Miss Marple and Mystery: Over 50 Stories

by Agatha Christie

A collection of 55 great Agatha Christie entries - all 20 of the elderly Miss Jane Marple short stories, plus 35 other mysteries, supernaturals, and horror stories. They are:

1 The Actress
2 Girl in the Train
3 While the Light Lasts
4 Red Signal
4 Blue Jar
6 Jane in Search of a Job
7 Mr Farnsworth's Adventure
8 Philomel College
9 Manhood of Edward Robinson
10 Witness for the Prosecution
11 Wireless
12 Within a Wall
13 Listerdale
14 Fourth Man
15 House of Dreams
16 S.O.S.
17 Magnolia Blossom
18 Lonely God
19 Rajah's Emerald
20 Swan Song
21 Last Séance
22 Edge
23 Tuesday Night Club
24 Idol House of Astarte
25 Ingots of Gold
26 Bloodstained Pavement
27 Motive v. Opportunity
28 Thumb Mark of St Peter
29 Fruitful Sunday
30 Golden Ball
31 Accident
32 Next to a Dog
33 Sing a Song of Sixpence
34 Blue Geranium
35 Companion
36 Four Suspects
37 Christmas Tragedy
38 Herb of Death
39 Affair at the Bungalow
40 Manx Gold
41 Death by Drowning
42 Hound of Death
43 Gypsy
44 Lamp
45 Sir Arthur Carmichael
46 Call of Wings
47 In a Glass Darkly
48 Miss Marple Tells a Story
49 Strange Jest
50 Tape-Measure
51 Caretaker
52 Perfect Maid
53 Sanctuary
54 Greenshaw's Folly, and
55 Dressmaker's Doll.

Librarian's note: this is the entry for the collection: "Miss Marple and Mystery: Over 50 Stories." Individual entries for each short story can be found elsewhere on Goodreads.

Genres: Agatha Christie, Mystery, Short Stories, Crime, Fiction, Classics, Murder Mystery

736 pages, Paperback

First published July 5, 2011

About the author

Agatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.

Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)

Reviews

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is a bit misleading.
Agatha Christie wrote 20 short stories and 12 novels featuring Miss Marple.
There is no math that allows that to equal 50 stories featuring Miss Marple. However, you are still getting your money's worth with this collection if you're a fan of Christie and the collection does include all 20 of the Marple shorts. I've marked them for anyone who is interested and left a link to reviews for all of the shorts.
I've also corrected the names of the stories in my links as a couple were misnamed or misspelled, and a lot were missing part of the title. For example, Caretaker is actually The Case of the Caretaker.


The Actress
Girl in the Train
While the Light Lasts
Red Signal
Blue Jar
Jane in Search of a Job
This is listed as Mr Farnsworth's Adventure but it's actually Mr Eastwood's Adventure
Philomel Cottage
Manhood of Edward Robinson
Witness for the Prosecution
Wireless
Within a Wall
The Listerdale Mystery
The Fourth Man
The House of Dreams
S.O.S.
Magnolia Blossom
The Lonely God
The Rajah's Emerald
Swan Song
The Last Séance
The Edge
Marple Mystery! The Tuesday Night Club
Marple Mystery! The Idol House of Astarte
Marple Mystery! Ingots of Gold
Marple Mystery! The Blood-Stained Pavement
Marple Mystery! Motive v. Opportunity
Marple Mystery! The Thumb Mark of St Peter
Fruitful Sunday
The Golden Ball
Accident
Next to a Dog
Sing a Song of Sixpence
Marple Mystery! The Blue Geranium
Marple Mystery! The Companion
Marple Mystery! The Four Suspects
Marple Mystery! A Christmas Tragedy
Marple Mystery! The Herb of Death
Marple Mystery! The Affair at the Bungalow
Manx Gold
Marple Mystery! Death by Drowning
The Hound of Death
The Gipsy
The Lamp
The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael
The Call of Wings
In a Glass Darkly
Marple Mystery! Miss Marple Tells a Story
Marple Mystery! Strange Jest
Marple Mystery! The Tape-Measure Murder
Marple Mystery! The Case of the Caretaker
Marple Mystery! The Case of the Perfect Maid
Marple Mystery! Sanctuary
Marple Mystery! Greenshaw's Folly
The Dressmaker's Doll

