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BBC Radio 4 Marple
The Moving Finger
Recuperating from a flying accident, Jerry Burton needs to take a break somewhere peaceful. He and his sister Joanna rent a house in the little village of Lymstock, where they know no one and hope to be able to relax. Their quiet life is shattered, however, by the arrival of an obscene anonymous letter accusing them of impropriety. Jerry refuses to take it seriously and throws it on the fire. But during a routine check-up with the local GP, Doctor Griffiths, he soon discovers that theirs is by no means the first unpleasant missive: a number of other village residents have been similarly harassed.
Suspicion is rife, and matters are brought to a head by the suicide of one of the letters' recipients. With the whole village in a state of shock, the vicar's wife decides to invite down an old friend with considerable experience of the darker side of human nature. Can Miss Marple's arrival in Lymstock cast light on events? And can she discover the culprit before more deaths occur?
One of Agatha Christie's own favorite novels is dramatized with a full cast including Clare Corbett and Nicholas Boulton. It was first broadcast on 5 May 2001.
2 CDs. 1 hr 30 mins.
Suspicion is rife, and matters are brought to a head by the suicide of one of the letters' recipients. With the whole village in a state of shock, the vicar's wife decides to invite down an old friend with considerable experience of the darker side of human nature. Can Miss Marple's arrival in Lymstock cast light on events? And can she discover the culprit before more deaths occur?
One of Agatha Christie's own favorite novels is dramatized with a full cast including Clare Corbett and Nicholas Boulton. It was first broadcast on 5 May 2001.
2 CDs. 1 hr 30 mins.
2 pages, MP3 Book
First published January 1, 2001
37 people want to read
About the author
Michael Bakewell
73 books6 followersMichael Bakewell (7 June 1931 – 11 July 2023) was a British radio and television producer and radio playwright.
His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.
He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.
His work included adapting The Lord of the Rings (with Brian Sibley) into a 1981 radio series for the BBC and a series of 27 adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot stories broadcast between 1985 and 2007 by BBC Radio 4.
He was born in Birmingham, England. After graduating from Cambridge in 1954, he was recruited by the BBC's Third Programme. He became the first Head of Plays at the BBC in the 1960s.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 26, 2023
A fantastic mystery set in Lymstock, Miss Marple to the rescue again with a nice happy ending 😊
February 27, 2016
I saw the two-part BBC episode of The Moving Finger decades ago, and, as with all of the Mystery episodes featuring David Suchet as Hercule Poirot or Joan Hickson as Miss Jane Marple, I adored it.
Even so, the years had taken their toll, and I had quite forgotten much of the plot. So this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization came as a lovely reminder. Very well done, and someday — although not soon — I shall have to actually read the book.
Even so, the years had taken their toll, and I had quite forgotten much of the plot. So this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatization came as a lovely reminder. Very well done, and someday — although not soon — I shall have to actually read the book.
January 12, 2020
Current audio read for #Book2MovieRC 2020
April 19, 2023
These BBC full-cast audio versions of the Miss Marple books are great fun. This is one of my Group reads this month and as this is a book I've read several times I thought I'd listen to a dramatised version instead of reading the book. June Whitfield is perfect in this narrating role as Miss Marple and the whole cast was excellent.
These audio versions are a fun way of refreshing a story you feel you already know well.
These audio versions are a fun way of refreshing a story you feel you already know well.
February 27, 2025
A nostalgic fave Marple, ever since I tried my hand at solving it before the big reveal. (I got the murderer's motive right, but their identity wrong.) I've enjoyed the book, TV adaptation, and now the BBC radio adaptation too!
November 10, 2017
loved it
June 1, 2021
3.5*
April 25, 2022
A mystery you had to pay attention to or you won't get it at all. Just fun filler between stories. Love the radio dramas!
June 17, 2023
BBC radio production version with a full cast. June Whitfield as Miss Marple and oh hello there Nicholas Boulton as Jerry Burton.😍
Not a bad way to spend a lazy afternoon.
Not a bad way to spend a lazy afternoon.
April 18, 2024
I think I'm becoming a bit obsessed with June Whitfield's portrayal of Miss Marple...this is the 5th dramatisation I've listened to today!
March 11, 2025
A sweet and enjoyable BBC Radio adaption of this fine work.
September 18, 2012
Miss Marple bekommt einen Anruf von einer alten Freunden, der Ehefrau des Vikars des kleinen Städtchens Lymstock. Irgendjemand schreibt fiese, gemeine anonyme Briefe, die jeglicher Grundlage entbehren (behaupten die Opfer). Nun jedoch gibt es wegen dieses bösen Scherzes die erste Tote. Mrs. Symmington, die Frau des örtlichen Anwalts, begeht nach Erhalt eines solchen anonymen Schmähbriefes Selbstmord.
