I had a blast reading this book for the most part! The narration is exactly what I want in an audiobook, not annoyingly whiny or boringly monotone, and not excessively exaggerated. I'm a huge fan of Agatha Christie books because they keep me guessing the whole way through until the very end, unlike some mystery novels that are ridiculously easy to solve. This book was no different! I couldn't figure out the ending by the time I finished!
The only downside is that the abundance of characters can be really confusing right from the start of the story. I couldn't keep track of them all and had to repeatedly rewind to make sure I understood who they were referring to. I have to admit, it's the only issue I unfortunately encounter with every Agatha Christie book. Despite the character confusion, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the narration!
The narration of this audiobook is really terrible. The story itself, like many of Agatha Christie's books, is excellent, but the narrator does a really bad job. It's incredibly irritating that he speaks in a loud voice while whispering and the way he attempts to do Lettice's voice is just over the top and feels very forced. It's definitely not natural at all!
Thankfully, I had already experienced Agatha Christie before reading this book. My first introduction to her work was actually The Body in the Library, which I absolutely loved. It was so good that it sparked my interest in the Miss Marple series. While Richard E Grant's performance in The Murder at the Vicarage was impressive, I personally found the story to be slow-paced, uneventful, and challenging to finish. Miss Marple isn't a character that I particularly enjoy, but I have a great appreciation for Christie's mastery of the mystery genre. Despite my reservations, I do plan on giving at least one more book a chance before making a final judgment. If you're starting with this book as your first foray into Miss Marple or Agatha Christie, and find it lacking in excitement, I would encourage you to give them another try. I'm still holding out hope that the subsequent books will be even better, just like how The Body in the Library exceeded my expectations. It's possible that Miss Marple might not be my cup of tea, but I'm not too concerned as there are plenty of other captivating novels by Agatha Christie to explore. In conclusion, while The Murder at the Vicarage isn't the worst book, it certainly didn't provide the thrilling experience I was anticipating. There was a decent twist at the end and a few unexpected moments, but overall the journey to get there was a bit tedious for me.
Loading...
4 comments
Or use one of these social networks