I have to give Agatha Christie a lot of credit for being able to write in such a way that she somehow manages to conceal her clues in plain sight. This is a quick story and very simple in outline and I went in to it figuring I’d catch her out. But I must have been half asleep because she gives it away right in the title, and with a ridiculously conspicuous clue in the middle of the story that Miss Marple herself points to.
I remember years ago reading an analysis of Christie’s writing that showed how it had measurable soporific qualities. So maybe I was half asleep. It’s the only explanation I can come up with. Yes, there is some misdirection, but even that’s pretty obvious. And it’s not like we’re provided with all the information Miss Marple has. But we do get enough to finger the guilty party. I failed, and have no excuse.
Adding to my collection of Britishisms, I was surprised at the use of the word “tweeny” to describe a member of the household staff. I thought the girl in question might have been quite young and what was meant was that she was a “tween,” which is a term sometimes used to describe kids aged 8-14. But I looked into it and in fact it has (or had) a more specific meaning: a maid who assists both cook and housemaid. Since most households these days don’t have regular cooks and housemaids, I imagine “tweeny” in this sense has pretty much gone out of use as well.
Alex Good 
Tweeny – between cook and house mayhaps.
Do you always try to work out the who/what and why of a story before you get to the end?
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Yeah I think that’s what they were getting tweeny from. But that range of domestic staffing doesn’t exist many places anymore.
I do try to solve mysteries before I get to the end! I mean, I don’t get out a pen and paper and make a list of clues, but I think about it . . .
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ha, I knew Christie put people to sleep! Glad to have it confirmed.
And I must disagree, every household today still has a cook and a maid. They are just usually teh same person who also wears about 100 other hats, ie, the owners. So would that make them Super Tweenies?
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Super Major Domos!
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Now we just need to bring back the bowler hat or the top hat and we’ll be all set as a society…
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And silver-headed walking sticks. And spats. Don’t forget the spats.
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I’m ok with no spats…
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I’m not buying any “soporific qualities.” Unless by that they meant that her mysteries might confuse readers, thereby giving them tired head.
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Actually I think it’s the opposite. It’s a style that’s so easy-to-read and seems so eager to hold your hand that you stop paying as close attention and you let your mind wander, especially as things pick up speed plot-wise.
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Still not buying it. But then I’ve already admitted that I don’t read mysteries for the mysteries per se so maybe that’s the difference. The Poirot books on the whole were much too entertaining (the humor, intelligence, pacing, character interplay) to be “soporific” for me.
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Poirot is a lot more fun than Miss Marple.
I went looking for that study I was thinking of. I think this might have been it. Not soporific but mesmeric quality to Christie’s writing, but it leads to the same thing I think when it comes to noticing details.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2005/12/20/agatha_christie_study_feature.shtml
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So…hypnotic. That’s entirely different! I mean, I know what you’re saying, but you had me thinking that paper must have been written by uneducated philistines. : -)
Ok, now I’ve read the article. Seems a stretch. Interesting to know “more or less” is so pleasurable. We’re a wishy-washy species, I guess.
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Well it was twenty years ago. I remember the original write-up I read of the study saying her writing had a “narcotizing” effect I believe.
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