This was great fun to read and each of these terrific authors has brought something of their own to this brand new collection of stories about Agatha Christie’s most enduring detective, Miss Jane Marple.

The best of these stories concentrate on Jane Marple’s astute observations of human behaviour – usually formed while knitting her way through endless balls of wool – especially when those being observed remind her of people she has known in her home village of St Mary Mead.

I enjoyed reading these stories, many of which have Jane Marple travelling around the world and quite a few of the selected authors have chosen to put Miss Marple in the company of her nephew, the writer Raymond West, for ease of moving her around the globe. The upshot is that poor Raymond does not always come out of these trips with his character unscathed, which is quite amusing.

There were several stories I really enjoyed and one or two that caused a raised eyebrow. Not all are murders, and where there are, one story in particular seems to me to leave Miss Marple in a morally questionable place which feels rather too contemporary than would perhaps have fitted in with the 1930’s ethos.

I enjoyed those stories from Jean Kwok and Dreda Say Mitchell which brought a multi-cultural dimension to the Jane Marple mystery while keeping the essence of Miss Marple’s detection style intact.

Lucy Foley’s Evil in Small Places is a clever opener, working perfectly as a short story and delivering an excellent mystery with great characters and an unpredictable conclusion that really works. It’s a tightly written short story that admirably captures the quintessential Marple

Val McDermid’s The Second Murder at the Vicarage is both clever and ingenious, utilising the same characters as in the original story and, as in the original, narrated by the vicar. A terrific take on the original creation and hugely enjoyable.

Verdict: There are too many stories here to highlight them all, but this collection of new Miss Marple short stories from a range of our best women contemporary writers is great fun and fantastic to dip into. There is a lovely touch of humour and reassurance in many of these stories. Some work more successfully than others but overall I can see this becoming a very popular Christmas gift in many households.

This collection of short stories is a respectful tribute to the Queen of Crime. It is lovely to have more stories written in the same style, though some of the updates didn’t feel comfortable to me. I’m not sure Miss Marple would have been to openly anti racist or antisemitic as society was so different then. Highly enjoyable from start to finish.

I was lucky enough to get this book on Netgalley and absolutely loved the range of stories by so many different authors. They each managed to imagine Miss Marple in their own world and yet retain the essence of this much-loved character, bringing in places and people we knew well in some, taking her to new experiences in New York, Italy and on an ocean liner on her way to Hong Kong in others -- always with her generous, if slightly annoying nephew, Raymond in the background. Always with the knitting close at hand. Loved it.

The problem with all collection books is that there are always a mix of ratings for each of the stories. Some have excellent writing styles but weaker plots, some are simply okay, some are excellent. But on eating has to sum them up. I tried to keep track with each so that I could average.

Evil In Small Places - Lucy Foley (3)

The plot was traditional small village, big doom. I guessed the culprit(s) but enjoyed the journey and felt it to be quite genuine to the original Marple stories.

The Second Murder at The Vicarage - Val McDermid (3)

Based on the classic original Marple, the writing style once again felt very authentic.  The plot was enjoyable, though I felt this one suffered most from the short-story format, as the satellite characters needed more page time and development.
The characters were my favourite of the stories being familiar and warm, and with the odd twinkle of humour throughout.


Miss Marple Takes Manhattan - Alyssa Cole

This one seemed to forget that it was a short story and spent far too long capturing the setting and the contrasting views of Raymond (Old ladies should be locked in a room) and Marple (I want to roam free and shop) and not getting to a plot quickly enough. Even when two characters were introduced, it didn't kick start a plot.

Never gained my interest and I did not finish it.

The Unravelling - Natalie Haynes (3)

Once the plot of The Unravelling finally got to unravelling I found it enjoyable, and though I guessed the culprit, I didn't guess the full reasoning.
The opening almost lost me because it was quite convoluted, a story told within a story by two gossips. I would have preferred just to have witnessed it through Susan firsthand and then delved into the unravelling with Marple.

Miss Marple's Christmas - Ruth Ware (3)

This one was the most Marple in tone, style and plot. I found the isolated house full of guests a very Christie plot, and enjoyed the telling. It would have made for a good full length story. 
Though I thought the who and why were both fairly obvious, I enjoyed the telling.