If you're only interested in Miss Marple's short stories, you may want to grab this collection instead. --> Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

As other reviewers have pointed out, this collection is not just Miss Marple stories. I'm fine with that, except that Miss Marple doesn't enter the collection at all until about halfway in... The book should really just be titled something like Agatha Christie Short Stories, because using Marple's name in the title when she's only present in less than half the stories, in the later half of the book, is rather deceptive.

The stories are good, of course -- they're Christie, and it's interesting to read them in chronological order, seeing the progression of her ideas and writing.

[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don't be fooled by the title; the stories in this collection are not strictly "Miss Marple" stories. Spanning four decades, it's more what I would call a mixture of "puzzle" stories, many of which do not include your actual murder. Christie shows her skills as an author as she runs the gamut from murder mystery to revenge to light comico-romantic puzzle to some rather dark snippets I might have expected to see dramatised on the original "Twilight Zone." (Particularly the last story in the book, "The Dressmaker's Doll.")

An enjoyable read, particularly as the stories are arranged in chronological order of publication. The names of the different magazines are given--all history now--and we can see how Christie's craft developed and changed over time. Some stories were re-worked at a later date to star Poirot (who does not appear in a single story in this volume); others will be familiar to readers of later authors such as Kerry Greenwood.I was intrigued to see that one of the main characters in a 1920s story is a young man named "James Bond." Could Fleming have read the tale in a magazine and chosen the name for 007, without remembering where it came from?

[Kavita · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of 55 stories, not all of them feature Miss Marple, despite the title. There are only 20 Marple stories. But the collection is brilliant with only about 4 to 5 stories that I did not enjoy. Most of the stories are mysteries, but there are a few sweet romances as well. I disliked most of the supernatural stuff, but luckily, there were just a few of them.

My favourite stories included:

Philomel Cottage : A chilling story of a couple who bought a cottage far away from the nearest neighbours. Eventually, there is a sinister plot afoot, but who wins this game? I think this has to be the scariest story of the lot.

The Rajah's Emerald : A poor man is mistreated by his date, who hangs out with the rich crowd while ignoring him, though expecting him to be at her beck and call. Quite by chance, the man's life changes when he enters the wrong cottage for changing at the beach. A fun story, rooted in a mystery.

The Tuesday Night Club : A bunch of people get together to throw real life problems at each other and see who wins each round. This is originally from the book The Thirteen Problems, and I enjoy this first story because of the way everyone underestimates Jane Marple but she goes on to solve every single problem.

The Bloodstained Pavement : This is again a part of The Thirteen Problems. Joyce Lemprière (who later becomes Joan West and marries Miss Marple's nephew, Raymond) provides this problem about a couple that Joyce meets at the seaside while on a painting mission. The female friend of the couple disappears, and Joyce discovers the solution. As does Miss Marple.

A Fruitful Sunday : A very sweet romance story. A couple wishes to be rich and while on a Sunday afternoon picnic, they buy a fruit basket and find a precious gemstone in it. Do they keep it or report it? Their problem is solved very soon but not before they find true love and good character in each other.

Accident : When Captain Haydock goes to meet his friend, a retired inspector, he discovers a woman who has been acquitted of her husband's murder and has now married again with a different name. Haydock makes it his business to meddle in her affairs. An astounding climax!

The Blue Geranium : Another Marple classic, this one is about a woman who is into fortune tellers and gets told that blue geraniums will cause her death. Her husband does not heed her terror and believes it's all bunkum. But when random flowers on the wallpaper begin to turn blue, the prediction comes true. Miss Marple finally solves the mystery with the aid of some long-forgotten high school chemistry classes.

