Feature: Marple by Agatha Christie

 

"I wonder, sometimes, if there isn't a concentration of evil in small places."

Do you have a favorite literary character you would like to see have new adventures?

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @williammorrowbooks for the gifted copy of Marple: Twelve New Mysteries and for allowing me to be on this tour.

I've started reading this collection and I was pulled in by the very first line. I loved the first story, Evil in Small Places by Lucy Foley. There are great stories by so many of my favorite authors!

Book Description from Goodreads: 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.

This collection of a dozen 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.

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

Miss Marple was first introduced to readers in a story Agatha Christie wrote for The Royal Magazine in 1927 and made her first appearance in a full-length novel in 1930’s The Murder at the Vicarage. It has been 45 years since Agatha Christie’s last Marple novel, Sleeping Murder, was published posthumously in 1976, and this collection of ingenious new stories by twelve Christie devotees will be a timely reminder why Jane Marple remains the most famous fictional female detective of all time.

#marple #marpletwelvenewmysteries
#missmarplemysteries #agathachristie

Northanger Abbey by Val McDermid

Northanger Abbey is a Jane Austen novel that I learned to appreciate as I grew older.  I loved the parody of the gothic romance, but also loved the sensitivity and wit of Henry Tilney.  I also loved how Catherine Morland is a teenager out in the world for the first time by herself and how she learned the hard lessons of who are your true friends.  I was excited to hear that author Val McDermid was going to write an update of Northanger Abbey, but I wasn’t sure how this novel could be updated to modern times.

I think Val McDermid did an excellent job with the translation to modern times.  Instead of gothic romance, “Cat” Morland loves Twilight and the vampire genre.  She loves to read, but also longs for an adventure of her own.  Growing up in Piddle Valley as the homeschooled daughter of a Vicar, Cat has lived a very sheltered life.  She is very excited to be invited by her neighbors, the Allens to attend the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh.  Mr. Allen is a scout for top new plays to bring to London.  He has been ill so his wife Susie wants to go to Edinburgh with him to watch over him.  She does not enjoy the same entertainment as him so she wants to bring along Cat to keep her company.

While in Edinburgh, Cat meets the handsome Henry Tilney through learning Scottish dances at a dance school.  She also meets the Thorpe family and becomes good friends with one daughter, Bella.  She is not as enamored by Bella’s brother Johnny and is surprised to learn that her brother James knows the Thorpe family and Bella quite well.  Cat learns more about the Tilney family and starts to think their lives match one of her vampire gothic novels.  Is everything the way it seems?

I really enjoyed this novel and thought it was a great update.  Putting the vampire novels and social media into the book worked really well.  Also having Cat a homeschooled girl from a small town explained a lot of her naiveté.  I also loved the secondary star of the novel,   Edinburgh.  Fans of the original will know that the trip was to Bath, but Edinburgh worked quite well in this novel.  The festival sounds fantastic – I would love to attend!!

Overall, a great update to a great classic.

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library