Book Review: They Do it With Mirrors by Agatha Christie (1952)

Synopsis: Even though they still correspond by mail, Jane Marple hasn't seen her long-time friend, Carrie Louise in years. That changes, however, when Carrie Louise's sister, Ruth, suspects something is wrong and arranges for Miss Marple to stay at Carrie Louise's estate, Stonygates, under the pretense being a post-war charity case.

Soon after arriving, Christian Gulbrandsen, Carrie Louise's stepson from a previous marriage and one of the overseers of the juvenile delinquent home located on the property, is murdered. During the course of the investigation, another sinister truth is revealed - Christian believed someone was trying to kill Carrie Louise.

Review: Our library is officially closed for a month as of yesterday, but I made sure to be prepared by checking out a stack of books to hold me until it's re-opened. This included They Do it With Mirrors, which I finished reading early this morning.

I think I can honestly say this was the best Miss Marple book I've read so far.

The mystery itself, to be honest, wasn't anything I found overly difficult to solve. I pretty much had my finger pointed at the right person from the moment Christian Gulbrandsen's body was discovered and, while I wasn't completely accurate, also had the how and why mostly correct too.

What really won me over were the characters. This included Carrie Louise, who was a true matriarch who didn't seem capable of seeing the bad in people, her granddaughter Gina, who was attractive, flirtatious and a bit of a wild card, especially when it came to her marriage to the police department's number one suspect, Wally. Carrie Louise's other two stepsons, Alex and Stephen seemed devoted to her but also had a habit of acting suspicious while making no secret of their desire to steal Gina away from her husband. Her own husband, Lewis, was devoted to both her and to helping the kids in the delinquent home while her "paid companion," Miss Bellever, was one of those people who could be a villain but more likely just seems that way.

And of course, you had the madman, Edgar Lawson, who everyone claimed was harmless but did pull a gun on Lewis and take a couple shots at him during an agitated rage - a clear red herring but possibly someone who knew more than he was letting on.

Even though I was able to figure it out based mostly on recognizing some familiarities to some of Christie's other works, the book does do an OK job of establishing a motive for most of the people in the house, especially as far as who would benefit financially from Carrie Louise's death. It also does an equally good job of showing how multiple members of the household could have committed the murder undetected. At minimum, there were reasons for me to doubt my theory at times.

If there was anything that disappointed me about this book it was Alex. He was a vibrant and intelligent character that I thought would have made a great Agatha Christie spin-off - an amateur detective who solves crimes with the help of his theatrical background. Unfortunately, without going into any spoilers, the book's events made that a missed opportunity.

Final Opinion: The mystery itself might have been a bit too predictable, but the overall book and the characters it brings to life was a fun read. I'd recommend it solely on that.

My Grade: A

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Here are some reviews of other Agatha Christie books:

Book Review: Murder at Hazelmoor by Agatha Christie (1931)

Book Review: The Seven Dials Mystery by Agatha Christie (1929)

Book Review: Elephants Can Remember by Agatha Christie (1972)

Book Review: Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie (1937)