The Murder at the Vicarage vs They Do It with Mirrors: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Marple, Jane Marple, Women detectives, England, Mystery, Fiction
The Murder at the Vicarage
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Murder at the Vicarage (1930)is the first Miss Marple mystery book by Agatha Christie. Miss Jane Marple is a village busybody who applies human nature to crimes. Colonel Protheroe, magistrate universally despised, was…
They Do It with Mirrors
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E-book exclusive extras:1) Christie biographer Charles Osborne's essay on They Do It with Mirrors;2) "The Marples": the complete guide to all the cases of crime literature's foremost female detective.A sense of danger…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Murder at the Vicarage highest: The Murder at the Vicarage 4.0 · They Do It with Mirrors 3.8.
- The Murder at the Vicarage has the widest readership — 222506 ratings behind its score.
- They Do It with Mirrors runs the darker storyline; The Murder at the Vicarage stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| The Murder at the Vicarage | They Do It with Mirrors | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (222506) | 3.8 (47895) |
| Hardcover | 3.9 (348) | 3.7 (114) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (64) | 4.5 (146) |
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Reception
| The Murder at the Vicarage | They Do It with Mirrors | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 222506 | 47895 |
| Editions | 127 | 114 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 198900 | 18414 |
| Reading it now | 8101 | 1469 |
| Written reviews | 10364 | 3258 |
| Wikipedia attention | 6364 | 3737 |
| Pages | 288 | 215 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Murder at the Vicarage or They Do It with Mirrors?
The Murder at the Vicarage has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Murder at the Vicarage 4.0/5, They Do It with Mirrors 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Murder at the Vicarage or They Do It with Mirrors?
They Do It with Mirrors is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: They Do It with Mirrors (215 pages, ≈ 3 h 59 m); The Murder at the Vicarage (288 pages, ≈ 5 h 20 m).
Which is harder to read: The Murder at the Vicarage or They Do It with Mirrors?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Murder at the Vicarage: Challenging; They Do It with Mirrors: Moderate.