Review of "The Murder at the Vicarage," a graphic novel adaptation of the original story by Agatha Christie

Review of

The Murder at the Vicarage, a graphic novel adaptation of the original story by Agatha Christie ISBN 9780007274604

Four out of five stars

 While it is not essential to understanding the story, it will help a great deal if the reader is familiar with the Christie character of Miss Marple. She is a sharp elderly woman that brooks little nonsense, so is able to see through the clutter of distractors and deceptions in order to solve the crime. While she is sometimes fooled, in general it is not for long.

 As befits a Christie story, the dialog and context are very British, the buildings and rooms are exactly what one should see in such a story. One can easily imagine the characters delivering their lines with an authentic British accent. The artist resisted all urges that they may have had to change the environment from a small town in Britain. The vintage cars share the roads with horse-drawn carts and all the men are wearing coats and ties.

 The story itself does not generate as much tension in this form as it does in standard print form. Some writers excel at leaving the proper amount of visualization of the scenes to the reader and when those images are provided, the delivery is weaker. That is the case here, the story progresses quite naturally from start to end with very little buildup to a climactic revelation.

 While most will enjoy the story in this graphic novel form, many will prefer the traditional written version of this classic murder mystery featuring one of the most delightful of heroines. Absent pictures, we all have our own unique mental image of Miss Marple.