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The Moving Finger

The placid village of Lymstock seems the perfect place for Jerry Burton to recuperate from his accident under the care of his sister, Joanna. But soon a series of vicious poison-pen letters destroys the village's quiet charm, eventually causing one recipient to commit suicide. The vicar, the doctor, the servants - all are on the verge of accusing one another when help arrives from an unexpected quarter. The vicar's houseguest happens to be none other than Jane Marple.
Year: 1943
Detective: Miss Marple
Location: England

Cast of characters

Jane Marple. Also: Colonel Appleby, Emily Barton, Jerry and Joanna Burton, Rev. and Mrs. Maud Dane Calthrop, Mrs. Cleat, Florence, Miss Ginch, Inspector Graves, Mary Grey, Dr. Owen and Aimee Griffith, Elsie Holland, Megan Hunter, Dr. Marcus Kent, Superintendent Nash, Mr. Pye, Mona and Richard Symmington, Agnes Woddell

Publishing history

Publishing: The novel was published in 1943 by William Collins Sons & Co. in London, and in 1942 by Dodd, Mead & Co. in New York. TV: Adapted for television in 1985 by the BBC, with Joan Hickson as Marple, and also shown on PBS in the U.S.

Notes and reviews

Agatha Christie considered this novel one of her best and judged it to have stood the test of time better than many: "I find that another one I am really pleased with is The Moving Finger. It is a great test to reread what one has written some seventeen or eighteen years before. One's view changes. Some do not stand the test of time, others do." - Agatha Christie, An Autobiography, 1977

Murder methods:

One Blow to the Head.
One Poisoning.

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Book (special ed) - The Moving Finger

A beautiful new hardcover edition from Black Dog and Leventhal. Rediscover a classic Christie today.

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