I guess I'm getting frustrated with Agatha Christie and her "Miss Marple" series. "The Moving Finger" is the third in that series. I have no idea why. "Why what," you ask? Well, why it's called a "Miss Marple Mystery," I answer. There is no reference to Miss Marple until the end of Chapter 9 (about 69% of the way through the book -- and note that the book ends where my Kindle says 93% complete since there's the usual filler at the end). She makes her first appearance in the next chapter where she says a handful of sentences of no special import and then disappears until about 80% through where she makes a couple of more pronouncements. Then, she's done (except for her recounting what really happened at the end). But, wait, there's more. Not only is there no Marple here, the book isn't even written in same style or tone as the previous two books: it's written from the perspective of an outsider, has no common characters, and is in a different village (town). About the only thing in common with the previous books (specifically, "The Murder at the Vicarage") is that reading it feels like nothing more than living through the petty backbiting and gossiping of a small town. If the writing hadn't been technically decent (though I cringed at the "character" of the protagonist), I'd have rated it lower. But, even though I'm not happy with the Marpleness of the book, I guess I'll be charitable and rate it at an OK 3 stars out of 5.
The novels featuring Miss Marple are:
1.
The Murder at the Vicarage (Miss Marple Mysteries)
2.
The Body in the Library (Miss Marple Mysteries)
3.
The Moving Finger: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)
4.
A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)
5.
They Do It With Mirrors: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)
6.
A Pocket Full of Rye: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)
7.
4:50 from Paddington (Miss Marple Mysteries)
8.
The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (Miss Marple Mysteries)
9.
A Caribbean Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)
10.
At Bertram's Hotel (Miss Marple Mysteries)
11. Nemesis: A Miss Marple Mystery (Miss Marple Mysteries)
12. Sleeping Murder (Miss Marple Mysteries)