Producing your own Miss Marple story in the vein of the fabulous Queen of Crime Agatha Christie is no mean feat, but it is one that twelve well-known contemporary authors rise to with aplomb. Their efforts, combined in this anthology, bring the indomitable Miss Marple swiftly into the twenty-first century, with her investigations extended to a far greater geographical radius that includes Hong Kong and the United States. Closer to home, Marple investigates a jewellery theft at a stately home and a wedding venue where a murder has occurred. Firm aficionados of the original Miss Marple might be surprised to see her practising yoga, or lining up with other cruise ship passengers, but overall, most of the stories in this anthology straddle the thin line between authenticity and refreshing novelty very well. A super collection to savour for the rainy autumn days that are sure to be ahead! Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for granting me an ARC of this fun publication that I will recommend far and wide.

This book was ok it didn't grab my attention but as they were short stories it was easy to get through some stories were more enjoyable than others I think Agatha Christie style stories are just not for me but I appreciate that these are good Miss Marple mysteries.

Thank you to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK and all the Authors for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A highly enjoyable set of short stories featuring the indomitable Miss Marple. The 12 authors clearly know their Agatha Christie and one can certainly "see" Miss Marple - some I see Joan Hickson, others Sheila Hancock and others my own visualisation. They have her little ways, phrases and foibles down to a 'T' albeit it in different settings. Thanks goodness for her nephew or she wouldn't have visited many of the locations in these stories. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy.

A lovely collection of stories inspired by the characters and places in Agathat Christie;s Marple stories. Some were stronger than others for me and more authentic but then that's alwasys going to be the case. I don't normally read short stories but this is a lovely collection and it's a keepsake for sure.

An enjoyable and interesting read. Being short stories, the authors could not have a complicated plot, but they all captured the essence of Miss Marple. It is an ideal book if the reader only has an hour or so to read at a time. A great homage to a really great crime writer.
This is an honest review of a complementary ARC.

✨✨Book Review ✨✨
If you’re a fan of Agatha Christie, Miss Marple or general fun murder mysteries then this is the book for you! This collection of short stories by some of my favourite mystery/ thriller authors is definitely one of my favourite reads of this year!

You follow Miss Marple with a variety of friends and family in different places solving murders that have occurred while Miss Marple has been present.

A brillaint way to continue on the legacy of an amazing author and the legendary Miss Marple 💛

Thank you @netgalley for allowing me to read this book in exchange for an honest review

3.5 stars. Some stories were stronger than others but overall I had a good time reading them. Did make me wanna watch Joan Hicks as Marple tho, I love her.

Marple is a collection of new short stories written by contemporary authors featuring Agatha Christie's well-known and loved character Miss Marple. Like most short story collections, there are stories you favour more than others. Still, overall I enjoyed them all, and it has certainly made me consider reading some of the original novels to explore this character more.

You'll find Miss Marple in all sorts of settings and dealing with all kinds of situations in her usual determined and calm style. In particular, I loved the stories by Lucy Foley, Ruth Ware, Kate Mosse and Leigh Bardugo. But my absolute favourite was being transported to Villa Rosa by Elly Griffiths. Reading this on a rather dull, cold September day, I was transported to a beautiful Italian hotel surrounded by intriguing guests. I could almost taste the food, smell the lemons and feel the sun on my face. I was totally charmed by it.

If you're a fan of Agatha Christie and Miss Marple, I'm sure you'd enjoy this collection. And even if you're not, they still hold an appeal.

• Evil in Small Places - Lucy Foley
I liked it, it felt quite close to the original Miss Marple and the plot was nice. The revelation was very Agatha Christiesque. I think Lucy Foley could become a favourite of mine.

• The Second Murder at the Vicarage - Val McDermid
Not bad, but not good either. The fact that it was from the vicar POV did not help. It was too short to rightly use this device that Christie sometimes used herself.

• Miss Marple Takes Manhattan - Alyssa Cole
Nope, I am sorry but this was not it. I did not like the "mystery" because it was too quick and the story very long + the resolution was too quick as well and not satisfying at all.