The Companion : When the companion of a rich woman dies, nobody suspects anything. Not even when the rich woman herself commits suicide out of guilt. Except Miss Marple ...

The Affair at the Bungalow : Empty-headed actress Jane Helier stumps everyone by telling a story to which she herself does not know the solution. Except, of course, Miss Marple, who gives her some solid advice.

Tape Measure Murder : I remember reading this story as a small child and it stuck with me. A lady is discovered murdered in her living room and it is the local dressmaker who found her. A proper locked room mystery, and Miss Marple arrives at the most impossible solution quite easily!

The Case of the Perfect Maid : When a paragon of virtue is hired by the Skinner sisters after a local girl is fired whimsically, Miss Marple smells a rat. She pokes her nose in only to clear the name of the local girl, and succeeds, astounding everyone else in the process.

The Dressmaker's Doll : This is the only supernatural story that I enjoyed. A rag doll is suddenly noticed in a dressmaker's shop. Nobody knows how she got there but she kept being moved around. Eventually, everyone feels that the doll is rather malevolent and the owner throws it out of the window. Is the doll really out to do mischief or does it just want to be loved?

There is a section of six stories (42 to 47), which all have a supernatural theme, and I did not enjoy these. These stories include Hound of Death, Gypsy, Lamp, Sir Arthur Carmichael, Call of Wings, and In a Glass Darkly.

It's very clear that Christie often rehashed ideas and developed them into other stories, often full-length. I enjoyed coming across certain names in the short stories that the author has used to good effect in some of her other novels for some pretty interesting characters, such as Amos Perry, Miss Pebmarsh, Mr Eccles, etc.

[Tanya (aka ListObsessedReader) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will be chipping away at this in small doses as I come to Agatha's short story collections whilst reading through her works chronologically.

Short Story Collections Read:

- The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple). 13 Stories. Read 22/04/13-25/04/13
- The Hound of Death. 12 Stories. Read 10/07/13-16/07/13
- The Listerdale Mystery. 12 Stories. Read 12/10/13-20/10/13
- The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Mixed). 1 Story (5 further stories also contained within Hercule Poirot). Read 11/02/17-12/02/17
- Miss Marple's Final Cases. 8 Stories. Read 04/08/18-12/08/18
- Problem at Pollensa Bay (Mixed). 2 Stories (6 further stories also contained within Detectives and Young Adventurers and Hercule Poirot). Read 26/08/18-28/09/18
- While the Light Lasts (Mixed). 7 Stories (2 further stories also contained within Detectives and Young Adventurers). Read 28/09/18-29/09/18

[Miglė · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manau, kad parašyti detektyvinį apsakymą yra gerokai sunkiau, negu detektyvinį romaną. Daugumą šių apsakymų Christie išsprendžia meistriškai: ir intriga yra, ir paslaptis, ir dažniausiai - netgi netikėtas sprendimas, kas išvis sunkiai įsivaizduojama trumpo žanro kūriniuose.

Kitas dalykas – jau taip visur tampomi tie Christie apsakymai, leidžiami visokiais rinkiniais ir įvairiausiomis kombinacijomis, ir baigiasi tuo, kad iš kiekvieno rinkinio bent 1/3 apsakymų jau bus skaityti. Marple apsakymų aš skaičiusi nedaug, bet čia Marple gal tik pusė. Christie supernatural apsakymai, mano nuomone, silpnesni (na kiek galima to spiritizmo!), bet ir čia jų primėtyta. Kita vertus, mielai dar kartą suskaičiau savo mėgstamiausią - "Mėlyną ąsotį".
Trumpai tariant, su apsakymais viskas gerai, bet jau tikrai metas man nustoti prikti rinkinius!

[Amrita Goswami · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like some other reviewers, I was misled by the cover and was somewhat nonplussed to find that most of the stories did not feature Miss Marple. A few were middling, some were good, and I had unfortunately read most of the Miss Marple stories before. I was also a little annoyed with the ordering of the stories; perhaps the collection would have seemed more coherent if the stories had been grouped in a more meaningful manner, instead of in the order of publication. Although I prefer the flamboyant Hercule Poirot to the more understated Miss Marple, I'd give this short story collection 3-3.5 stars.

