Marple: Twelve New Stories: A brand new collection featuring the Queen of Crime’s legendary detective Miss Jane Marple, penned by twelve bestselling and acclaimed authors

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A brand new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Crime’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve remarkable bestselling and acclaimed authors. Of course, although Miss Marple is most closely associated with the English countryside, Christie did sometimes transport the sleuthing spinster to more exotic locations, perhaps most notably in A Caribbean Mystery. As such, it’s only fitting that she also embarks on a number of trips in Marple. In Jean Kwok’s The Jade Empress, Miss Marple takes a cruise to Hong Kong to visit with her nephew, the successful novelist Raymond West. During the voyage she becomes acquainted with Mr Pang, a Hong Konger who is returning home after living for many years in England. When Mr Pang is murdered shortly before the ship arrives in Hong Kong, Miss Marple is determined to see justice done. Fortunately, Miss Marple is on hand to unravel the mystery based on her deep knowledge of the inhabitants of St Mary Mead, similar to how she came to solve the murder of Colonel Protheroe in that same vicarage some years previously. Miss Marple is also fortuitously present to solve the murder of an unpopular choir mistress in Lucy Foley’s Evil in Small Places. She is staying in the village of Meon Maltravers while visiting her former schoolfriend Prudence during the Halloween period, but the spooky atmosphere of the place doesn’t impede her investigative prowess when the two of them stumble upon the victim. But my problem is none of them were Miss Marple stories. They just weren't. There was none of the subtle brilliance, none of the creeping horror at having a mirror held up to my own face that I've come to feel are hallmarks of Christie's work. Because none of them are written by her. We know that Christie's Jane Marple has travelled to the Caribbean, for example, but she didn't really like the 'foreigness' and only really made sense of it by reducing people to facsimiles of personages in St Mary's Mead - to therefore project her happily wandering around Manhattan, sailing to Hong Kong and holidaying in Italy rather misses the point. Even on home ground, the idea of Miss Marple dining at the high table of an Oxford college doesn't really fit.

Given that she was “born” in a short story, it seems only fitting that this new collection of Miss Marple works should be comprised of short stories (though if the folks in charge of Christie's estate want to authorise some full-length novels, we'll happily read those, too). Authors & Stories Included in the Collection This charming collection by HarperCollins is set to publish on September 15, 2022 and should satisfy fans of “Miss Jane Marple” old and new!!Her father is Geoffrey Alderman, an academic who has specialised in Anglo-Jewish history. She and her father were interviewed in The Sunday Times "Relative Values" feature on 11 February 2007.[2] As Clement wryly notes, “To have one murder in one’s vicarage is unfortunate; to have a second looks remarkably like carelessness, or worse.”

The 2nd story is The Second Murder at the Vicarage by Val McDermid, narrated by Adrian Scarborough. Marple: Twelve New Mysteries is an anthology that comprises twelve short stories, featuring Dame Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple, the much-loved detective, and written by contemporary crime-fiction writers. Varied in approach and setting (including the fictional village of St. Mary Mead, London, the Amalfi Coast, Asia and the United States), this is a mixed bag as is most anthologies. While I did enjoy the collection as a whole, a few of the stories were particularly noteworthy: 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. Review of last story--FYI, Miss Marple wouldn't be okay with murder, no matter who did it. I think the last story totally mixed up Marple with Poirot.

There are some amazing writers in this collection of 12 new Miss Marple stories. With names like Lucy Foley, Val McDermid, Elly Griffiths, Karen M. McManus and one of my favourites Ruth Ware. How could you not want to read this. While Agatha Christie eventually grew tired of Hercule Poirot, describing him as ‘an egocentric creep’ and devising a deeply divisive ending for him, she retained her affection for the far more personable Miss Jane Marple. From her first appearance in The Tuesday Night Club, a short story published in 1927, through to her final appearance in the 1976 novel Sleeping Murder, Miss Marple solved a host of crimes over the course of 12 novels and 20 short stories, often while sitting in an armchair and knitting. A brand new collection of short stories featuring the Queen of Crime’s legendary detective Jane Marple, penned by twelve remarkable bestselling and acclaimed authors. This book will introduce the character to a whole new generation. Each author included in the new publication will reimagine Christie’s Marple through their own unique perspective while staying true to the hallmarks of a traditional mystery. But, I think what I'm really left wondering here is why in the world even try doing this in the first place?

The 6th story is The Open Mind by Naomi Alderman, narrated by Johdi May. This story is set in Oxford and includes a clever twist. Some of the stories were disappointing. Some were badly edited, including errors of the reader although this just seems to be mainly just the one reader which is particularly annoying. Some of the stories were a bit politically correct to be a real Miss Marple but that is perhaps to be expected. Some of the stories were pitched in the usual timeframe and some authors tried to modernise Miss Marple. I listened to the audible version of this over just a couple of days. Overall, I really enjoyed it. As with all collections of short stories, especially those with different authors, I enjoyed some of the stories more than others. Some were really good, almost as good as the originals by Agatha Christie – my favourite author. It was nice to hear of the same characters, places or experiences from the original stories in some of them.Who doesn't love a good murder mystery? And nobody did it better than Agatha Christie. I attended a crime writers festival here in Sydney this weekend and I think that every author at every panel mentioned their admiration for Agatha and what she did for the genre all those years ago. A Deadly Wedding Day was the first story where I actually felt anything for the characters. It's read by Cathy Tyson, and she has a voice that's just made for audiobooks. I could listen to her forever. My only niggle was that in all the adaptations (audiobook, radio dramatisation and TV adaptations) of A Caribbean Mystery, the island of St Honoré is pronounced as "Hono-ray". Here, it's pronounced "Hono-ree". It's a VERY minor point but it did annoy me.

For example; Elly Griffiths gives Jane Marple a mystery in an Italian hotel called Villa Rosa (Elly Griffiths fans will probably get the reference). Jean Kwok takes her on a cruise to Singapore, and Alyssa Cole takes her to Manhattan. Each of these trips are thanks to the generosity of the recurring nephew. This collection is currently available in the following countries: Brazil, Czech Republic, Estonia, France,Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, United Kingdom and United States of America. Hear more from the authors of the Marple collection Bringing a fresh twist to the hallmarks of a classic Agatha Christie mystery, these twelve esteemed writers have captured the sharp wit, unique voice, and droll ingenuity of the deceptively demure detective. A triumphant celebration of Christie’s legacy and essential reading for crime lovers, Marple is a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains one of the most famous detectives of all time." [3] Short stories in the Collection [ ]She was the lead writer for Perplex City, an Alternate reality game, at Mind Candy from 2004 through June, 2007.[1] The stories focus on Miss Marple's ability to detect evil in the most ordinary of people with some surprising results. I enjoyed the writing of each author, and I appreciated their creativity and their effort to pay an homage to one of my top favourite authors.