• The Unravelling - Natalie Haynes
I quite liked this one, it felt true to the original and the mystery was interesting and it was something that Christie could have written herself, with all the drama and such.

• Miss Marple's Christmas - Ruth War
Not the best mystery of the anthology and could not compete with Miss Christie, but the atmosphere was top tier and it reminded me of the Poirot's Christmas story vibe.

• The Open Mind - Naomi Alderman
Nope. The essence of Miss Marple wasn't there, as far as I am concerned. Out of all the stories so far, this was the least accurate and I did not like the mystery, to be honest.

• The Jade Empress - Jean Kwok
I love mysteries set on cruises and for being a short story, this was quite nice. I loved the inclusion of Asian culture and the casual remarks of how small things can be racist.

• A Deadly Wedding Day - Dreda Say Mitchell
This was good! I loved the resolution, very clever and very interesting. Also, loved the inclusion of Miss Bella and the culture + the easter eggs to Miss Marple in the Caribbean.

• Murder at the Villa Rosa - Elly Griffiths
I am sorry, but no. This was so boring I was tempted to skip it and it wasn't even good in the end. I think the author wanted to do something different, but it just fell flat. Also, Miss Marple was barely there...

• The Murdering Sort - Karen M. McManus
This was okay. Not my favourite out of the 12 stories, but it had its charm. It was a mix of a lot of things and I would have loved if Miss Marple were more promintent, though.

• The Mystery of the Acid Soil - Kate Moss
Not the best mystery and I was a bit bored all throughout, however the story was faithful to Miss Marple's essence and in the end I didn't hate this one, even if it wasn't the best.

• The Disappearance - Leigh Bardugo
I had honestly forgotten she was one of the author in this anthology. The story was okay, even if I found it a bit out of character for Miss Marple. Ironically, I think it would have worked better had Poirot been the main character.

Brilliant book with a short story written by a group of very talented authors, all with the legendary Miss Marple as the heroine.

How fascinating read and see how others obviously appreciate the talent that Agatha Christie was and to write a short story staring one of her greatest protagonists must have been an honour.

The stories are all well written and many feature characters and places that we have come to know and love, like St Mary Mead, Mrs Dolly Bantry and of course Miss Marple’s famous author nephew Raymond.

A joy to read and I would recommend these to any Miss Marple fan. A lovely way to continue the legacy of a great author and a n inimitable character.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

“It’s what’s in yourself that makes you happy or unhappy.” “People with a grudge against the world are always dangerous. They seem to think life owes them something.”

I absolutely love Agatha Christie, so was extremely pleased to see this book of short stories, all featuring Jane Marple but with original tales, told by twelve of today’s most popular, best-selling authors. Twelve female authors, I should add; which is only right seeing as Miss Marple herself has been described as a ‘feminist icon’ and ‘one of the great unsung heroines of literature.’ Christie’s Hercule Poirot has previously been continued by Sophie Hannah with The Monogram Murders and The Killing at Kingfisher Hill, but I’d love to see a similar book available for Poirot – maybe an idea for ‘the boys’ to get started with? If there is anyone I love more than Marple – it has to be Poirot! I really would love to see a collection of new stories for him told by some of today’s greatest authors too – something of a competition maybe? There would have to be a stipulation though – each one must at the very least mention Mrs Oliver OR I’ll take fifty per cent of them featuring her as a main character… Right, now back to Marple now I’ve finished daydreaming.

This book marks the first time anyone other than Christie has written ‘officially’ as recognised by the Christie estate. The authors were given certain criteria before they let their inner Marple imagination run away with them. They could draw on characters and situations that occurred in any of the Marple novels and short stories but weren’t allowed to incorporate characters or events from any of Christie’s non-Marple books, not to invent any backstories upon which Christie herself had not touched. The stories also had to be set within the period covered by Agatha Christie’s own Miss Marple fiction. As Marple first appeared in a short story back in 1927 in the Royal Magazine, it seems fitting that she should be brought back in 2022 in the same way – on the first day of Agatha Christie week no less!

