I was drawn in by names like Alyssa Cole, Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley, and Elly Griffiths and even more by the promise of more Miss Marple stories. Enjoyment will vary based on whether or not you are looking for authors who write like Christie or just more stories with Miss Marple.
Evil in Small Places by Lucy Foley
I think Foley very much tried to write in the vein of Christie and succeeded here and there though her own voice peeped through in places. This is a story very much like previous Marple stories; Jane goes to visit an old school friend and the choirmaster, a woman much disliked in the village, is murdered.
The Second Murder at the Vicarage by Val McDermid
Told from the first person view of St. Mary Mead's vicar, Leonard Clement, we visit a lot of old characters when the maid from the Murder at the Vicarage, Mary, is found dead in the kitchen. I feel like Christie usually gave us more clues than we got in this story but it is fun to read all of the Easter Eggs.
Miss Marple Takes Manhattan by Alyssa Cole
Dear nephew Raymond West has a play opening in New York that is based on one of his novels. Of course, he wants to bring Jane with him. She sneaks out of the hotel to go shopping and accidentally meets one of the actors in the play, though she doesn't know it at the time. Later, at an off-Broadway theater, the woman's co-lead is found behind the curtain having apparently been accidentally electrocuted and it is up to Jane to solve the mystery.
Cole uses a deft hand to add in a wider pantheon of characters than we normally get to see in a Christie novel.
Miss Marple's Christmas by Ruth Ware
Raymond West and his wife, Joan, again share the stage with Jane in a story set at Christmas. Of course, it will be pleasant to have the "children" with her again but it's not like the Christmases of her youth.
The Open Mind by Naomi Alderman
This story was a little more complicated with Miss Marple in the seventies watching an older man take drugs with a very young woman while his colleagues watch and comment that he is preying on another young girl. It's not a surprise that he dies.
The Jade Empress by Jean Kwok
On a cruise to visit her nephew in Hong Kong, Miss Marple meets an interesting Chinese expat, Mr. Pang, who is taking his daughter to meet the half-brother she never knew about. There are a series of mysterious happenings that point to Mr. Pang's being threatened and then he is murdered.
A Deadly Wedding Day by Dreda Say Mitchell
It is the wedding day of the son of a baronet and a young woman from the Carribean. His seats are full, hers have only her aunt, Miss Bella. A young woman shows up unexpectedly, makes a small scene, then eats dessert and dies. Miss Marple and Miss Bella figure out what actually happened.
Murder at the Villa Rosa by Elly Griffiths
A first person story with an author debating whether to kill off his best-selling creation. He goes to the beautiful Villa Rosa where all of the occupants seem to have dark histories. Except maybe the nice Miss Marple.
The Murdering Sort by Karen M. McManus
Raymond West's grandchild is the first person narrator of this short story. She has made a new friend, an American devoted to the environment, and has been invited to visit at the girl's grandfather's birthday. Unfortunately, it ends up being the night that the grandfather announces a new will, and then proceeds to die. Well, it seems like he does but it turns out he is testing his family... until he really does die.
The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse
Miss Marple meets a young priest who is confused since his lady love has disappeared. Yes, she might have run away after her mother died but the general consensus is that that is not her usual demeanor.
The Disappearance by Leigh Bardugo
Miss Marple is visiting Raymond and Joan in London but jumps at the chance to leave when Dolly Bantry calls. She is missing some family heirlooms and the son of the local house has vanished as well. She doesn't tell Jane about another missing girl. Four stars
This book comes out September 13, 2022
ARC kindly provided by William Morrow and NetGalley
Opinions are my own
No comments:
Post a Comment