Rating: 
Summary: An unusually good Christie
Review: This was one of a string of Agatha Christie mysteries I read in
a very short time, but it is the only one which has really stuck
with me. What sets it apart is the unusually fine character
portrayal, the ingenuity of the crime and its solution, and the
striking contrast between the wry humor which pervades much of
the book and the wrenching effect of its final pages (noted by a
previous reviewer). I'd never have expected to find a Christie
work thought-provoking, but this one was.
Rating: 
Summary: An Enjoyable High Tea With Dame Agatha
Review: When an unpleasant businessman is taken ill at his London office and subsequently dies of taxine poisoning, authorities discover a house full of likely suspects: a young, sexy wife having an affair; a money grubbing son worried about his father's management of the family business; an angry daughter frustrated in love by her father's control. But no sooner do police suspicions begin to form around one of the three than murder strikes again--and then again--in such a way as to leave them baffled. Enter, of course, Miss Marple, who sets about uncovering a killer who may be a psychotic that is killing victims in accordance with the old "Sing a Song of Sixpence" nursey rhyme.Most of Christie's great novels were written in the 1930s and 1940s. Although she could still create a stunner when she wished, with A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED a case in point, by the 1950s Christie favored a less complicated approach, preferring to write novels that might be described as creamy confections for a very civilized high tea. A POCKET FULL OF RYE is perhaps the perfect example. Like most Christie novels, the plot is extremely contrived--but in this instance she makes no effort to conceal the contrivance; it is a shell game, pure and simple and without pretension, a game undertaken for the pleasure of it. And when Christie sets out to write a novel for the pure fun of it, there is always a great deal of fun to be had. This will never rank among her greatest works, but fans will devour it in a single sitting and feel as satisified as if they had just enjoyed a blow-out of cream buns. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Rating:
Summary: Emotional and satisfying
Review: Wow, this one is really a great story, with an intricate mystery, a great set of characters and a really well done grande finale. The last 2 pages especially are particularly moving. Miss Marple becomes almost secondary beside the other players, but does get in the last word. (Sort of.) Hardhitting ironic plot twist even leaves her in tears...
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