I enjoyed all of the short stories, but some did stand out more than some of the others for their storytelling and their overall Marple-ness! My first favourite was Alyssa Cole’s – Miss Marple Takes Manhatten, where Jane goes with her nephew Raymond to New York to see one of his stories put on as a play. There are interesting aspects of how racism and classes are in England Vs the United States. There is also the topic of communism and the blacklists, which was another form of prejudice. One of my favourite quotes was – ‘Well, apparently addressing racial inequality in one’s work is un-American, so I was hauled before the committee.’ ‘I was quite shocked to read what happened to you.’ Miss Marple said. ‘Have you considered coming to England to work? Such a thing would never happen there. We don’t have racial inequality, and if we did, we’d never be so blatant with it. It’d be terribly improper. You’d at least be quietly repressed, instead of hauled before cameras and all that hullabaloo.’ This made me laugh so much, I’ve read Alyssa Cole’s work before and she did an excellent job at bringing herself and Miss Marple into her short story, touching on very relevant issues of racism and sexism in a very Miss Marple way! It was really hard to choose, but I think this one is my favourite overall.

I decided to choose my favourite six out of the twelve short stories and the next favourite I came across was Ruth Ware’s – Miss Marple’s Christmas, I’ve read almost all of this author’s work and I think she did a great job at capturing the Christie style ‘Some people know things, and Miss Marple knows murder’ the holiday feel was also very fitting for a Marple story. The next short story I chose was Naomi Alderman’s – The Open Mind, I haven’t read anything by this author before, but I felt she also got the feel of Miss Marple in her story and I enjoyed her style of writing too. ‘Young people always thought they’d invented everything.’ I have an eight-year-old daughter and can tell you that this is absolutely accurate – and also, I was never like that when I was younger!! The next on my list is Jean Kwok’s – The Jade Empress, I haven’t previously read this author’s work before but I think she did an excellent job packing so much detail into her short story, she packed a lot of Marple into the pages including the empathy that is deeply rooted in the character. Dreda Say Mitchell’s – The Deadly Wedding Day was next and I loved the way that Marple worked the case with her friend, Bella. The storyline was very clever and I enjoyed the overall feel of the story. Finally, the last of my favourites was Karen M. McManus’s – The Murdering Sort. In this story, we got to meet one of Raymond’s grandchildren, Nicola. Miss Marple’s extensive knowledge of human nature came into play in this short story and Miss Marple got to show off her famous talents and save the day.

I was impressed with this collection of short stories and had a lot of fun delving back into Miss Marple, I haven’t read – or I should say, I hadn’t read any Agatha Christie in quite a while but I’ve recently listened to a few Marple and Poirot audiobooks – I think I’m heading back down a Christie rabbit hole. For those who haven’t yet had the fortune to read Agatha Christie’s work, I hope this book inspires you to start reading! The queen of crime has loaned her crown to some of today’s best thriller writers – don’t miss the opportunity to get lost in some great fiction!

My thanks to the authors (Lucy Foley, Val McDermid, Alyssa Cole, Natalie Haynes, Ruth Ware, Naomi Alderman, Jean Kwok, Dreda Say Mitchell, Elly Griffiths, Karen M. McManus, Kate Mosse and Leigh Bardugo) and HarperCollins UK for my advance copy to review via Netgalley. Available to buy now!!


👑Four passing of the crown stars 👑

I am not the biggest Agatha Christie fan (though I do plan to read more of her work and more crime novels from the Golden Age of Crime... they are sitting on my kindle, awaiting angrily for me!), but when I first heard of this new collection of short stories, written by twelve female authors, where they tackle one of the greatest crime fighting creation, created by the Queen of Crime, Agatha Christie, I jumped on it! I preordered the author and, being impatient, requested an eProof from NetGalley.

