I’m glad to be leaving here,’ said Miss Marple. She gave a little shiver. ‘Before anything happens.’

Chief-Inspector Davy looked at her curiously.

‘What do you expect to happen?’ he asked.

‘Evil of some kind,’ said Miss Marple.

‘Evil is rather a big word —-‘

‘You think it is too melodramatic? But I have some experience — seem to have been — so often — in contact with murder.’

‘Murder?’ Chief-Inspector Davy shook his head. ‘I’m not suspecting murder. Just a nice cosy round up of some remarkably clever criminals ——‘

That’s not the same thing. Murder – the wish to do murder – is something quite different. It – how shall I say? – it defies God.’

He looked at her and shook his head gently and reassuringly.

‘There won’t be any murders,’ he said.

A sharp report, louder than the former one, came from outside. It was followed by a scream and another report.

Chief-Inspector Davy was on his feet, moving with a speed surprising in such a bulky man. In a few seconds he was through the swing doors and out on the street.

An excerpt from At Bertram’s Hotel by Agatha Christie

One of the things I love most about the days that come after Christmas Day, is that, if you are lucky enough to still be off work, you can take the days slow without schedules and alarm calls. It was on one of these quiet, slow days that I found an episode of Marple playing on one of the Freeview channels. In this 2007 adaptation, Geraldine McEwan and Martine McCutcheon were heading up the cast, along with Stephen Mangan and Mark Heap to name but a few. I have watched both this and the 1987 adaptation which had the wonderful Joan Hicks as Miss Marple before but it was a delight to spend some time revisiting it over the recent Christmas break.

Left with the warm glow that entertaining TV can give, I decided to read the original Agatha Christie version again. I love to look out for the changes that have been made between book and screen. I turned to my ever growing collection of Christie books and found the story nestled in one of my Agatha Christie Crime Collection books. These wonderful hardback editions are older than me. They have that wonderful ‘old book’ smell that come with age. I love reading these. They feel solid in my hand and being second-hand, I feel the history of the readers before me there too. They were a gift from my husband a few Christmas’ ago. Much treasured they are too.

Now, the 2007 adaptation was much altered from the original book (but still very enjoyable). Upon reading I found that the 1987 version was much closer to Agatha’s original story written in 1965. Although it is a Miss Marple story, the lady herself wasn’t heavily featured throughout but merely a steady presence of common sense and experience. Chief-Inspector Davy has taken a particular interest in the events at Bertram’s Hotel and he is sharp eyed enough to see that Miss Marple is not your average old lady. In creating Miss Marple, Christie brought us the perfect observer, the old lady that people barely gave a second thought. She used the ‘invisibility’ that quite often comes with old age to bring us one of the most brilliant sleuths possible. Underestimate Miss Marple at your peril.

Synopsis

An old-fashioned London Hotel is not quite as reputable as it makes out… When Miss Marple comes up from the country for a holiday in London, she finds what she’s looking for at Bertram’s Hotel: traditional decor, impeccable service and an unmistakable atmosphere of danger behind the highly polished veneer. Yet, not even Miss Marple can foresee the violent chain of events set in motion when an eccentric guest makes his way to the airport on the wrong day…

Originally published in 1965, At Bertram’s Hotel was one of 15 Marple stories and one that came later in Marple’s lifetime. By now she is an unassuming expert on human behaviour but ailing in health and mobility. She still gets around though and has a great deal of independence. Her nephew Raymond and his wife have treated Aunt Jane to a holiday and Miss Marple, feeling nostalgic has asked to return to a place of her youth in the city of London. Bertram’s Hotel hasn’t changed at all. That in itself is at times comforting but it also leaves Miss Marple feeling that something isn’t quite right. This is 1960s London after all and the country (and world) has been through great change since she was a young girl. Still, she settles in to enjoy her stay and allow herself to be swept back into the memories that travel alongside her. A sense of unease is growing though and a chain of events begins that will eventually end in violence and, of course, the loss of a life.

Every Christie story that I read has me smiling at the cleverness of her plotting and characterisations. She was an exceptional writer of crime novels, that goes without saying but now, in 2026, we can look at the historical context, at her brilliant observation skills. I believe that Christie had a knack for taking the characters she met in real life and shining a magnifying glass on the attitudes of the day. She wasn’t afraid to show how people were, warts and all. Yes, there may be a little stereotyping along the way but I feel that she used people preconceptions of character to mislead. You can divert attention away from the real murderer if you play to peoples beliefs, especially if they were of the less charitable nature.

If you haven’t read a Christie yet, then I would thoroughly recommend giving them a try. You know that justice will prevail in the end and it’s great fun trying to work out where the plot will take you. You may think you have the answer… but you’re never quite sure.

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