Enjoyable, as I have come to expect from these stories. I had started to see the whodunnit on this one, but got distracted and ended up chasing a red herring. ( )

Now You See It
Review of the William Morrow Paperbacks edition (2009) of the Collins Crime Club (UK) & Dodd, Mead & Company (US) hardcover (1952) originals.

“When you only look at one side of a thing, you only see one side,” continued Miss Marple. “But everything fits in perfectly well if you can only make up your mind what is reality and what is illusion.”

Miss Marple is asked by an old friend to look in on her sister Carrie-Louise who lives on an estate where her husband administers a reformatory for delinquent boys. There is suspicion that Carrie-Louise is being poisoned, but then someone else is murdered by gunshot instead. Further poisoning attempts seem to occur but again others are murdered by other means. The house is separate from the reformatory so the delinquents do not appear to be the culprits. Only Miss Marple can see through the trickery to arrive at a solution where the police are baffled.

See cover at https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/e/e6/They_Do_it_With_Mirrors_First_Edi...
The front cover of the original 1952 Collins Crime Club (UK) hardcover edition. Image sourced from Wikipedia. It is believed that the cover art can or could be obtained from Dodd, Mead and Company., Fair use, Link.

This was another wonderful cozy with Miss Marple proving her mettle against a devious culprit. I am continuing to enjoy these Agatha Christie classics in a binge-read in between my other books.

Confusion for Completists
They Do It With Mirrors is the 5th Miss Marple novel. Some lists, including the Goodreads Miss Marple Listopia, count it as Miss Marple #6 as the short story collection The Thirteen Problems (1932) is counted as #1.

Trivia and Links
They Do It With Mirrors was adapted once for an English language TV movie and twice for English language television series. I have not seen the film, but both of the TV adaptations are reasonably faithful to the original plot. I did not find any free trailers or postings of either of them, but they are both available on the Britbox streaming service here in Canada.

The English language TV movie adaptation was Murder with Mirrors (1985) with Helen Hayes as Miss Marple.

The first TV series adaptation was as part of the BBC's Miss Marple (1984-1992) series as Episode 11 in 1991, which starred Joan Hickson as Miss Marple.

The second TV series adaptation was as part of ITV's Agatha Christie’s Marple (2004-2013) reboot series as Series 4 Episode 3 in 2010 which starred Julia McKenzie as Miss Marple.

There was a French language TV series adaptation for the Les petits meurtres d'Agatha Christie [French: The Little Murders of Agatha Christie] (2009 - ongoing) series. The episode based on They Do It With Mirrors was Season 2 Episode 1 Jeux de glaces (French: Game of Mirrors) (2013). This series does not feature a Miss Marple character and instead has a police detective and a reporter as the leads. The plots are transplanted to France and are considerably changed from the originals. ( )

I felt in the mood for something light and quick, so I turned to an Agatha Christie mystery. It was enjoyable, with a fun cast of characters. I find these predictable, but great comfort reading. This was a Miss Marple, and I think I like hers best. ( )

Miss Marple is not my favorite detective, as she bungles into a solution to a crime. In this mystery, Miss Marple draws upon a magic trick that she witnessed as a child. The use of mirrors provides Miss Marple with the explanation needed to solve the crime. So many characters that could have committed the crime and what a fabulous style of painting a negative picture of certain characters. The ending gives a pleasant surprise in all the nefarious acts against Carrie Louise and her family. ( )

Jane Marple reconnects with an old childhood friend who lives with her husband, daughter, granddaughter, stepsons and a school full of supposedly reformed juvenile delinquents. When a murder happens, the question becomes who is guilty?

Finally a book that starts and ends with Miss Marple. I loved that this opened with her agreeing to have a nosy around for her friend. Honestly I agreed with Wally - they're all nuts. I get wanting to help people but funding a private operation to rehabilitate criminal offenders is pretty nuts.

In regards to the actual plot - I enjoyed the twists and turns and the way the investigation unfolded. I love the blend of amateur sleuth and police detective that Christie does so well in her Marple books. It's nice that they both respect one another - rather than just writing the police off as inept or Miss Marple as a crackpot.

As far as the resolution, I was completely caught off guard by the guilty party. Although that's pretty standard. I was also totally wrong on the other thing. I really thought she was being poisoned but no - red herring. I was shattered I got that one wrong - I'd written a note for myself and everything saying I called it - I apparently did not. Very disappointing.

Overall the mystery was intriguing and the characters fascinating. A well written and well plotted mystery with interesting characters and a neat solution. 4 stars. ( )