Ashley's Reviews > Marple: Twelve New Mysteries

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Marple: Twelve New Mysteries
by

Naomi Alderman (Goodreads Author),

Leigh Bardugo (Goodreads Author),

Alyssa Cole (Goodreads Author),

Lucy Foley (Goodreads Author),

Elly Griffiths (Goodreads Author),

Natalie Haynes (Goodreads Author),

Jean Kwok (Goodreads Author),

Val McDermid,

more…

Ashley's review

Nov 12, 2022

really liked it

bookshelves: anglophilia, anthologies, books-about-writers, class-gender-race, christmas, essays-and-stories, historical-fiction, murder-most-foul, mysteries, professional-fanfic, thar-she-blows

I would read more of these, for sure. Even the ones where Americans try and fail to capture that British Marple feeling are entertaining in their failure. But most of these stories were pretty successful! One nailed it completely.

Highlights for me were the stories from Ruth Ware, Naomi Alderman, Elly Griffiths, Kate Mosse, and Leigh Bardugo.

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Reading Progress

October 23, 2022 – Started Reading

October 23, 2022 – Shelved

October 23, 2022 –

1.0% "The deckled edges on my library copy are making me want to buy this, so I hope it's good."

October 23, 2022 –

9.0% ""Evil in Small Places," Lucy Foley — Off to a good start! Miss Marple visits an old school acquaintance and a murder occurs at choir practice. A pretty clever ending. 4/5 Stars"

October 23, 2022 –

15.0% ""The Second Murder at the Vicarage," Val McDermid — I liked the writing style of this one, but the way the mystery played out wasn't very satisfying. There was absolutely no way to solve it before Miss Marple because most of the plot happened off-page. 3/5 Stars"

October 24, 2022 –

24.0% ""Miss Marple Takes Manhattan," Alyssa Cole — This one didn't quite work. Taking Miss Marple out of England felt weird, but more importantly the writing just didn't catch the right tone. The mystery was dull, and the solving of it based on improbable coincidence. Not bad, but not really that good, either. 3/5 Stars"

October 24, 2022 –

32.0% ""The Unraveling," Natalie Haynes — I feel like this author was a surprising choice to write a Marple story, and of course she worked a Greek mythology allusion in. But it was a good story! 4/5 Stars"

October 29, 2022 –

41.0% ""Miss Marple's Christmas," Ruth Ware — This is the first thing by Ruth Ware I've given over 3.5 stars to! I saw the main twist coming but it was still a fun time, and there were lots of small details I didn't see coming, so it sort of made up for it. 4/5 Stars"

October 29, 2022 –

49.0% ""The Open Mind," Naomi Alderman — A bit weird to see Miss Marple in 1970, but this was a clever little mystery in a fun setting (Oxford, the St. Bede's College Founders Dinner). 4/5 Stars"

November 2, 2022 –

57.0% ""The Jade Empress," Jean Kwok — I didn't like the writing style in this one, but the mystery was all right. 3/5 Stars"

November 5, 2022 –

66.0% ""A Deadly Wedding Day," Dreda Say Mitchell — This didn't feel well-written to me. It was confusing in parts and the mystery wasn't super well put together, even if the story of what happened was interesting. The dialogue was not great, didn't read like real people were speaking most of the time. 3/5 Stars"

November 9, 2022 –

73.0% ""Murder at the Villa Rosa," Elly Griffiths — I'd never heard of this author until a few months ago and now I'm seeing her everywhere. This is the first thing I've read by her and I'm definitely reading more. This is so far the most creative story in the bunch, though there wasn't enough Miss Marple. 4/5 Stars"

November 11, 2022 – Finished Reading

November 12, 2022 –

82.0% ""The Murdering Sort," Karen M. McManus — This read a bit too much like one of the author's young adult thrillers, but it was a good set-up for a mystery. Also, it's just weird to put Miss Marple in America. 3.5/5 Stars"

November 12, 2022 –

91.0% ""The Mystery of the Acid Soil," Kate Mosse — Aside from a strange title, this is the best story so far in this book. Kate Mosse *gets it*. Her Marple is spot on, it's extremely English, has great details, a put-upon Marple friend, and Miss Marple is in it the most. The prose also reads uncannily like Christie.5/5 Stars"

November 12, 2022 –

100.0% ""The Disappearance," Leigh Bardugo — This was a fun one to go out on. I would have given it five stars but I feel like there was a pretty big plot hole that wasn't addressed. A character does something that doesn't really make sense. But other than that, it was fun trying to spot the clues. 4.5/5 Stars"

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: anglophilia

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: anthologies

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: books-about-writers

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: class-gender-race

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: christmas

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: essays-and-stories

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: historical-fiction

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: murder-most-foul

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: mysteries

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: professional-fanfic

November 12, 2022 – Shelved as: thar-she-blows