Marple by Various
A brand-new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Mystery’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve remarkable bestselling and acclaimed authors.
This collection of a dozen original short stories, all featuring Jane Marple, will introduce the character to a whole new generation. Each author reimagines Agatha Christie’s Marple through their own unique perspective while staying true to the hallmarks of a traditional mystery.
Naomi Alderman
Leigh Bardugo
Alyssa Cole
Lucy Foley
Elly Griffiths
Natalie Haynes
Jean Kwok
Val McDermid
Karen M. McManus
Dreda Say Mitchell
Kate Mosse
Ruth Ware
Miss Marple was first introduced to readers in a story Agatha Christie wrote for The Royal Magazine in 1927 and made her first appearance in a full-length novel in 1930’s The Murder at the Vicarage. It has been 45 years since Agatha Christie’s last Marple novel, Sleeping Murder, was published posthumously in 1976, and this collection of ingenious new stories by twelve Christie devotees will be a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains the most famous fictional female detective of all time.
My Review
I’m not going to attempt to review all 12 stories so I’ll pick out the ones that ‘spoke’ to me in Miss Marple’s ‘voice’. Plus one that was totally different.
Starting with The Second Murder At The Vicarage by Scottish crime writer Val McDermid. I could hear Joan Hickson (my favourite) speaking and see her as Jane Marple in the 1980s TV series. Of course we all know that Agatha Christie wrote a novel called Murder At The Vicarage in 1930, which was later adapted into a play. In McDermid’s version, there is a degree of humour which makes it all the more entertaining.
‘To have one murder in one’s vicarage is unfortunate; to have a second looks like carelessness…’ Where have I heard that before? Must be none other than Oscar Wilde himself!
The story is narrated by the vicar in this instance. The dead maid is called Mary, but she is not ‘our maid’. She was, but not any more. Anyone who had dined at the vicarage, ‘could bear testament to the literally diabolical nature of Mary’s cooking.’ I doubt that was sufficient motive for her murder though.
The Unravelling by Natalie Haynes is definitely near the top of my list. When pigman Martin arrives in town and gets a job with Mr Syme, all hell breaks loose outside Weavers the haberdashers, when the pigs get loose. An argument between Weaver and Martin breaks out and then Martin is found dead with an arrow sticking out of his back. A mystery to everyone, except of course to Miss Marple who explains it’s about unravelling the wool, not the other way round.
Miss Marple’s Christmas by Ruth Ware is much gentler than the first four stories. In other words, there is no murder, just a complicated tale of fraud and deception. Miss Marple has to stay overnight with friends on Christmas Day, when they are snowed in. It’s a motley bunch with a couple named the Dashwoods that Colonel Bantry doesn’t actually remember inviting, together with their nephew Ronald, sent down from Oxford for gambling and such like.
Nothing gets past Jane Marple, especially a mystery that involves pins, mistletoe and Dorothy L Sayers. An ‘absolutely damnable business’ and it’s all terribly Agatha Christie.
Murder At The Villa Rosa by Elly Griffiths takes place on the Amalfi Coast and begins with the narrator, author Felix Jeffries, telling us that he is going to kill Ricky Barber. Feeling he cannot do this successfully at home, surrounded by his wife and children, he travels to Italy to stay at the awe-inspiring Hotel Villa Rosa. But all is not as it seems. He meets the other guests, including Miss Marple of course, in her tweed suit, but no knitting – it’s a winter pastime she says.
There are all sorts of strange goings on and while not very typical Marple, this was definitely one of my favourites, maybe because I loved Felix’s narration.
The Murdering Sort by Karen M. McManus introduces us to yet another narrator. This time it’s seventeen-year-old Nic, the great-great-niece of Jane Marple. Her best friend is American heiress Diana Westover. They are inseparable. This is one of those intricate plots with lots of potential suspects. Who would be prepared to kill someone for the inheritance? Because surely these people are not the murdering sort. ‘The problem with that, you see,’ muses Miss Marple, ‘is that no one is ever the murdering sort until they are.’
I loved this. Even though it is more modern that most of the others, I really felt the Marple vibe, though I know some of my fellow readers didn’t.
The Mystery Of The Acid Soil by Kate Mosse. Even if this wasn’t one of my favourites – which it is – how could I not include a story by Kate Mosse. I have read so many of her books. She is one of the most accomplished authors of historical fiction today.
It’s very typical Miss Marple, sticking closely to Agatha Christie’s voice – I have this on good authority from my fellow readers as I don’t have enough experience to judge. It all takes place in Sussex, where Miss Marple is staying with her friend Emmeline for three weeks. Two deaths and a disappearance in a short space of time. Has there been foul play? That’s for Miss Marple to work out.
Many thanks to The Pigeonhole and my fellow Pigeons for making this such an enjoyable read. The interaction with my fellow readers was a big part of the enjoyment.