The Open Mind - Naomi Alderman (2)

Again, this story seemed to struggle with the short story format. It dilly dallied too long in the set up of the murder, not in creating suspects but in constantly labouring the point that the victim was a cretin. It felt very #MeToo.
Aside from this, the plot was quite a stretch of the imagination and the culprit clear.

The Jade Express - Jean Kwok (3)

I enjoyed the warmth of the characters in this book and the rather maternal instincts of Marple that came through. Though the small cast of characters meant that the killer was clear, the journey was enjoyable.

A Deadly Wedding Day - Dreda Say Mitchell

I did not finish this story, there was something about it that annoyed me, though I couldn't put my finger on whether it was the plot or writing style. Perhaps a Venn Diagram of both.

It bothered me when two characters had a full length conversation in earshot of Marple to explain that theyre covering up a murder.. At the end of the day, it is a mystery story. They could have covered the death up and then Marple investigates and their reasoning comes out afterwards as a red herring. Instead it felt like a clumsy way of constructing the plot and took away a sense of whodunit and mystery.

Murder At the Villa Rosa - Elly Griffiths (2)

I loved the writing style of this story, and it has made me want to go out and read more by the author.
However, I didn't 'get' or particularly enjoy the plot. Marple was barely in it so I'm not sure how it was in a collection about Marple.

The Murdering Sort - Karen M. McManus (4)

Throughly enjoyed this story. I quite liked how Marple Jnr and Maple Jnr supported one another. The plot was classic whodunit with strong vibes of Christie and yet it felt fresh as well.
There was a point in tbe ARC that Josieh goes from a Westover to Davenport and back.

The Mystery of the Acid Soil - Kate Mosse (3)

I enjoyed the writing style and sense of Marple authenticity of this story. This wasn't one of the strongest plots, less whodunit and more why dunit, and even then the why was abit wishy washy, but as a whole it was okay.

The Disappearance - Leigh Bardugo
This was a good read with some elements of whodunit. I thought the ending was rather out of character for Marple but also somehow fitting.

Really loved this collection of short stories based on the character of Marple. Cosy, mysterious and just the right amount of suspense without being too taxing for the mind. Exactly what I want in a story collection. Perfect for October/long winter nights.

I’ll start my review by admitting I’ve never read any Miss Marple stories before. I’ve seen a couple of tv adaptations but not read any books, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I was drawn to this because I love a short story, and because one of my favourite authors, Elly Griffiths, has written one of the stories.
There were several stories I liked, and some of them were very cleverly written, but for me it just didn’t work. As a short story fan, I love to be able to read the next story if I’ve time to indulge- but you really couldn’t do that here because the styles were all so different, yet about the same character; it would have been easy to confuse the stories if you didn’t take a break.
I also didn’t like that there was no real concept of what period in time we were being taken to- there was talk of life after the war, but there wasn’t an actual era mentioned, and as a non Marple person, I just couldn’t grasp it.
My 3 star review is based on the stories individually, not as a collection.
I was given a free copy of the book by netgalley in return for my review.

A brilliant new collection of "Marples" and, at the same time, a chance to discover some women writers of whom you may not be aware. I thoroughly enjoyed the twelve stories and whilst some were "good, predictable Marple" most had a contemporary subject slant that made them doubly memorable.
Some favourites were Val McDermid's The Second Murder at the Vicarage, definitely classically funny; Elly Griffiths' quirky and clever Murder at the Villa Rosa, and the unexpected political layers of Miss Marple Takes Manhattan by Alyssa Cole, a new discovery for me and an author I am going to read further!
This wonderful collection is filled with invention, humour, cheeky love for the main character, and a varied and interesting retinue of friends and foes, apart from following the rules of the clue game as they should. The closing story, Kate Mosse's The Mystery of the Acid Soil is a perfect foil to a tautly organised and paced collection. This is extremely enjoyable reading, ideal to put you in a good mood.
With many thanks to Harper Collins via NetGalley for allowing me to read an ARC and comment on this top new outing for Agatha Chritie's Miss Marple.

I really enjoyed this book. They all had Jane Marple down to a T and it was like reuniting with an old friend. The stories are varied and are all well written. I would definitely recommend this for anyone who is a fan of Miss Marple, you won’t be disappointed. Thank you #netgalley

Jane Marple is back with twelve fantastic stories. This is a great anthology by twelve fantastic authors. I was transfixed throughout the book to see Miss Marple in different parts of the world from New York to Hong Kong, and her own little village.
Crimes committed for love, revenge and blackmail, plus other addictive stories to keep any Agatha Christie in Marple heaven.
This is a truly unique and brilliant group of stories that I absolutely loved and highly recommend.

