The Murder at the Vicarage (1930) - A detective novel by Agatha Christie, starring Miss Marple

The Murder at the Vicarage was published in 1930; till that time, the novels by Christie had stand alone characters, or she had Hercule Poirot. This was the first novel in which she introduced the character of the elderly lady, Miss Marple (Miss Marple was there in earlier published short stories, but never in a novel length book). Miss Marple was very different from Hercule Poirot, this was an unassuming lady who was elderly, living in a small village, and yet like Poirot, who could understand the human nature and figure out how and why crimes were committed.
Miss Marple lives in St. Mary Mead, and it is in the vicar's study that the body of Colonel Protheroe was found, murdered by being shot in the head (he was despised by the villagers, and 2 people confessed to the crime). And this was where the start of Miss Marple's detective abilities is showcased. However, this first introduction to Miss Marple was not taken so well, with the story of a quiet village, with gossip, and with this lady who seems to know everything not being so engrossing.



The book is narrated by the Rev. Clements, and keeps the tale of the book tight and interesting. When Col. Protheroe is writing a note in the Vicar's study, he is shot from the back and in the head; but nobody seems to have seen or heard anything happening. Nobody liked him, and there were 2 quick confessions to killing him.
As things start to run in the story, you start to discover that almost everybody had a motive for killing him, and there were enough unknowns to suspect everybody. Some of the characters in the book are Mrs. Price Ridley, Colonel Melchett, Dr. Haydock, and others. Things otherwise move slowly in the village, with gossip occurring everywhere. But Miss Marple does eventually find out who did it (even though the village policeman really does not believe her initially).