A Pocket Full of Rye Book Review

Title: A Pocket Full of Rye.

Author: Agatha Christie.

Genre: Mystery, Classic, Historical Fiction, Miss Marple.

Plot: Rex Fortescue, a king in his own right of his financial empire, drinks his last cup of tea at his office one brisk morning. Inspector Neele, his inner musings on the case propelling most of the story, begins investigating at once and discovers plenty of clues. Now, if only he could string them together into something coherent and solve this puzzling case!

Fortescue, it seems, was on the brink of insanity and left behind not only a crumbling empire, but a dysfunctional rather nasty family. His second wife, much younger than himself, married for money and has an on going affair with her "golf partner," Vivian Dubois. His two sons by his first marriage, Percy and Lancelot  are complete opposites. Percy, -self-righteous and uptight, has always been billed as the good boy. Yet, he has his own motives and agendas. Lance, the adventure-loving reckless black sheep of the family, hasn't seen his father in years - or has he? And then there are the daughters of the family. Percy and Lance have a sister, sweet and innocent in so many ways and yet deep in her own troubles; Elaine is the only one to show genuine grief for her father. Yet his death means she can finally marry Gerald - the suitor her father heartily disapproved of. Percy's wife, Jennifer, was a nurse before her marriage and now finds herself bored out of her mind with all the luxury surrounding her. Patricia, Lance's wife, is more at home with horses and dogs than in the world of her husband's relatives.

When everyone has a motive, figuring out who the villain is becomes increasingly difficult for Inspector Neele. And then two more people are found dead. Enter the tiny but brilliant Miss Marple, bent on avenging one of the deaths. With her crucial insight into human nature and her non-threatening appearance, Miss Marple supplies Neele with the missing clues he needs to solve this baffling case once and for all.

Likes/Dislikes: I quite enjoyed this novel. It is the seventh Miss Marple mystery and really was very interesting and baffling. I wish Miss Marple had been in it more than she actually was, but Inspector Neele was a wonderful lead character. The secondary character I liked, however, turned out to be the villain. Pity. Oh well, it was definitely a twist I didn't see coming!

Rating: PG - 14 and up, for reading level and content. I mean, it's a murder mystery ya all. It's not graphic though so no worries on that score.

Date Report Written: March 9, 2013.