If you ask most Agatha Christie what format works best with Miss Jane Marple - novel or short story - you might get a split, but most people I know think that she works best in short story form. There's something delicious about her in short stories that work so much nicer than when I read short stories with Poirot as the star (he works best in the novels, I found). But here is Miss Marple, solving crime for a new generation. Miss Marple tackling cases in St Mary Mead, London, New York, Hong Kong and beyond.

Let me say one thing first and foremost: no one can write Agatha Christie but Agatha Christie. Though a few authors have written with Christie's Poirot (Sophie Hannah has written four New Hercule Poirot and is writing a fifth, I think, and I believe Charles Osborne has written three of Christie's plays into novels, one of them being a Poirot mystery, Black Coffee [which I am very curious about. Thoughts on if I should read this?]), but no one has tried to write a new Miss Marple mystery.

But here we are with twelve stories from twelve very different authors. We have Naomi Alderman, Leigh Bardugo, Alyssa Cole, Lucy Foley, Elly Griffiths, Natalie Haynes, Jean Kwok, Val McDermid, Karen M. McManus, Dreda Say Mitchell, Kate Mosse and Ruth Ware all taking Miss Marple and running with her.

Now, this is a collection of short stories so, of course, not all stories are going to work. Plus, each reader is different so, of course, the stories I enjoyed hugely aren't going to the be the stories you like and the stories I dislike might be your faves. Now, I am not going to nitpick over EVERY story (believe me, I could do a complete breakdown on each story if I wanted do!), but there are a few I want to say that I HUGELY enjoyed and some I have questions over.

Now, the stories that I was a little uncertain on were the ones I enjoyed myself hugely over. Alyssa Cole's Miss Marple Takes Manhattan took me by surprise as I didn't think Marple being in New York would work (and there was a character that I think could have spinoff that would make very fun reading), and Dreda Say Mitchell's A Deadly Wedding Day made me itch to try and read A Caribbean Mystery. Karen M. McManus's The Murdering Sort would make an cool YA spin off (but how old is Miss Marple if the story is told from her great grand niece's point of view?).

But the story I utterly adore is The Jade Empress by Jean Kwok. It's Miss Marple on a cruise to Hong Kong and it was an utter delight. It was a good mystery, a good use of Marple and it (like a few others stories) updated some of the prejudices that we see in Agatha Christie novels.

And there are others that just don't work. I wasn't the biggest fan of Evil in Small Places by Lucy Foley, The Unravelling by Natalie Haynes and I took a huge dislike to The Open Mind by Naomi Alderman. I can't see why as all were good, but they didn't work for me. And there was one or two stories that made me go "What EXACTLY is the point of this?"

Now, I listened to most of this by audiobook and there is a HUGE problem: the editing. Now, in a few stories, one or two tiny things happen (editing, repeating, lack of pacing,), but I forgave it. Then we get to Kate Mosse's The Mystery of the Acid Soil and oh my goodness, the editing was appalling. There were coughs, repeating sentence, sentence being read wrong and having to be corrected - how did that recoridng get through editing without anyone noticing? Plus, there is no chapter heading on the Audible recording - there is "track one", "track two", etc. Now, two stories have chapters, but you had no idea where you were in the story/collection because of lack of information. Both of these upset and angered me so much, I had to return my audiobook back to Audible.

But the collection: hit and miss with stories, but if the publisher and Agatha Christie Estate was thinking of an author to tell a new Miss Marple story, I would say go with Jean Kwok, Ruth Ware or Val McDermid. But any of these authors would bring something new and exciting to the world of Christie. I do hope we have another collection like this...

Thank you Net Galley and HarperCollins UK for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a massive fan of Agatha Christie, I was over the moon to be allowed to read and review this novel. Many of the world’s favourite authors came together to reimagine Miss Marple by Agatha Christie. Each author told a short story which brilliantly blended in together to create one amazing crime novel. I loved how the author’s different writing styles were showcased throughout, which made it much more enjoyable. However, I was only able to give it 3 stars as at times it was quite slow moving and occasionally uneventful.

I love, love, love this book and all its short stories. I could read one and put it down to read something else and come back and read another! And the stories themselves were so much fun and of course all feature Miss Marple. Being an Agatha Christie fan I couldn't resist this book and I certainly wasn't disappointed!

