3.74 avg rating — 32,121 ratings

"When I started making this list, I thought Hallowe’en Party would be the best number one as not only does the setting suit Marple more but would also give an interesting spin on the Marple series. But if your talking about a book that would not only fit Marple but also still be a good book, then this is the perfect choice. When you really look at this book, you’ll be shocked that Christie didn’t include Marple in this one as she fits in perfectly. The themes of life after WW2 are exactly what a lot of the Marple books are about, especially books like a Murder in Announced. You’d swear that this was supposed to be a Marple book, but publishers made her change it to Poirot as they didn’t think people would buy a book about how much post war life sucks, if it didn’t have Poirot in it.

If this was a Marple book, it would come out between the Moving Finger and a Murder in Announced, making it the 4th book in the series. In fact, I think this would have made for a much better follow up to the Body in the Library than the Moving Fingers and the Moving Fingers was a standalone book instead. Like the others, not much would be different, other than how Marple would get involved. I think that Major Porter would now be a member of the Tuesday Night Club so he could meet Miss Marple and tell her about Robert Underhay, as his story about him facing his death, would be just the kind of thing they would talk about in that club. I also think that Superintendent Spence would be replaced by Inspector Slack as this would be set in St Mary Mead. But I think that if this was a part of the Miss Marple series, then people might like it even more than they already did."

3.56 avg rating — 109,761 ratings

"This was going to be number one, but when I really thought about it, I thought that the next one made too much sense. I also put it here for two other reasons, one: because it isn’t like the other Marple books which might make it stand out just a bit, and not like a Caribbean Mystery did, and two: most people don’t like this one anyway so I don’t think adding Marple there would fix anything. When I first heard about this book, I couldn’t believe afterwords that it was a Poirot novel. I would have sworn this was a stand-alone book as it doesn’t feel anything like a Poirot story. If you need anymore proof that Poirot doesn’t belong in small town life, then all you need to do is take one look at this book because he stands out like a saw thumb. This is just more proof that Christie didn’t want to be writing for Poirot anymore at this point.

I don’t know how much better Marple would stand out in this story, but she definitely wouldn’t stand out as much as Poirot. And with the Halloween theme to it, it would definitely give the Marple series a new spine that wasn’t present in the other books. There is also a much better place for her to fit in as without Ariadne Oliver in this book as usual, Marple could easily take her place. This would mean that Joyce Reynolds would tell Miss Marple that she saw a murder and who wouldn’t have to call in Poirot as “she” would investigate her death. I would love to see Miss Marple in a more spooky setting and I think this would be a perfect addition to her series and might make people like it a bit more."

3.86 avg rating — 42,302 ratings

"This was also adapted as part of the Margaret Rutherford series as Murder Most Faul in 1964. And also like the last one, it would have come out between They Do It with Mirrors and a Pocket Full of Rye, making it the 6th novel in the series, which would mean if the last entry was also a Marple, it would be the 7th. Pretty much any Poirot novel written after WW2 would make a great Miss Marple novel and not just because of their settings. I notice that after WW2, Poirot’s adventures seem more grounded and less exotic. This makes me feel like Christie wanted to write for Marple more, but her publishers forced her to write for the more popular detective. But that’s just a theory.

As for differences, I think the opening would be very different as Superintendent Spence wouldn’t be visiting Miss Marple as she isn’t a professional sleuth like Poirot. So, what reason would she have in investigating the case if she isn’t asked? Maybe Spence designed to look into the case himself by going to the town (now St Mary Mead) to see if he can prove James Bentley’s innocence and is helped out by Marple. But whatever reason she would have, she would still use her powers of observing village gossip to gather evidence. Also, like Dead Man’s Folly, Ariadne Oliver wouldn’t be in this version and could easily be cut out."

3.82 avg rating — 40,073 ratings

"If you were to make a list of Poirot novels that could have be Miss Marple novels, then you can’t not mention the fact that “this” novel started life as a Miss Marple Short Story called Greenshaw's Folly. So, in other words, this book would basically be a novel version of “that” story in the same way that the Poirot short story the Plymouth Express was expanded into the novel Mystery of the Blue Train. There is also the whole thing about Christie using the story as a fundraiser to keep in mind, but that’s not important.

So obviously changes to this story would be that there would be no Ariadne Oliver, who would be replaced by Raymond West who calls his Aunt over to Nasse House in Devon. If this was part of the Miss Marple series, then it would come out between the novels a Pocket Full of Rye and 4.50 to Paddington, making it the 7th book in the series. So yeah, don’t have that much interesting to say about this one, and I think you can see why."

3.92 avg rating — 52,836 ratings

"Clearly, I’m not the only one who thought that this would work better as a Miss Marple book as right after they adapted 4.50 to Paddington, the Margaret Rutherford series decided to adapt “this” novel into the 1963 film Murder at the Gallop. If this was part of the Miss Marple series, then it would come out between the novels They Do It with Mirrors and a Pocket Full of Rye, making it the 6th novel in the series. As you can see, all the Poirot novels set in small English villages are the ones that would make the best Marple novels. It certainly makes more sense that putting her in something like the Big Four or the A.B.C. Murders.

As to how this would change the story, I still think Mr Entwhistle would still ask Miss Marple to look into the case with her reputation as a crime solver. Although Marple wouldn’t pretend to buy Enderby Hall and maybe Entwhistle tells the family at the bank is buying the house instead. But one change I thought of it replacing Entwhistle with the character Mr. Petherick from the short story collection the Thirteen Problems. Not only would this give the series some continuity, but he would have a good reason for bringing her in rather than Poirot, as he already saw her solve several crimes without actually witnessing them. And plus, he’s a Solicitor so the matter of Richard Abernethie’s will would fit his protection. But that’s just an idea and might be somewhat fanficy."

3.86 avg rating — 53,783 ratings

3.77 avg rating — 42,015 ratings

"This is kind a simuler to They Do It With Mirror, so I thing Marple would fit in just fine."

3.97 avg rating — 93,697 ratings

"This is the only one on this list I’m not so sure about for two reasons. One: it would be a bit too similar to a Caribbean Mystery, and two: if this had been first published as a Miss Marple book back in 1941, then it would have been only the second Miss Marple novel after Murder at the Vicarage. So, this is the only one I would probably remove if I wanted this to be a Top 5. The only reason I wanted it on this list, is because I feel Poirot doesn’t really work in this story. By this point in the books, he’d already been all over East Asia, which makes this location seem timid by comparison. It seems a bit weird to go from Egypt, Jerusalem and Mesopotamia to a small Island in Devon.

I think this is why Christie had Marple in novels like a Caribbean Mystery and not Death on the Nile, she belongs in much more quiet mysteries over more foreign ones. And this story is right in the same ballpark as a Caribbean Mystery, meaning Miss Marple would fit in perfectly into this one. And I think this would make more sense as it takes place in England and Marple would prefer holidaying in somewhere like Devon over a foreign location like the Caribbean. As to how this would change the book, Poirot already sat in on other people’s conversations like Marple would so nothing would change there. And she would still have the same relationship with the other characters at Poirot did, so in short terms, nothing here would change."

3.94 avg rating — 50,170 ratings

"I feel this kind of story would suit Marple better, with it having lower stakes than something like the ABC Murders or Death on the Nile."

3.69 avg rating — 40,512 ratings

3.66 avg rating — 51,820 ratings