The Body in the Library

Published in 1942, this detective novel opens when Colonel and Mrs Bantry find the body of an unknown young woman in the library of Gossington Hall. Jane Marple, their neighbour in St Mary Mead, is drawn into the case as the police identify the dead girl as a dancer with connections to a seaside hotel and a wealthy invalid's household. Rival suspects, a second death, and a carefully arranged timetable occupy the investigation. Marple works from village analogy rather than from official procedure. The book is a closed-circle mystery about identity and alibi, not a police procedural.

Bound in brown cloth, cover blocked with a black, cream and brown image.