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 Not many suspects, but buckets full of red herrings. May 19, 2001
John Austin (Kangaroo Ground, Australia)
23 out of 23 found this review helpful
Almost every formula, idea, and trick that Agatha Christie used in her detective fiction works proved to be entirely successful and won her an enormous reading public. Making use of nursery rhymes was one such formula. Nursery rhymes can reawaken the sense of wonder, mystery and enchantment in any reader. They also can carry symbolic levels of meaning, and some are allegories. In this her 1953 offering she makes use of the nursery rhyme "Sing A Song Of Sixpence". Appropriately it is one of her Miss Marple books. Although her elderly spinster sleuth has little to do here, and is late making her appearance, it is she who perceives and urges the significance of the nursery rhyme. "Don't you see, it makes a pattern to all this." The murders occur in the disfunctional family of Rex Fortescue, a financier, and the action occurs in his London office and in the family home, Yew Tree Lodge. The opening chapters are wonderfully engaging. Agatha Christie, when she took the trouble, could sketch characters vividly. Amongst all of them in this book, there are not more than a handful of suspects. To compensate, Mrs Christie throws in buckets full of red herrings. You'll enjoy the puzzle, and having innumerable theories suggested and dismissed. The solution, when it comes, however, is no more plausible than is the likelihood of a blackbird pecking off a maid's nose. If you can obtain the unabridged reading of the book by Rosemary Leach, your enjoyment will be enhanced. Rosemary Leach is unusually skilled at "doing" the voices of a large cast of characters, male and female.
A Great Read September 11, 2007
I AM ME
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This is a brilliant miss Marple novel and it is one of my favourite Agatha Christies books. It isn't too complicated but it is not simple either.
It is about the leader of a financial industry ( Rex Fortescue ), who gets poisoned during work and dies shortly after. The obvious suspect is his wife but is this actually the case? Two more murders shortly follow and miss Marple is called in to help the investigation. She quickly discovers that the murders are following the nursery rhyme Sing A Song Of Sixpence.
The clues are, a connection with the blackbird mines and a family called the MacKenzie's, Rex's will, why the murderer chose to kill according to the rhyme. There are lots more clues aswell.
I think this is a great book and most people will really enjoy it. If you like this type of book, another equally brilliant one, that is similar to this one, is Crooked House.
Brilliant from start till finish. February 12, 2001
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
A pocket full of Rye has a clever plot with great pace. A murder was committed in the very first chapter and in the end, the identity of the murderer was indeed a surprise. Three murders were committed in the story, each died accordingly to a nursery rhyme to confuse matters. Miss Marple looked beyond the fake evidences to claim victory over a cold-blooded murderer.The final part of the story was very sad, as Miss Marple cried while reading the letter of one of the victims. I could imagine as she stared into a photograph sent to her by the victim, as thought of what could have been done to avoid the death...
A great mystery, one of the best ones ever written! January 27, 2006
Kurt A. Johnson (Marseilles, Illinois, USA)
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
When a rich man dies under very mysterious circumstances, Miss Marple becomes interested. However, when she begins to really follow the details of what has happened, she quickly realizes that more murders are sure to follow. This is a very deep mystery, and only Jane Marple can find out what is really going on and why! Jane Marple was the literary creation of that most famous of English mystery writers, Agatha Christie (1890-1976). For those of you unfamiliar with Miss Marple, she was your stereotypical elderly spinster-lady, who loves to gossip and grow her flowers. But, even more, she has a razor-sharp mind that she uses to solve mysteries, using her own brand of lateral thinking that allows her see clearer than anyone else around her. This is actually Agatha Christie's sixth Miss Marple novel, written in 1953. (The first one was The Murder at the Vicarage (1930), and the second one was Sleeping Murder, which was written in 1940 but locked away to be published after Ms. Christie's death in 1976.) Overall, I found this to be a fascinating read. If you love a good mystery, then get this book - it is a great mystery, one of the best ones ever written. I give this book my highest recommendations!
 Not many suspects, but buckets full of red herrings. May 19, 2001
John Austin (Kangaroo Ground, Australia)
11 out of 11 found this review helpful
Almost every formula, idea, and trick that Agatha Christie used in her detective fiction works proved to be entirely successful and won her an enormous reading public. Making use of nursery rhymes was one such formula. Nursery rhymes can reawaken the sense of wonder, mystery and enchantment in any reader. They also can carry symbolic levels of meaning, and some are allegories. In this her 1953 offering she makes use of the nursery rhyme "Sing A Song Of Sixpence". Appropriately it is one of her Miss Marple books. Although her elderly spinster sleuth has little to do here, and is late making her appearance, it is she who perceives and urges the significance of the nursery rhyme. "Don't you see, it makes a pattern to all this." The murders occur in the disfunctional family of Rex Fortescue, a financier, and the action occurs in his London office and in the family home, Yew Tree Lodge. The opening chapters are wonderfully engaging. Agatha Christie, when she took the trouble, could sketch characters vividly. Amongst all of them in this book, there are not more than a handful of suspects. To compensate, Mrs Christie throws in buckets full of red herrings. You'll enjoy the puzzle, and having innumerable theories suggested and dismissed. The solution, when it comes, however, is no more plausible than is the likelihood of a blackbird pecking off a maid's nose. If you can obtain the unabridged reading of the book by Rosemary Leach, your enjoyment will be enhanced. Rosemary Leach is unusually skilled at "doing" the voices of a large cast of characters, male and female.
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