The Murder at the Vicarage
In a discussion with J K Rowling in 2014, author Val McDermid remarked that "The Murder at the Vicarage" is the book that got her interested in detective stories; she described the humour in that novel and said that Christie did not get enough credit for the humour in her detective mysteries. McDermid quoted from the descriptions of the four women in the village, particularly “Miss Hartnell who was feared by the poor”, for its humour and the terse description that conveyed so much.