Many of my favourite authors in this book and as you would expect, I like some stories more than others, but I enjoyed reading them all. Great for travelling and dipping into when you don't have much time. My friends will have this in their Christmas stockings this year.

I had strongly mixed feelings about this until I got to the last story and then it lost me. I could cope with Miss Marple prior story plot bingo (I would have filled my card by the end of the second story) but the last one - no. There are some nice stories in this, although not a lot of internal continuity between them. Overall, I'm not sure. I'm glad I've read it - because I'm a completist and it was interesting, but I'm not sure I'd go beyond that. I'll need to sit and think on it.

This was absolutely phenomenal!

Being an Agatha Christie fan, I loved every second of this book consisting of short stories containing Miss Marple, written by 12 greatest authors of our time.

The writing was so well done, it was difficult to beleive the stories weren't written by Agatha Christie herself.

Thanks to the publisher HarperCollins and Netgalley for my digital proof copy in exchange for an honest review

A fantastic collection of short stories which I am sure will be loved by many.

I loved the fact that the stories were written by some fantastic authors giving a modern take on a classic.

Loved these 12 short stories based on Agatha Christie's Marple. All a little different but really liked how some of the secondary characters and little elements tied the stories together. Perfect read for autumn evenings. Thanks NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC

As an avid Agatha Christie fan from my youth I was more than excited to be able to return to my favourite sleuth Miss Marple. I was not disappointed as the authors contributing to this selection of 12 new short stories certainly did both Agatha Christie and Miss Marple justice. A varied selection of stories which saw Miss Marple not only in her cozy village of St Mary Mead but also in New York and on a cruise to Hong Kong which was so refreshing. Settle down with a cup of tea and a biscuit and enjoy. A cosy read which is what I would expect from this genre and I would thoroughly recommend. Thank you net galley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advance copy of this book in return for an honest review.

4.5*
As soon as I saw this book, I knew I had to have it. I had already pre-ordered the hard copy prior to having been given this ARC to review because the number of authors I regularly read who have written a chapter here. So exciting!
The concept of the book is fantastic and I’m often a fan of a modern author doing a turn in the style of Christie or Conan-Doyle. Some are of course more successful than others and that is evident here too. There’s a fine line to be struck: Miss Marple’s views need to be in keeping with the current times to keep her relevant and at the same time, purists will want her to be true to the original model.
Certainly whilst some chapters here are more successful than others, all kept me hooked. There are a few authors here whose work I haven’t read before and this has ensured I will seek them out.
I would highly recommend this book and will be purchasing it as gifts for people, especially for the holiday season!
Many thanks to NetGalley, HarperCollins UK and the authors for a copy of this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall a successful package of short stories picking up Christie’s Miss Marple. There are ‘traditional’ stories in the classic English village setting, as well as a few of Miss Marple on foreign travels. Some are given a bit of a subtle modern spin - I can’t necessarily see Christie writing a few of them - but the strength of the characterisation comes through and I welcomed the variety. Only one line really jarred, where marple is given an overtly racist view that felt out of keeping with her acuity of thought.

The best stories for me were by Val McDermid, Natalie Haynes and Jean Kwok - a sequel to a classic, a spin on the classics, and a cruise ship / Hong Kong set story. Not a bad story in the bunch though.

As a life-long Agatha Christie fan who has read everything she has written, this was a pure delight to read. I loved being re-introduced to so many of the characters in all the Miss Marple books especially set in so many different stories and settings.
I have read most of the authors included, but it also gave me a chance to see the writing styles of some authors I haven't read before and I will now search out some of their books to give a go to as well.
Highly recommend especially for Agatha fans.

O my gosh i was so excited to read this!
I do love a bit of Agatha Christie and when I got to read this I went straight home made a cuppa tea and got the chocolate biscuits out, I was set for the evening.

I could not stop reading, i really enjoyed everyone i read. You will not be disappointed the characters are so well written and the story lines are amazing and of course Miss Marple is just the Queen of solving the murder as the pieces come together!!

An interesting idea to have various authors writing about Miss Marples. I found, in general, the stories I liked best were ones written by authors I already enjoyed. Hardly surprising. But it did give me ideas about other authors to try.
A really good holiday read.