This was a tough category – the lists of fiction for 1976 were not very appealing. 1076 was the year that Agatha Christie died, and later that year, Sleeping Murder, Miss Marple’s last case, was published. It’s also on the Read Agatha list for 2023 so it’s a double tick for me.

What it’s about?

Our indomitable Miss Marple turns ghost hunter and uncovers shocking evidence of a very old crime.

Soon after Gwenda moved into her new home, odd things started to happen. Despite her best efforts to modernize the house, she only succeeded in dredging up its past. Worse, she felt an irrational sense of terror every time she climbed the stairs.

In fear, Gwenda turned to Miss Marple to exorcise her ghosts. Have they dredged up a “perfect” crime committed many years before?

What I think:

Agatha Christie is now as the ‘Queen of Crime’ and a master of plotting.

Gwenda is looking for a new home when she is drawn to Hillside. The old house needs renovation and Gwenda can’t shake the sense that she knows the house and has visions of the house in the past.

Miss Marple does what she does best – unobtrusively asking questions, listening to people and making links between events and people. With a few nudges in the right direction, Gwenda starts to ask questions about her past. She uncovers the truth about her family and their connections to Hillside.

What makes this an interesting case is that the murder has taken place in the past, and it’s not always clear what the crime is and even if there has been a murder. The potential supernatural elements are kept in check and there are always plausible and rational expectations for the events.

The story is a short, quick book and incredibly readable, as many Christie books are. It’s fast-paced, maybe a little predictable, but definitely enjoyable.