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a marvellous collection of short stories, about twenty of which feature Miss Marple. The rest are a varied selection of mystery and supernatural stories with the odd romantic interlude as well. If you are expecting them all to feature Miss Marple then you will be disappointed. But all these stories are worthwhile reading in my opinion as they show just how good Agatha Christie was at writing short stories.

Some of the supernatural stories are really chilling and leave you looking over your shoulder to see what is creeping up on you. I was particularly spooked by the last story in this collection - 'The Dressmaker's Doll'. I've read it before but even on the second reading it I still found it just as disturbing.

If you want a collection of short stories which will keep you reading for quite some time - there are fifty five stories in this collection - then you could do worse than read this. It is excellent value for money and shows a master of the short story in action.

[Adrian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice compendium of stories from the queen of mystery stories. The selection was varied, if a bit repetitive - by the end I could actually describe the pattern most stories would take.
There was also an unfortunate smattering of ghost/paranormal stories throughout. I found myself trudging through those - not enough substance and/or really crackpot plot.
It's difficult to highlight one particular story as a favourite, especially as the selection is quite large and the details in my mind tended to get rather confused with parts of other stories over time. However, I found myself looking forward to the next story involving Miss Marple and how her experience living in a small remote English village gave her insight into murder most horrid!

[Tom]

1 The Actress 5⭐
2 Girl in the Train 3⭐
3 While the Light Lasts 3⭐
4 Red Signal 4.5⭐
4 Blue Jar 5⭐
6 Jane in Search of a Job 4⭐
7 Mr. Eastwood’s Adventure 5⭐
8 Philomel College 5⭐
9 Manhood of Edward Robinson 5⭐
10 Witness for the Prosecution 5⭐
11 Wireless 5⭐
12 Within a Wall 4⭐
13 Listerdale 4⭐
14 Fourth Man 4⭐
15 House of Dreams 4⭐
16 S.O.S. 3⭐
17 Magnolia Blossom 5⭐
18 Lonely God 4⭐
19 Rajah's Emerald 4⭐
20 Swan Song 5⭐
21 Last Séance 4⭐
22 Edge 4⭐
23 Tuesday Night Club 4⭐
24 Idol House of Astarte 5⭐
25 Ingots of Gold 4⭐
26 Bloodstained Pavement 4⭐
27 Motive v. Opportunity 5⭐
28 Thumb Mark of St Peter 5⭐
29 Fruitful Sunday 4⭐
30 Golden Ball 3⭐
31 Accident 5⭐
32 Next to a Dog 4⭐
33 Sing a Song of Sixpence 4⭐
34 Blue Geranium 5⭐
35 Companion 4.5⭐
36 Four Suspects 5⭐
37 Christmas Tragedy 5⭐
38 Herb of Death 4⭐
39 Affair at the Bungalow 5⭐
40 Manx Gold 3⭐
41 Death by Drowning 5⭐
42 Hound of Death 5⭐
43 The Gipsy 5⭐
44 The Lamp 5⭐
45 Sir Arthur Carmichael 5⭐
46 Call of Wings 4⭐
47 In a Glass Darkly 3⭐
48 Miss Marple Tells a Story 4⭐
49 Strange Jest 4⭐
50 Tape-Measure 4⭐
51 Caretaker 5⭐
52 Perfect Maid 5⭐
53 Sanctuary - 5⭐
54 Greenshaw's Folly 5⭐
55 Dressmaker's Doll 5⭐

[Marta · Rating 4 out of 5]

55 historias cortas escritas por Agatha Christie, en su mayoría de misterio o intriga.

De las 55 historias, 20 son de Miss Marple y como dije en la reseña de "The Tuesday Club Murders", la mayoría aparecen en este último libro.

