~The Body in the Library – A Review

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The Body in the Library by Agatha Christie was my first book to check out at the library on our recent introductory trip. (A trip that I thoroughly loved, I might add!)

The Author:
Agatha Christie was born in September of 1890 in Devon England. Her first book The Mysterious Affair at Styles was published in 1920. Interestingly, it was published first in the United States, and several months later, made it’s debut in England. Mrs. Christie was married twice; first to the unfaithful Archibald Christie, then to Max Mallowan. She had one daughter with her first husband. Mrs. Christie wrote 66 detective novels and 14 short stories. The author is best known for those featuring Miss Jane Marple and Private Detective Monsieur Hercule Poirot. Agatha Christie died in January of 1986 at the age of 95.

Technical Details:
The Body in the Library was originally published in 1941 by Dodd, Mead and Company. The copy I read was published more recently by Black Dog Leventhal Publishers, Inc. in New York. The book is 191 pages, divided into 21 chapters.

The Story:
One early weekday morning, the body of a young blond woman is found in the library of Colonel and Mrs. Bantry. Neither they nor anyone in the area knows who the girl is. By the time she is identified as a dancer employed by a well-known resort not far away, the small town of St. Mary Mead is already buzzing with the news. Colonel Bantry’s impeccable reputation is suddenly thrown into question, only protected by the stronger suspicions the police have of his young neighbor, Basil Blake. When evidence and lack of motive leave the police digging for more information, Miss Marple joins their forces with retired chief of Scotland Yard, Sir Henry Clithering. Together they try to discover who orchestrated this murder. The dead girl’s cousin has no explanation for why Ruby would have left the hotel. She had a dance number to perform – she even uncharacteristically changed her dress. In fact, no one knows for sure why she left or with who.

Then, unexpectedly, a second body shows up – another girl. This one even younger than the last. Where will it end? Miss Marple fears a third murder will occur too… Will she and Sir Henry find evidence so that the true killer is arrested?

The Writing Style:
The writing did leave a little to be desired. The arrangement of a few sentences were rather awkward.

Other than that, however, the writing was simple, yet with a touch of elegance. Descriptions of places are mostly left out of The Body in the Library. I believe this might be due to the fact that St. Mary Mead with its occupants, buildings, and dwellings, are recurring places in Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple books. If I read the first of the Miss Marple stories, I might know for sure.

The Characters:
The characters were colorful and full of… well… character! From the bumbling fool to the overachieving police officer, Agatha Christie carved each with obvious expertise.

Even though the characters are so well written, all of them were written from the narrator’s point of view. The book is lacking in a character who you can fully trust and understand. Miss Marple is obviously not going to be the murderer, but she keeps nearly all of her thoughts, opinions, and feelings to herself. This improves the mystery aspects of the case, but prevents the reader from developing a strong emotional attachment to the characters.

My favorite character? I better not give it away… That just might spoil the mystery…

A Few More Thoughts:
One of the plots of this book, shows a couple allegedly living together unmarried. This is shown without much comment – as though a man and woman living together in this manner is normal and acceptable behavior. While it is eventually shown that they were secretly married, this is not brought to anyone’s knowledge until the last quarter of the book.

Cautions:
There was some minor foul language scattered throughout this book.

Furthermore, there were suggestions of a husband’s unfaithfulness to his wife. While these are proved untrue, the topic is brought up more than perhaps nessacary. Thought, giving the writer credit, the idea of such behavior is certainly frowned upon.

Conclusion:
I quite enjoyed The Body in the Library. The mystery was well planned and well written. In fact, I even re-read it to my sisters (a little edited) after I was done.

To the KING be all the glory!

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