One of Dame Agatha Christie’s most beloved detective characters is Miss Jane Marple, elderly but spry, and certainly not missing any of her marbles. With her sweet face and gentle disposition, no one would suspect that lurking under her white hair is a brain like a steel trap, able to solve mysteries in a single bound, and bring evildoers to justice just when they think they’ve gotten away with everything.
“A Pocket Full of Rye” is such a mystery, in which we see Miss Marple do what she does so well. Our story begins in the offices of Mr. Rex Fortescue, a financier who employs several workers, but isn’t close to any of them. One morning, as is her routine, his secretary Miss Grosvenor makes his morning tea. She takes it in to him and returns to his desk, only to hear a strangled cry a few moments later. When she goes back into the office to see what’s going on, she finds her employer struggling for air. He’s not able to say much, but he does say that there’s something wrong with the tea. She dashes out to try to get help, but by the time the doctor arrives, it’s too late. Mr. Fortescue is taken to hospital, but he dies five minutes after arrival. Most curiously, his pocket is filled with grains of rye.
As Inspector Neele takes the case and beings to investigate the death, he speaks to the doctor in charge of the case. The doctor is sure that Mr. Fortescue was poisoned, and while he must wait for further tests, he’s almost sure the poison used was taxine, which is found in yew trees. Inspector Neele is amazed to discover that the Fortescue family lives in Yewtree Lodge.
As the clues pile on thick and fast, the puzzle seems to complex to solve. But don’t put anything past Miss Marple. That would be a mistake.
(This book was first published in 1953. The edition I have was published in 1986 by Simon and Schuster.)
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The Rebirth of Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie: First Lady of Mystery