The Moving Finger - Velha Estante

English language

ISBN:: 978-0-00-712084-0

(1 review)

The Moving Finger is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the USA by Dodd, Mead and Company in July 1942 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1943. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence.The Burtons, brother and sister, arrive in the small town (or village) of Lymstock in Devon, and soon receive an anonymous letter accusing them of being lovers, not siblings. They are not the only ones in the village to receive such letters. A prominent resident is found dead with one such letter found next to her. This novel features the elderly detective Miss Marple in a relatively minor role, "a little old lady sleuth who doesn't seem to do much". She enters the story in the final quarter of the book, in a handful of scenes, after the police …

The Moving Finger is a detective novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the USA by Dodd, Mead and Company in July 1942 and in the UK by the Collins Crime Club in June 1943. The US edition retailed at $2.00 and the UK edition at seven shillings and sixpence.The Burtons, brother and sister, arrive in the small town (or village) of Lymstock in Devon, and soon receive an anonymous letter accusing them of being lovers, not siblings. They are not the only ones in the village to receive such letters. A prominent resident is found dead with one such letter found next to her. This novel features the elderly detective Miss Marple in a relatively minor role, "a little old lady sleuth who doesn't seem to do much". She enters the story in the final quarter of the book, in a handful of scenes, after the police have failed to solve the crime. The novel was well received when it was published: "Agatha Christie is at it again, lifting the lid off delphiniums and weaving the scarlet warp all over the pastel pouffe." One reviewer noted that Miss Marple "sets the stage for the final exposure of the murderer." Another said this was "One of the few times Christie gives short measure, and none the worse for that." The male narrator was both praised and panned.

3 editions

slayra reviewed The Moving Finger by Agatha Christie

Review of 'The moving finger' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Jerry Burton is recovering from a plane accident, and temporarily moves to Lymstock with his sister. There they realise the small town is being haunted by rather rude anonymous letters that have been sent to almost everyone. Mr. Burton decides to investigate those letters in order to find who is behind them before someone takes them seriously, and the problem escalates.

Even though this story is marked as a Miss Marple mystery, she barely is in it. I love how Christie manages to write characters that we sympathise with and suspect at the same time. I rarely discover the murderer before he/she is announced, and I am always dazzled by the plot. This is the first time I am reading the original text, and I finally realised that most of the witty lines were lost in the translation and that these books are funnier than I remembered. This is one …

Jerry Burton is recovering from a plane accident, and temporarily moves to Lymstock with his sister. There they realise the small town is being haunted by rather rude anonymous letters that have been sent to almost everyone. Mr. Burton decides to investigate those letters in order to find who is behind them before someone takes them seriously, and the problem escalates.

Even though this story is marked as a Miss Marple mystery, she barely is in it. I love how Christie manages to write characters that we sympathise with and suspect at the same time. I rarely discover the murderer before he/she is announced, and I am always dazzled by the plot. This is the first time I am reading the original text, and I finally realised that most of the witty lines were lost in the translation and that these books are funnier than I remembered. This is one of my favourites!