The Body in the Library recap

A young blonde woman is found dead in the Bantrys' library, although nobody in the household knows her. She is identified as hotel dancer Ruby Keene, whose growing closeness to wealthy Conway Jefferson threatened the expectations of his dependent family. A second missing girl, Pamela Reeves, is apparently found burned in a car, but Miss Marple notices that the two deaths have been arranged around a swapped identity. The library body is Pamela disguised as Ruby; the burned victim is the real Ruby. Josie Turner murdered both young women, and Mark Gaskell helped her construct the alibis and false chronology, because Jefferson planned to adopt Ruby and give her money they expected to inherit. Miss Marple lays a trap, Josie and Mark are arrested, and the Bantrys are publicly cleared.

Dolly Bantry wakes to extraordinary news: the body of an unknown young woman in evening dress has been found in the library at Gossington Hall. Neither she nor Colonel Bantry recognizes the victim. Dolly summons Miss Marple before village gossip can settle on her husband. The police trace the dead woman to Ruby Keene, a dance hostess missing from the Majestic Hotel. Basil Blake, a film worker living nearby, appears to offer a possible link between the glamorous stranger and the quiet country house, but the placement of the body still makes little sense.

At the Majestic, Miss Marple and the investigators learn that Ruby had attracted the affectionate attention of the wealthy invalid Conway Jefferson. He had lost his children in an accident and now supports their widowed spouses, Mark Gaskell and Adelaide Jefferson, along with Adelaide's son Peter. Jefferson's intention to make a substantial provision for Ruby gives several people a financial reason to resent her. Ruby's cousin Josie Turner describes the girl's last evening, while hotel guest George Bartlett cannot account cleanly for his car. The inquiry also reaches Basil Blake, but his concealment of the body does not explain the killing itself. Meanwhile, a schoolgirl named Pamela Reeves is reported missing.

A burned body is discovered in Bartlett's abandoned car and is believed to be Pamela Reeves, apparently connecting her disappearance to Ruby's murder. Miss Marple questions the identification process and studies small discrepancies in the dead dancer's appearance, clothing, and habits. Pamela's movements suggest that she was lured by the promise of a screen test or performance opportunity. The evidence now points toward a deliberate attempt to make two victims exchange places in the official chronology. Jefferson's planned financial gift remains the central motive, while the apparent times of death give the people closest to him carefully constructed alibis.

Miss Marple establishes that Pamela Reeves, dressed and made up to resemble Ruby Keene, was the body left in the Bantrys' library. The burned body in the car was Ruby herself, killed later. Josie Turner murdered both girls, and Mark Gaskell assisted with the substitution and disposal. They acted because Conway Jefferson planned to adopt Ruby and settle money on her, cutting into what they expected from him. The swapped identities created a misleading sequence of deaths and supported their alibis. Miss Marple falsely suggests that decisive evidence survived, prompting Josie to make an incriminating attempt to silence Jefferson. Josie and Mark are arrested, Basil Blake is cleared of murder, and the truth removes the cloud of suspicion over Colonel Bantry.

Miss Marple proves that the body in the Bantrys' library was Pamela Reeves, disguised to resemble Ruby Keene, while the burned body in George Bartlett's car was Ruby. Josie Turner and Mark Gaskell arranged the substitution to produce a false timeline and protect their alibis. Conway Jefferson intended to adopt Ruby and leave her a large settlement, reducing the inheritance expected by Mark and Josie. Josie killed both girls and Mark helped execute the plan. Miss Marple uses a false claim about overlooked evidence to provoke Josie into trying to silence Jefferson, allowing the police to catch her. Mark is also arrested. The Bantrys are cleared of scandal, and Jefferson is left to rebuild his family life without the conspirators who exploited him.