Pamela Reeves

In the novel The Body in the Library, Pamela Reeves was a 16 year old Girl Guide reported missing a few days around the time of the murder of Ruby Keene.

Pamela was five feet and five inches tall, with dark brown hair which she wore in pigtails. She lived with her parents, Major Reeves and Mrs Reeves, at a villa called Braeside, in Daneleigh Vale.

She had gone to a Girl Guide rally on Danebury Downs, and after the rally, had told her friends that she was going to Danemouth to shop at Woolworth's. Her father confirmed that this was normal behaviour for her. However, when she had not returned home for supper as expected, her parents were worried, and notified the police.

A burnt up car was later found at Venn's Quarry, near Danemouth, with a charred body inside. The body was so badly burned that part of one foot and shoe were all that had escaped. However, the police surgeon did not think that the victim had been alive when the car was set on fire, as there were no signs of them having tried to get out. The shoe was later identified by Major Reeves as belonging to Pamela. A button from a Girl Guide uniform was also found in the wreckage.

Miss Marple later finds out from Pamela's friend, Florence Small, that Pamela had not been going to Woolworth's after the rally. Pamela had told Florence that she had been approached by a film producer working for Lemville Studios, and he had invited her to do a screen test. She was to go into Danemouth and meet him at his hotel, and he would take her to the studio.

It is later revealed that the charred body in the car was not Pamela Reeves at all. Pamela Reeves' body was actually the one found in the library at Gossington Hall. The murderer had posed as the film producer, and had met Pamela at the Majestic Hotel. They bleached Pamela's hair, made up her face, and varnished her fingernails and toenails. Pamela was drugged, and Miss Marple suggested an ice cream soda as a likely vehicle for the drug. She was also dressed in one of Ruby Keene's dresses

When Pamela was unconscious, the murderer drove her to Basil Blake's cottage, arranged her body on the hearthrug, and strangled her with the belt of the dress. Basil Blake discovered the body when he returned home, and moved it to Gossington Hall as a sort of prank.

Portrayals
In BBC 1984 adaptation of the novel which formed part of the Miss Marple series, Pamela is played by Astra Sheridan. Her name is changed slightly to "Pamela Reeve".

In the ITV 2004 adaptation of the novel (Episode 1, Season 1 of Agatha Christie's Marple), Pamela is played by Florence Hoath.