They Do It with Mirrors by Agatha Christie

Miss Marple senses danger during her visit to an old friend who lives in a Victorian mansion, which also serves as a rehabilitation center for troubled youth. A young patient fires a revolver at the administrator, but no one is injured. Simultaneously, a visiting family member is shot dead elsewhere in the house. Miss Marple finds herself immersed in a web of intrigue and must uncover the truth behind these unsettling events.

As surprised as I was to see Miss Marple front and center in this one, I was delighted to get more of her than I have so far (a finishing school in Italy?). But I think she was perhaps the only character that felt multi-dimensional and closer to being complete and fully-developed. The secondary and tertiary characters lacked some nuance and flitted in and out of the scenes like a round robin of a dinner party game.

And, for as riveting as the story was and the mystery itself with Miss Marple's sleuthing and deductions, I couldn't help but be disappointed in the whodunit reveal and the denouement itself. It was fine, but I felt like Christie used up all her energies on the careful parts Marple had to play and setting up the large cast alongside the murder itself.

Audiobook, as narrated by Emilia Fox: Fox did a great job overall, but her male American voice left something to be desired. Otherwise, I do think she sinks into the roles and the Christie novels in particular seem to suit her well.