Aún así, ha sido un placer leerlo. Cortitas, ligeras y autoconclusivas. Es por ello, que al ser cada historia un capítulo y todos ellos independientes, se puede tomar y dejar el libro sin miedo a perder el hilo.

Para que os hagáis una idea, yo lo empecé en 2015 y lo termino ahora. 😅

[Melanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was reading this over 18 months and dipping in and out. I don't always love a short story, but there were some really great ones in this, some creepy, some character expanding. There were also some ones that would have been better expanded into a novel and others that were testing an idea that didn't really work.

[Ekita Parmar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not all stories are of Miss Marple.. but good collection none the less..

I am not a fan of short stories.. I like novels more but loved almost all stories in the book..

Agatha Christie was a marvellous writer.. writing on same subject/theme again and again and yet produce engaging stuff is no way a easy task..

[Suleyman Sari · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book specifically for the kindle. So that I could read short stories on the phone when I had no other books around, whenever I felt like it, with no risk of forgetting earlier parts of a novel. This plan worked well, until the last quarter of the book, which I read in one go.

This a great collection of Miss Marple stories, plus several more that I didn't know was within Christie's scope. Among these latter ones, The fourth man was my favorite. I am surprised it was not made into a movie. There are at least 3 very similar stories in the early parts where a valuable stone is placed in the hands of random people due to a mix-up. Also, these being short stories, Miss Marple solves her crimes a bit too quickly.

[Olivia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Rating for each story:

1. 3
2. 2
3. 1.5
4. 2.5
5. 3
6. 2.5
7. 2
8. 2.5
9. 2.5
10. 3
11. 3.5
12. 2
13. 3
14. 2.5
15. 2
16. 1
17. 2.5
18. 3.5
19. 3.5
20. 2
21. 1
22. 3
23. 3.5
24. 3.5
25. 3.5
26. 3.5
27. 3.5
28. 3.5
29. 2
30. 2
31. 2
32. 2.5
33. 2
34. 3.5
35. 3.5
36. 3.5
37. 4
38. 3.5
39. 3
40. 2.5
41. 3
42. 1
43. 1
44. 1
45. 2
46. 1
47. 1.5
48. 2.5
49. 1.5
50. 2.6
51. 2
52. 2
53. 2
54. 1.5
55. 1

[Lin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Agatha Christie remains the queen of crime !!!

[D.S. Nelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Christie perfection in tiny bite size chunks!

[Ivan Dachs Hladík · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deset tisíc vydaných titulů, to už chce pořádnou oslavu i pro všechny čtenáře. Místo dortu se mohou zakousnout do velkolepé sbírky povídek Agathy Christie (†85), jimž vládne pevnou rukou a ostrou myslí milá sousedka slečna Marplová.

Nové luxusní ilustrované vydání povídek Agathy Christie tentokrát soustřeďuje kratší příběhy, v nichž vystupuje druhá nejslavnější postava královny detektivek – slečna Jane Marplová, ctihodná stará panna z vesničky St. Mary Mead, proslulá jako „odbornice na mrtvoly“, která se dokonale vyzná ve zločinech a nemilosrdně odhaluje jejich pachatele. Zároveň jsou do tohoto souboru zařazeny povídky, kde sice nefiguruje žádný známý detektiv, přesto jsou to mistrné texty plné záhad, napětí, chytrých zápletek a dechberoucích odhalení. Soubor Slečna Marplová a záhady z pera královny detektivek, jež je kmenovou autorkou a „rodinným stříbrem“ nakladatelství Euromedia Group, vychází coby jeho jubilejní 10 000. titul.

Začněme několika praktickými informacemi, které jsou jen suchopárným úvodem skvělému titulu. Do budoucna se všem milovníkům díla Christie bude určitě hodit fakt, že Euromedia Group, český vydavatel knih slavné Angličanky, napříště nebude vydávat její tituly v Knižním klubu, ale pod značkou Kalibr – stejně, jako tentokrát. Kniha následuje svého o dva roky staršího předchůdce, velkolepého Hercula Poirota, také v povídkách. Co je ale hlavní a co má čtenář čekat od české varianty britského „Miss Marple and Mystery: The Complete Short Stories“?