Miss Marple ist in diesem Krimi eher verkaufsförderndes Mittel, denn eigentlich beobachtet und berät sie nur gelegentlich und die eigentlichen Ermittlungen führen Jerry Burton und seine Schwester durch. Jerry ist oder war Pilot, bis er durch einen Flugzeugabsturz im Krieg schwer verwunde. Nun ist er auf Krücken angewiesen und hat sich mit seiner Schwester zur Erholung aufs Land zurückgezogen. Da der Tod von Mrs. Symmington die Familie gehörig durcheinandergebracht hat, nimmt er Megan, die älteste, vernachlässigte und Großteils von ihrem Stiefvater ignorierte Tochter aus erster Ehe, zu sich. Als im Hause der Symmingtons auch noch die junge Hausangestellte Agnes ermordet in einem Schrank gefunden wird, spitzt sich die Lage zu.
Auch wenn Miss Marple nur eine kleine Nebenrolle spielt, ist dies doch ein sehr guter, solide ermittelter Kriminalfall, auch wenn der Täter die Tat dermaßen überkonstruiert hat, dass sie schon unglaubwürdig und gewollt wirkt und schnell auf den oder die Schuldige deutet. Das Motiv ist so verdreht, dass man, wenn man ein paar der Miss Marple Fälle kennt, den Schuldigen recht bald ausgemacht hat. Es werden zwar keine Informationen wirklich zurückgehalten, aber dennoch hinterlässt diese unglaubwürdige Überkonstruktion einen schalen Nachgeschmack.
Erneut spricht June Whitfield Miss Marple. In weiteren Rollen Nicholas Boulton, Clare Corbett, Annabelle Dowler und weitere. Wie gewohnt sind die Sprecher sehr gut und entsprechen dem BBC Standard. Die Soundkulisse ist gewohnt sparsam aber unterstützend.
Miss Marple ist in diesem Krimi eher verkaufsförderndes Mittel, denn eigentlich beobachtet und berät sie nur gelegentlich und die eigentlichen Ermittlungen führen Jerry Burton und seine Schwester durch. Jerry ist oder war Pilot, bis er durch einen Flugzeugabsturz im Krieg schwer verwunde. Nun ist er auf Krücken angewiesen und hat sich mit seiner Schwester zur Erholung aufs Land zurückgezogen. Da der Tod von Mrs. Symmington die Familie gehörig durcheinandergebracht hat, nimmt er Megan, die älteste, vernachlässigte und Großteils von ihrem Stiefvater ignorierte Tochter aus erster Ehe, zu sich. Als im Hause der Symmingtons auch noch die junge Hausangestellte Agnes ermordet in einem Schrank gefunden wird, spitzt sich die Lage zu.
Auch wenn Miss Marple nur eine kleine Nebenrolle spielt, ist dies doch ein sehr guter, solide ermittelter Kriminalfall, auch wenn der Täter die Tat dermaßen überkonstruiert hat, dass sie schon unglaubwürdig und gewollt wirkt und schnell auf den oder die Schuldige deutet. Das Motiv ist so verdreht, dass man, wenn man ein paar der Miss Marple Fälle kennt, den Schuldigen recht bald ausgemacht hat. Es werden zwar keine Informationen wirklich zurückgehalten, aber dennoch hinterlässt diese unglaubwürdige Überkonstruktion einen schalen Nachgeschmack.
Erneut spricht June Whitfield Miss Marple. In weiteren Rollen Nicholas Boulton, Clare Corbett, Annabelle Dowler und weitere. Wie gewohnt sind die Sprecher sehr gut und entsprechen dem BBC Standard. Die Soundkulisse ist gewohnt sparsam aber unterstützend.
May 3, 2014
Just fun to listen to - made the story so much better. Miss Marple, of course, and she is always fun. She is invited Lymstock by a friend who is worried about the wave of poison pen letters - evil, again. And Miss Marple handles evil quite well. It didn't matter that I remembered the ending fairly quickly because the performance was great.
July 17, 2016
I have been listening to the Poirot radio dramatizations from the BBC. I decided to try some featuring Miss Marple. I enjoyed The Moving Finger. They did well condensing the story although some of the romance related elements were left out.
August 6, 2017
I really enjoyed this book. Didn't feature Miss Marple much but was a good mystery.
April 21, 2021
An evening pleasure in which Miss Marple finds herself embroiled in small town gossip, some poison pen letters and a murder!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews