Rating: 
Summary: Agatha Christie's Psychology of Evil
Review: In addition to the delights one gleams from Christie's deft, skillful plotting, incisive wit, and rich characterizations, the true strength of "The Moving Finger" is Christie's examination of evil underneath the pristine surface. This "wickedness" lies not only beneath the beautiful exteriors of the sleepy village, but also beneath the shiny faces of its inhabitants.Christie is quite adept at communicating the "atmosphere that seemed tinged with evil." When confronted with the distressing and distasteful poison pen letters appearing in the village, one of the characters exclaims, "Such a peaceful smiling happy countryside-and down underneath something evil....It's full of festering poison and it looks as peaceful and innocent as the Garden of Eden..." In addition, Christie recognizes the dark side of human nature, and that it is often extremely difficult to tell what people are really like beneath their poilte behavior. "I'm beginning to realize how little I really know about anyone...In everybody's life there are hidden chapters which they hope may never be known..." Christie makes it clear, however, that this evil is not a supernatural phenomenon divorced from human intervention in a particulary perceptive and profound passage, "There's too much tendency to attribute to God the evils that man does of his own free will...God doesn't really need to punish us...We're so very busy punishing ourselves..." And although "it isn't very pleasant to look upon the fellow creatures one meets as possible criminal lunatics," Christie takes a realistically pessimistic view of human nature and a depicts a village filled with "gossiping, whispering women" and "selfish, grasping natures." "The Moving Finger" is an absorbing account of a sociopath. "Such apparently unlikely people do the most fantastic things." Christie reminds us that the most horrifying evil usually comes from the most unlikely source- seemingly upright, normal people who are hiding the most unfathonable and terrifying wickedness. "The Moving Finger" is one of her most skillfull and insightful productions.
Rating: 
Summary: A favorite read and reread!
Review: Miss Marple is NOT a key figure in this story. She only comes in at the end. So if you were expecting one where she takes center stage, think again. The story centers around Jerry Burton, a recovering accident victim who retires to the country with his sister to recover. His doctor suggests the laid back life of the country will help him relax and heal, but little did he know Jerry would wind up involved in poison pen murder. The village characters are picturesque, and Christie does a good job of keeping you guessing right up til the end. It really is a "moving finger" of suspicion! Overall, a favorite read and reread!
Rating:
Summary: Unexpected Plot & Characters Make A Great Read
Review: Published in 1942, THE MOVING FINGER is among the lesser-known Christie novels--and a great pity that is! For it is quite simply among Christie's most thematically intriguing works.
Jerry Burton has survived an aircrash. When his doctor suggests that he leave the mad rush of London for a calm recuperation in the country, he--attended by his sister Joanna--rents a home at tiny Lymstock. The two are scarcely installed when they receive a truly shocking poison-pen letter, and they soon learn that they are not alone: similar letters are turning up all over the village, accusing the most unlikely people of the most unlikely sins. And with such a twisted mind at work, can sudden death be far behind?
In terms of plot, THE MOVING FINGER is one of Christie's more unexpected concepts, and she carries it extremely well, building a sense of mounting paranoia in a most plausible manner and offering a truly memorable series of double-twists. The characters of the novel are also deftly rendered and, although at times stereotypical, remarkably memorable. The novel is a bit too loosely written to rank among Christie's finest, but when all is said and done, it is a truly enjoyable novel that you'll likely gulp down in a single sitting.
GFT, Amazon Reviewer
In memory of Cujo, 1992-2005
An Orange Cat and a Dear and Faithful Companion, Greatly Missed
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Summary: Miss Marple is knitting her charm
Review: The interest of this small detective story is not where we could think it should be. Miss Marple solves the problem in a very holmesian way : don't look for what is obvious but look for what is hidden by the smokescreen of the obvious. But the book reveals, describes and analyzes the reactions of a village and of the people in the village who are confronted to a series of anonymous letters. It shows how gossiping dominates and informs the minds of the people. It shows how these minds can be totally governed by old fears, perverse curiosity and jealousy in a way or another. It shows how idleness due to the lack of eventful developments in a village manages the life of people : when nothing happens in your village, the slightest little piece of news or observation of your neighbour becomes an essential topic. A criminal, here a murderer, can then use this functioning to build a smokescreen that will hide his own crime and send everyone, including the police, on a wrong track because they are going to follow the obvious and the obvious is what you can see, and when there is a smokescreen you can only see the smoke. It is well done, though regular readers of detective stories will know the solution practically from the very start. This genre is aging rather fast because it has developed so much that it has enlarged the ability of the readers to see the strings of the plot, even when these strings are covered with a smokescreen, and Agatha Christie is a real artist at leading us astray, if we just let ourselves be led, which is in a way an essential quality in a « good » reader. Dr Jacques COULARDEAU
Rating:
Summary: almost a 5
Review: The narrator of the 1942 story is Jerry Burton, an RAF pilot who was sent to recuperate from a crash in a quiet environment. Jerry and his sister Johanna moved to an out of the way little village but soon found that life there would be anything but peaceful. The first unsettling event was the arrival of a poison pen letter, an occurance that made them part of the village. Most of the rest of the town had gotten one already. Just as they were getting acquainted with their neighbors there was a suicide, or was it murder? As time passed there were more letters, more deaths and romances. A less skillful writer would have made a confused mess of all of the various threads but Christie keeps the focus on the mystery while maintaining the romance as an interesting subplot. The story has worn well in the intervening fifty years. The only dated aspect is that women's lives were more restricted then. So why is this story an 'almost' 5? The problem is that Miss Marple arrives on the scene about 3/4 of the way through the book and then does very little. For Miss Marple fans this is not nearly enough of her. In my opinion Christie should have either brought her in sooner or left her out altogether. Despite this THE MOVING FINGER is an excellent story and one of Christie's most memorable stories.
Rating:
Summary: almost a 5
Review: The narrator of the 1942 story is Jerry Burton, an RAF pilot who was sent to recuperate from a crash in a quiet environment. Jerry and his sister Johanna moved to an out of the way little village but soon found that life there would be anything but peaceful. The first unsettling event was the arrival of a poison pen letter, an occurance that made them part of the village. Most of the rest of the town had gotten one already. Just as they were getting acquainted with their neighbors there was a suicide, or was it murder? As time passed there were more letters, more deaths and romances. A less skillful writer would have made a confused mess of all of the various threads but Christie keeps the focus on the mystery while maintaining the romance as an interesting subplot. The story has worn well in the intervening fifty years. The only dated aspect is that women's lives were more restricted then. So why is this story an 'almost' 5? The problem is that Miss Marple arrives on the scene about 3/4 of the way through the book and then does very little. For Miss Marple fans this is not nearly enough of her. In my opinion Christie should have either brought her in sooner or left her out altogether. Despite this THE MOVING FINGER is an excellent story and one of Christie's most memorable stories.
Rating: 
Summary: My favourite Agatha Christie
Review: This book is really enjoyable. It has an interesting plot, a satisfying mystery, and some very likeable characters. It was originally published in the early 1940s, but since the war is not mentioned or referred to in any way, perhaps it is meant to be set in the 1930s.
Jerry Burton is the narrator of The Moving Finger. He has withdrawn to Lymstock, a quiet country village, to recover from a flying accident, accompanied by his fashionable sister Joanna. Both of them are planning to take it easy, get to know their neighbours, and generally enjoy themselves. Then the arrival of an anonymous poison pen letter makes them wonder if they are as welcome in Lymstock as they had thought - until they find that there's an epidemic of nasty letters in the village. A worrying climate is developing, as people are beginning to take the contents of the letters seriously. And then Mrs Symmington, the local lawyer's wife, commits suicide after receiving such a letter. But since this an Agatha Christie book, we know that things aren't that simple.
Unlike a lot of Christie's books, it's the characters that make this one. Jerry is gruff but kind-hearted, and not afraid to say what he thinks. Joanna is likewise kind-hearted, but less obvious about it; willing to niggle and manipulate to challenge people's views or get her own way. Other characters such as Owen Griffiths, the doctor; his sister, the annoyingly hearty Aimee; and Mrs Dane Calthrop, the disconcerting vicar's wife, also capture the attention and move the story along. Megan Hunter, Mrs Symmington's daughter, is another good character, a "changeling" who doesn't fit into village life and is taken under Jerry and Joanna's wing.
So what, you may ask, is the connection of Jerry to the poison pen letters? Being an outsider, he isn't willing to sweep the matter under the rug, and works with the police to solve the crime - the solution of which is both ingenious, and something the alert reader (that is, a lot more alert than me!) has a fair chance of figuring out. Don't expect much Miss Marple in this book, though (which I was kind of glad of - the more I read of her, the less I like her) - she only turns up towards the very end to reveal all. It's kind of a pity she appears at all, since Jerry is strong enough to carry the book on his own, and MM's appearance is merely an in-joke to the established reader of Christie's books.
The Moving Finger has the usual Christie strengths of an ingenious plot, a clarity of style, and justice being done. Add to that good characters and something I particularly enjoy, a window into a world that no longer exists, and you have a very good book. I think it's one of her best.
Rating:
Summary: Absoloutely, lovely book!!
Review: This book was great!! I liked the characterization a lot and I liked Joanna and Jerry. I wish they were in more short stories. I liked the way the atmosphere was all set up for the murder and I liked the way Ms.Marple solved it, it was very very, full of action!! I recommend this book for people who like her books.
Rating:
Summary: Great Mystery!
Review: This book was pretty good, though not very exciting in the beginning. The author really developed the characters well, and that made you think it could have been anyone writing the letters! I do think that the beginning could have been a lot stronger though, because it didn't really capture my interest. I almost stopped reading it! But, it gets a WHOLE lot better as the story progresses, so I would recommend this book. Just keep reading! It gets really good and action packed!
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Summary: Malicious Mail, Murder, Mayhem, and Miss Marple
Review: This story is told by Jerry Burton, an RAF flyer recovering from a crash. He has been sent to the village of Lymstock to get rest and quiet. Accompanied by his sister Joanna, Jerry soon finds that all is not as peaceful as he might have hoped. A series of poison pen letters detailing the explicit and often illicit facts of the residents' lives is causing quite a stir. The fear escalates when an apparent suicide is followed by a murder. With so much wickedness abounding, the vicar's wife calls in her old friend Jane Marple, whom she considers an expert on wickedness in village life. This book is notable for its excellent characterizations. From the community-minded doctor's sister, to the charming spinster who rents the Burtons her home, to the dazzling governess of the lawyer's young boys, Mrs. Christie gives us a village filled with quirky and interesting people. Most notable is Megan Hunter, perhaps her finest young girl protagonist, who is transformed from the dowdy stepdaughter to an exquisite Cinderella. The narrative style is light and entertaining, the romance sweet, and the murder quite deadly in this fun and always ingenuous offering from the mistress of mystery. Mrs. Christie herself recalls this story in her autobiography as a personal favorite that has stood the test of time. As charming as it no doubt was when first published in 1943, The Moving Finger is a most satisfying read.
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