They Do It with Mirrors

Agatha Christie\’s 1952 \”Miss Marple\” novel (the 5th novel in that series (I don\’t know why Amazon says it\’s the 6th)), \” They Do It With Mirrors: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries Book 6) ,\” suffers from some serious problems. First, the setting is so contrived that you can feel Christie trying to cram the situation into the book. Worse, she\’s apparently aware of how contrived it is since she has a character come right out and complain about it. Second, and most seriously, what\’s going on is so obvious that by the time the murder actually occurs, I knew what was happening (and just as importantly, what was NOT happening). And finally, some of her characterizations are getting stale. For instance, her American character in this book is pretty much the same shallow caricature of Americans that she included in her books from the 1920s. The same holds for just about all the nationalities she uses. Thirty years of such bad characterizations is just too much. So, I\’m rating the book at a Pretty Bad 2 stars out of 5.

This is not one of the stronger Miss Marple books. The mystery is Ok and there is a large enough cast of characters to provide lots of red herrings, but the majority of the detective work is undertaken by the actual police. Miss Marple comes in at the end to give some direction to the officers as to who the murderer might be but this is not the satisfying detection that she undertakes in some of her other books. In this novel she seems more of a guest star than a main character and I found that disappointing. The puzzle was adequate, not as good as some of the other Miss Marple books, but it meets the purpose. If you are a fan this book will complete the collection but its not the best novel to begin with if you just started reading about this character.

They Do It With Mirrors was published in 1959. It is a Miss Marple mystery by Dame Agatha Christie. The senior sleuth from St. Mary Mead is contacted by an old friend Ruth Van Rydock. Ruth is an American who knew Miss Marple when the two ladies were at school together. Ruth is worried about her sister Carrie Louise whom she has not seen in twenty years. Carrie Louise lives at Stonygate in a tiny English Village. Carrie and her husband run a home for juvenile delinquent boys in an attempt to rehabilitate them. One night a member of the family named Christian Gulbrandsen visits the home. He is a member of the Board of Directors. Later he is murdered by a gunshot. Whodunit? There are many suspects including members of the large family and the resident boys. Many of the residents believe that Carrie Louise is being poisoned by arsenic. Murder through inheritance appears to be the reason for murder. This is a short but intricate novel forcing the reader to keep track of the many characters and the plot twists. Christie at the top of her game!

This is probably one of the darker Miss Marple novels in the series. I do prefer the stories where Miss Marple is involved in the action from the outset, which is definitely the case with They Do It With Mirrors. Compared to some of the other books, it was a bit harder to keep track of the characters.

Sisters Carrie and Ruth are two of Miss Marple\’s oldest friends – and it\’s at the behest of Ruth that Jane accepts an invitation to visit Carrie, because of Ruth\’s worries that something is not quite right in that household. When she arrives, she discovers any number of potential reasons for Ruth\’s unease – the delinquents Carrie and and her husband Lewis are attempting to rehabilitate, the flirtatious granddaughter and her sullen husband, and the controlling housekeeper who may or may not have Carrie\’s best interest at heart – just to name a few of the potential suspects. When Carrie\’s stepson is murdered with little apparent reason, it becomes frighteningly apparent that the universally loved Carrie\’s life might be threatened. The entire situation is a shell game, and Miss Marple and the local Inspector must work to unravel the truth from the lies before Carrie becomes a victim of her own benevolent, trusting nature. They Do It With Mirrors has many of the elements of a classic Christie mystery. The setting is tightly contained to a well-off family home – a family where everything *should* be perfect, but everyone has their secrets. Everything\’s very genteel, but that veneer of proper English respectability masks some pretty passionate familial discord. In the best Dame Agatha Christie fashion, this cast of characters gives her plenty of opportunity to pack the story with red herrings and misdirection. As far as the actual mystery goes – this story falls a bit short when compared to some of Christie\’s other gems. The culprit becomes apparent rather early on, which is kind of surprising, but it allows Christie to take a look at their motivations and how exactly this \”conjuring trick\” of a murder was seemingly so flawlessly executed. What\’s more interesting for me than the actual case is the analysis of Carrie\’s character, and how this woman who never seemed to have a good grasp of reality sees situations and people much clearer than others. Enjoyable (aren\’t all Christies?), but not a runaway favorite.

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