I was also going to try and choose a favourite story but I just couldn't as they were all great and they all had something different yet they had some things that didn't change! Each story was well written and gave you a full story in such a short space of time which is great.

It was such fun reading this book and I would buy it for any Agatha Christie fan as it brings everything Miss Marple to the pages again. As I said.... Love it!

An anthology of new Miss Marple short stories by 12 fantastic authors. This was really enjoyable and I liked some stories more than others and a couple of stand outs for me where Karen McManus and Ruth Ware could definitely see some more from them. This should.be a definite read for any Christie fans.

‘Twelve New Stories. Twelve Great Writers. One Agatha Christie.’

My thanks to HarperCollins U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Marple: Twelve New Stories’.

For this collection of short stories the Christie Estate invited twelve well known women authors, each a Christie devotee, to contribute an original short story featuring Agatha Christie’s beloved amateur sleuth, Miss Jane Marple.

The contributors are an eclectic group, mainly crime and mystery writers along with others who have made their names in romance, fantasy and historical fiction.

I felt that the quality of the stories was high, though as always in short story collections there were some that had at a greater appeal for me. I especially enjoyed Lucy Foley’s ‘Evil in Small Places’, Kate Mosse’s ‘The Mystery of the Acid Soil’, and Val McDermid’s ‘The Second Murder at the Vicarage’.

The collection ends with a few details about each of the authors. As I was curious about the choices that each author made in crafting their stories, I would have loved a little introduction or afterword for each story, though that might have interrupted the flow from story to story.

Overall, I found this a fun tribute to Miss Marple that is bound to please Christie fans.

I enjoyed this collection of stories grouped together. Some of my favourite authors are represented. I liked how different aspects of female crime were depicted. This book has received a lot of attention, but it is best approached as fanfiction because that is exactly what it is. The only contribution made by Agatha Christie to this collection was the creation of Miss Marple. Some authors have taken outrageous creative licences, such as flying Miss Marple all the way to America. The majority of them lack Christie's cosy atmosphere. In any case, it's entertaining. I would only recommend it to Miss Marple fans who have read the original stories several times and are comfortable with the concept of fanfiction.Thank you to Harper Collins, Harper Fiction, via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Marple: Twelve New Stories for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Marple: Twelve New Stories by Agatha Christie; 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.
This collection of twelve 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.
·really good read. Love miss Marple so knew I would enjoy this book. 5*.

I really enjoyed this collection of Miss Marple retellings. I've read the first few Miss Marple books and look forward to working my way through the rest of Agatha Christie's series.

I would have probably picked up this collection regardless of the writers involved, but I'm a big fan of Ruth Ware, Val McDermid and Lucy Foley, and have enjoyed many of the others' writing, so was looking forward to seeing what they could do with this legendary character.

I thought all the stories were at least 'good' but my top five is:
'The Jade Empress' by Jean Kwok
'Evil in Small Places' by Lucy Foley
'Miss Marple's Christmas' by Ruth Ware
'Miss Marple Takes Manhattan' by Alyssa Cole
'A Deadly Wedding Day' by Dreda Say Mitchell

Some are definitely more memorable than others, but I thought this was a nice collection to dip in and out of. More collections like this please!

Marple has twelve new stories written by twelve different contemporary authors (mostly women) which include some famous ones like Leigh Bardugo and Val McDermid. There has been a lot of hype around this book, but it is best to approach this as fanfiction because that is exactly what it is. Agatha Christie's only contribution to this collection was the creation of the character of Miss Marple. Some authors have taken some wild creative liberties like flying poor old Miss Marple all the way to America. Most of them lack the cosy vibes of a Christie story. Entertaining, nonetheless. Would only recommend it to diehard fans of Miss Marple who have read the original stories multiple times and are okay with the idea of fanfiction.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher - HarperCollins UK, and the authors for the digital ARC of this book. #NetGalley #HarperCollins #Marple #MarpleTwelveNewStories