I wouldn’t recommend this to a Christie novice. "At Bertram’s Hotel" isn’t execrable, but it’s for die-hards only. There are two potential problems with books like this: a) the murderer(s) will turn out to be someone who never stood out against the livelier characters, or b) the murderer(s) won’t be as much of a shock, since they dominated the proceedings. (There is one marvelous piece of all-encompassing misdirection, which is cleverly disguised for the entire novel.)Ĭhristie seems a little torn here over what genre she’s writing in and most notably – as in a few of Christie’s most flawed works – the few charismatic characters far outweigh the majority, leading to an uneven reading experience. I find it hard to believe she solves this one, given that it’s all divination. Miss Marple does nearly no actual investigating here, and there aren’t even really any clues. Ultimately, though, I can find very little to recommend it. "At Bertram’s Hotel" avoids many of the predictable aspects of Christie’s well-worn premises, and maintains an oddly sinister undertone throughout. Years after reading this novel, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. With the extinction of some stinker short stories, and one or two gems of novels, most of the Miss Marple stories hover squarely around average. A relaxing holiday at a nostalgic city haunt leads Miss Marple on the trail of deceit and murder.
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