Marple: Twelve New Mysteries (Miss Marple Mysteries)

"One doesn't stop at one murder..." I've cozied up all week with twelve acclaimed authors and their Marple stories. It's everything we love about her character with classic wit, surprise killers and sleuthy uncovering. I adored each author's style and if I had to pick my tops, I'd say The Jade Empress by Jean Kwok and The Open Mind by Naomi Alderman were in my top five list! My only wish? I wanted more! It's always the season for murder mystery but something about fall makes it that much more delicious. Grab your sips of choice and rekindle your love affair with Miss Marple! Thank you, Partner, Bibliolifestyle William Morrow Books!

September 13 the post Agatha Christie created a one of a kind, sleuth in Jane Marple. Even though she's older she none the astute and wiser than most. Residing in the English village of St. Mary Mead, her appearance is distinct wearing tweed and always clicking away with her knitting needles. Appearances are deceiving and Miss Marlowe’s might seem fluffy or off at times but don’t let that fool you , she is sharp, alert, perceptive and solves murders at times embarrasses the local police and solves crimes and mysteries that stump them. But Agatha Christie created her in her own style as at times unliked, tire of her nosy nature and has no close living relatives. Twelve authors created original short stories with either a mystery to be solved, a murder or as simple as a robbery. Each story is presented by the individual author and Jane Marlowe is at the center of each one. Each author created his/ her own specifically crafted persona of Marple some more graphically depicted and closer to accuracy while others gave her a different character image and slant . Christmas has definite meanings and images as to how pearls disappear and where they were hidden. The method unique and close to what the real Agatha would have penned. The short story by Naomi Alderman titled The Open Mind focuses on a formal dinner at an Oxford college where we meet professor Cuthbert Cayling and his inappropriate manner towards a young BBC reporter named Elspeth Hearken. Many of the stories center on Raymond West her nephew and his wife Joan. He keeps underestimating her and refers to her age and at times does not realize how astute she is in solving crimes of different natures. Negative human nature and plot lines in this area are part of each of the 12 plots and storylines. The one story that rings close is the Jade Express focusing on Miss Marple and her dance partner Mr.Pang. His daughter and her aunt are present and his sudden death leads her to want to investigate and ask questions, to satisfy her curiosity. Aunt Faith’s healing methods are not traditional and adding cobra to Mr.Pang’s meds was suspect. What about Ellen and Victor? Why did the chief arrest Mudan his daughter and what about the doctor? But doing Tai Chi helped her relax her mind and author Jean Kwok creates an ending giving respect and credibility to Miss Marple. The ending will surprise you and the final scenes will let you know never to underestimate Jane Marple. What I love about this character she might be older and yet in my mind ageless. She takes the age card and tosses it away and allows readers of any age to know they are viable and lucrative members of any generation . A deadly wedding a a death covered up by the parents of the groom. An odd reaction to a fruit and somehow there’s a death but the bride has an unusual reaction to the event in general. T...

Marple: Twelve New Mysteries is a fun revisit to the legacy of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple by twelve bestselling female authors of today. As so often happens in an omnibus of different authors, these women bring their own styles, culture, and habits to the world of Miss Marple, which is fun but can also result in some unevenness throughout the book. For readers familiar with the authors they can definitely pick up on some of these - the Black culture of New York City from Alyssa Cole, the gender power dynamics of Naomi Alderman, the subtle details and heritage from Jean Kwok and Dreda Say Mitchell, the young adult perspective from Karen McManus. It also features stories from the other authors set in the more traditional English countryside among St. Mary Mead and other small towns. Many of the stories do a great job of working in Miss Marple's nephew Raymond and his wife Joan, or other characters familiar to readers of the original works. While each other does bring their own perspective and style to the storytelling, most do a great job of aligning their narratives in the same third person point of view, which helps provide some consistency along with recurring characters across the stories. The exceptions to this are McManus and Elly Griffiths, where the stories are told in first person. This is easier to digest with McManus' story, told from the perspective of a great niece Nicola that features limited appearances by the legendary lady detective. Why? Possibly for me because it features those subtle clues that allow the reader to figure out the whodunit right along with Nicola, and in my mind was rather clever. I can't say that I had a single standout that blew me away - which is kind of good because it means there was quite a bit of consistency. For me, Griffiths story was the one I could really do without. Also told from a first person perspective, it reads like a confusing fever dream, and doesn't really fit in well with the rest of the stories. I might have also enjoyed it a little bit more if the stories had been ordered chronologically; they tend to jump back and forth across time depending on when the author set the book. Anyone who enjoys any of these authors should indulge in Marple, as well as Agatha Christie aficionados. It's a great opportunity to revisit Miss Marple, and also a great opportunity to see authors you read bring another author's character to life.

Miss Marple is one of my favorite Christie characters. It has been awhile since anything new was written or shown using her character. What a joy to follow along while she solves each crime with a surprise ending. Loved this. Please do more!

I liked some stories better than others -- but that is true also of the original Miss Marple short stories. I had to look up a few 1920s words, like I always did. Terrific escape literature. A delight.