Sleeping Murder - Velha Estante

224 pages

English language

Published Aug. 4, 2003 by Collins Crime.

ISBN:: 978-0-00-231785-6

(1 review)

"Let sleeping murder lie": this is the proverb (a variation on "Let sleeping dogs lie") which is not obeyed by twenty-one-year-old New Zealander Gwenda Reed, who has recently married and now comes to England to settle down there. While her husband, Giles, is out of the country, she buys a house for them and starts recalling memories which make her start to think that perhaps she had lived in the house before. She knows the pattern of the old wallpaper they find on the walls, the location of a now covered over doorway, a set of steps in the garden that are not where they should be, and so on. When she begins to remember seeing someone murdered at the bottom of the staircase however, she is convinced she is going mad. Miss Marple however has an explanation not only for why she may be having these memories but also …

"Let sleeping murder lie": this is the proverb (a variation on "Let sleeping dogs lie") which is not obeyed by twenty-one-year-old New Zealander Gwenda Reed, who has recently married and now comes to England to settle down there. While her husband, Giles, is out of the country, she buys a house for them and starts recalling memories which make her start to think that perhaps she had lived in the house before. She knows the pattern of the old wallpaper they find on the walls, the location of a now covered over doorway, a set of steps in the garden that are not where they should be, and so on. When she begins to remember seeing someone murdered at the bottom of the staircase however, she is convinced she is going mad. Miss Marple however has an explanation not only for why she may be having these memories but also solves the mystery of the murder victim and her murderer.

Sleeping Murder chronicles Miss Marple’s final case. Although Agatha Christie wrote it before Nemesis, it was not published until after her death in 1976. It is thought to have been written in the early 1940s, although the exact date has been debated

1 edition

slayra reviewed Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie

Review of 'Sleeping Murder' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Gwenda Reed is staying with Marple's nephew for a few days. During a play, Gwenda screams out when she hears a couple of words and later confesses to Miss Marple she fears she is losing her mind as she saw an image of a strangled woman named Helen. To make things worse, she is in England for the first time in her life but she recognises the house she bought for herself and her husband as if she had been there before. Miss Marple calms her down and wonders whether Gwenda has lived in England when she was a child, and if she witnessed a murder.

I enjoyed this story, not so much for the big revelation in the end but by enjoying Gwenda's investigation as it progresses. It is interesting to dig on the past, as some things are not meant to be remembered/discovered... Gwenda is strong and likeable, …

Gwenda Reed is staying with Marple's nephew for a few days. During a play, Gwenda screams out when she hears a couple of words and later confesses to Miss Marple she fears she is losing her mind as she saw an image of a strangled woman named Helen. To make things worse, she is in England for the first time in her life but she recognises the house she bought for herself and her husband as if she had been there before. Miss Marple calms her down and wonders whether Gwenda has lived in England when she was a child, and if she witnessed a murder.

I enjoyed this story, not so much for the big revelation in the end but by enjoying Gwenda's investigation as it progresses. It is interesting to dig on the past, as some things are not meant to be remembered/discovered... Gwenda is strong and likeable, she made a great main character.

Subjects

Marple, Jane (Fictitious character) -- Fiction.
Women detectives -- England -- Fiction.