Tak za prvé – jako bonus dvě povídky navíc. Pak také chronologicky seřazený seznam všech autorčiných povídek. Ale co především? Skvělé, zábavné, tradiční, napínavé a příjemné počtení na úctyhodných 752 stranách téměř tříkilového balení ve formátu A4 v pevné kazetě, která si zaslouží první místo v každé knihovně milovníků žánru nejen díky kvalitnímu grafickému zpracování.

Slečna Marplová a záhady je titulem plným mikrovyprávění napsaných lehkou rukou. Čtenáři s nimi příjemně ubíhá čas, a čím déle čte, tím hlouběji se noří do atmosféry viktoriánské Anglie, kde se ale odehrávaly moderní příběhy. Christie právě proto dokázala a stále umí oslovit tolik generace. Během čtení její práce se úplně stírá časoprostor, postavy napsané jejím perem či strojem jsou dokonale uchopitelné a blízké. Jak tedy hodnotit i tuto knihu jinak, než plným počtem procent. Snad jen lze přidat doporučení k jejímu pořízení – lepší knižní dárek pro sebe či čtivého bližního budete hledat jen složitě.

[Katharina · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is astonishing how well Christie can establish characters and tension over such a short span of pages. Furthermore, the author's sense of humor is witty. Those are the biggest benefits of her writing.

However, the conclusions, especially in Christie's earlier stories, arrives too quickly. Often, only the last few paragraphs are dedicated to convey a solution to the mystery to the reader. In addition, some of the later stories contain supernatural elements which prevent any kind of resolution.

The Miss Marple short stories are the most fascinating ones. Half of them take place at a small party where one of the attendants describes a mystery they encountered to the other guests who then all try to solve it. Despite this boring sounding concept, they are engaging. It is incredibly satisfying to notice a detail that indeed is part of the answer.

[Arya · Rating 3 out of 5]

A 3.5 to be precise...
I was quite shocked when I found out that not all of the short stories in this book were of Miss Marple (this book was a gift and although I suggested the name I had not paid much attention to its contents then). 20 of the stories involved Miss Marple and were absolutely up to the mark. With yarns of mystery coiling around each incident, the typical 'old maid of the village' Miss Marple managed to reach the conclusion in astonishing manners. However, the other 35 non-series stories were not catchy. One should say that they were quite uninteresting when compared to the Miss Marple plots. Yet, there were a few jolly good ones among them but I think the whole of the 3.5 stars would go to the deserving 20! Over a single book and a single character, the author has definitely made to my top shelves! Looking forward to read more of her exciting plots!!

[Eamon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of the three short story collections I’ve been working my way through for this reading project, I think this one would have to be my favourite. It demonstrates best the sheer variety in types of stories Christie wrote. I think of an author’s short stories a bit like a musician’s b-sides: a chance to do something outside their usual fare. Christie is remarkably adept in different genres. This book has everything from her standard murder mysteries to stories of horror, the supernatural, thrillers, comedies, romances, character studies, and melodrama.

Some I particularly enjoyed included the light hearted adventure stories ‘The Girl in the Train’ and ‘The Rajah’s Emerald’, the character studies of ‘Within a Wall’ and ‘The Edge’, and the unsettling ‘Philomel Cottage’, ‘The Strange Case of Sir Arthur Carmichael’ and ‘The Dressmaker’s Doll’.

I also really got a kick out of ‘Strange Jest’, which is basically just Miss Marple tormenting a young couple.

A very worthwhile collection.

