss. Marple, I feel, is just for name sake in the book coz she doesn't get a meaty role like what she gets in her other books. She is more of a side character here. The only reason I'm giving a four star because you can't guess the murderer in the book very quickly.
Christie fans may find the book boring and slow paced. If you still want to give a try, go ahead!

India on Apr 10, 2023

Myriam Ickx: This was the first Agatha Christie book I read that was not a Poirot. Well, I know it's hardly a Miss Marple, since this keen old lady only appears very late in the book. Anyway, I found the reading delightful: the narrator’s perspective is full of humour, the observations concerning the various characters are so accurate you can hear them talk or see them walk about the high street (oh, Miss Aimée Griffith!), and the plot is pleasant to unravel with an unexpected twist at the end and a charming last chapter. This book was like a high tea cake tray, loaded with delicious little things you want to enjoy one bite after another. Very pleasant and I will be back for more!

France on Dec 12, 2022

S Riaz: This is the fourth Miss Marple mystery, although the narrator is Jerry Barton, while Miss Marple does not appear until late into the novel. Recovering from a serious injury, it is suggested that Jerry spend some time in the country to relax and so he takes a house called Little Furze, in Lymstock, and moves there with his sister, Joanna. Shortly after they arrive, a poisonous pen letter arrives, making all sorts of foul accusations and it soon appears that many others in the village have also received such messages.

Although both Jerry, and his sister, are keen to ignore the letter, many in the village think that there is, “no smoke without fire,” and, before long, one of the letters result in something a little more serious than upset feelings. As suspicion grows and everyone suspects each other, Mrs Dane Calthrop, the vicar’s wife, declares that she is going to call in an expert – of course, Miss Marple.

This is a very different mystery from previous Miss Marple books; mainly as she does not have a central role. That said, I enjoyed Jerry Barton as a narrator and liked his sister and the other characters of the village. Although this is not St Mary Mead,...

United Kingdom on Feb 14, 2017

Damaskcat: Jerry Burton and his sister Joanna lease a house in the country to enable him to recover from serious injuries. He has been ordered to lead a quiet life with no upsets. At first life in the village seems idyllic - the locals are friendly and call on the newcomers welcoming them into their circle. Then Jerry receives an anonymous letter which suggests that his sister is not really his sister at all but enjoys a closer relationship to him. It is only when he hears that others have had anonymous letters that he starts to wonder what is going on.

When the wife of a local solicitor receives a letter and is found dead things become serious and the police take a hand. This is a complex mystery and will keep most readers guessing until very close to the end of the story. I loved the characters - especially Jerry, who narrates the story, and his sister; Megan - daughter of the dead woman; the local doctor Owen Griffiths and his sharp tongued and efficient sister. The book is well written and carefully plotted. My only criticism is that Miss Marple doesn't appear until about the last third of the book when she comes to stay with the vicar and his wife.

I think this must be the...

United Kingdom on Jun 01, 2012

R. King Meeker: "Such a peaceful smiling happy countryside - and down underneath, something evil..."
-- The Moving Finger, p. 28

After a wartime plane crash, Jerry Burton's doctor advises him to find a nice, quiet country village and "live the life of a vegetable" to speed along the recuperation process. Jerry and his sister Joanna settle in Lymstock, an idyllic country town that is three miles from a main road. It is a place where, as an astonished Joanna observes, "People really call - with cards!"

Jerry's peaceful, vegetative life in Lymstock is, however, soon shattered. A few days after their arrival, Jerry receives a malicious anonymous letter. The letter alleges that the Burtons are not brother and sister, but an unmarried couple living in sin. Jerry and Joanna are initially quite amused by the novelty of receiving such a letter, but they soon view the letter as a sign of something much more sinister.

All of Lymstock, it seems, has been receiving these letters. When a woman apparently commits suicide after receiving a letter, the search for the writer intensifies. After another character is murdered, presumably by the anonymous writer, a palpable fear settles over...

United States on Jun 25, 2008