[C]

there were moments where it hit me that i was reading something written ~100 years ago, sometimes in a good way and other times in a bad way

my favorites would have to be the following:

• The Witness to the Prosecution
• Wireless
• Swan Song
• The Golden Ball
• Death by Drowning
• In a Glass Darkly

i didn’t realize agatha christie wrote paranormal stories as well. it’s nice to be more acquainted with her writing. i need to talk to her about Next to a Dog though because that was just incredibly sad.

also, The Call of Wings was definitely something. i didn’t really like it all that much, but it carries such an impact that i’d be happy to read or write a critical analysis of it. i feel like there are so many angles to view it from and so many elements we can flesh out.

[Mikael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Läsutmaning 2019 nummer 11: En novellsamling
Denna novellsamling är en av tre och tillsammans utgör de alla Agatha Christies noveller utgivna i kronologisk ordning ordnade efter ämne: Hercule Poirot, Detectives and young adventurers & Miss Marple and mysteries. Även om jag uppskattade historierna med Miss Marple tyckte jag inte spökhistorierna var särskilt bra. Mysterierna var av blandad kvalitet och de yngre var bättre än de äldre. I och med detta har jag läst alla Agatha Christies noveller inklusive ett par, tre stycken som var så omarbetade så både det äldre originalet och den nyare varianten kom med. De hamnade i olika volymer så det var OK att i princip läsa om dem.

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a wonderfully eclectic mix of stories by Agatha Christie. It is really nice to delve into an author beyond their ‘well known’ books. Here we have a mix of Miss Marple, murder mystery, treasure hunting, and, mysticism.

The biggest criticism of this set of works similar to other reviews is that this set of short stories is described as ‘Miss Marple Short Stories’. ONLY about a third of these books revolve around MissMarple/ Mary St Mead and, she DOES NOT make an appearance until the second half. It is nice though to see the growth of the characters in the Miss Marple Stories i.e Nephew, Inspector Slack etc throughout each new short story.

[Alison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good to read stories by twelve authors. What is interesting is that each author has written a single Miss Marple story, the original penmanship of all Miss Marple books by Agatha Christie. It’s good to read a different story daily for ten days, at time knowing the author and other times no knowing the author. I thoroughly enjoyed four of the ten stories. I fully intend to re-read the twelve stories again in my own time. I read along with other readers on the Pigeonhole app book club where we read and discuss in Comments with one another. It certainly enhances the read. An enjoyable collection of stories, really worthwhile reading.

[Andrea Hickman Walker · Rating 4 out of 5]

I always enjoy Agatha Christie, and am particularly fond of Miss Marple, but I though the title of this was extremely misleading. Miss Marple is not even in half the stories included. And while it may contain "the complete short stories" featuring Miss Marple, it is nowhere close to featuring all of Christie's short stories.
Sadly, there were only one or two that I hadn't read, and they were not particularly good, but it was lovely to have so many of the short stories collected together.

[Sudip Ganguly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is is a great collection of short stories by Agatha Christie, most of them involving the popular sleuth Miss Marple. However this collection is a mixed lot of short stories. Some of them slick horror stories, some of them are romantic comedies with good twists in the plots. In fact the readers will enjoy many of these non- Miss Marple stories too. I highly recommend this book for Christie lovers.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of over 50 short stories with a good smattering of Miss Marple. The collection is released in chronological order and you can see the development of Christie's short story writing skills.
It takes a while to come to the Miss Marple stories, I think it was some 20 plus stories before she makes an appearance. I was expecting more of those stories than the others but it is still an enjoyable read.

[Kieran Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of Agatha Christie's short stories, about half of which star Miss Marple. The stories are ordered chronologically and you get a short description of when and where each story was published.
If you like Christie, you'll love this collection. Some will argue that her ideas of class and race have aged badly, but even so she was a master story teller and that shines through above all else.

[Richard Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

The big title on the cover is a bit misleading, as barely a quarter of these short stories feature Miss Marple and these are by far the best of the tales. A lot of the earlier ones are variations on a theme - gallant boy gets the girl - and many aren't very good. There are a smattering of psychical stories, which like many that were written in the twenties, seem rather quaint today. The Marple tales are far more satisfying.