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As a lover of Agatha Christie, I’m always intrigues but wary when modern writers take on her characters. I did buy a copy of Sophie Hannah’s first Poirot novel The Monogram Murders but didn’t get very far with it. No matter how good a writer is, they’ll never be able to emulate the Queen of Crime herself. Christie was an incredibly talented writer who understood people and behaviour. She’s also incredibly shrewd but still massively underrated. So, it feels as though many contemporary writers think it’s easy to write an Agatha Christie novel. It’s actually not easy to write like Agatha Christie. She just makes it seem easy. It also doesn’t help that crime fiction is so oversaturated these days that people think the solutions are obvious. When, in fact, people have just used her plots again and again, so they’re familiar. It’s why I’m not a fan of a lot of crime fiction these days. It just feels so familiar. So, I wasn’t sure what to expect from this collection. I wanted to read it but was worried about how it would tur out. That’s why it took me so long to pick it up.

Over the years, I’ve become more of a Poirot fan than Miss Marple. I think she’s a great character but her books tend to be a bit slower than the ones featuring the Belgian detective. That’s why Christie’s most loved books are usually Poirot. However, Miss Marple is still an incredibly popular character for many readers. She’s also proved popular in the various television adaptations, which has helped secure her place in popular culture. So, it’s easy to see why she was the focus of this collection. Some of the biggest female writers have come together to give their takes on the iconic character. Some tried to remain traditional while others have attempted to modernise her. The question wasn’t just how good the stories would be but whether the writers would understand the character.

As you would expect with any collection of short stories, not all of the 12 tales here are of the same quality. A lot of them were fine but others were less than fine. I’ve seen a few people complain about some of the characterisation of Jane herself. I’ve even seen some people complain that the racism and prejudices from Christie’s day weren’t replicated. If I’m honest, I’m pretty happy that some of them made Jane more enlightened and tolerant. However, I don’t think everyone knew what to do with her. A few of them did everything they could to keep the focus away from her. Some of the stories treated her as something twee and silly. Thankfully, others were more respectful of the character.

1. Evil in Small Places by Lucy Foley: I’m not usually a fan of her books but I thought this was fine. It wasn’t my favourite but I didn’t have a major problem with it. It just felt kind of basic.
2. The Second Murder at the Vicarage by Val McDermid: In my opinion, the strongest story in the collection. It felt like an Agatha Christie story and I loved revisiting some familiar faces.
3. Miss Marple Takes Manhattan by Alyssa Cole: This was more of a modern approach and I’m not sure it fully worked. It didn’t feel like the character we know and I’m not sure it fully worked.
4. The Unravelling by Natalie Haynes: My second favourite of the collection. I love her writing and I think this was a strong story.
5. Miss Marple’s Christmas by Ruth Ware: This was pretty forgettable and dull. It definitely didn’t stick with me after I’d listened to it.
6. The Open Mind by Naomi Alderman: This was my least favourite. It wasn’t a Miss Marple story and I don’t think it belonged in here. It was boring and I didn’t like the writing. The characterisation was awful.
7. The Jade Empress by Jean Kwok: Another different story but I wasn’t too offended. It was fine but very long.
8. A Deadly Wedding Day by Dreda Say Mitchell: Not really a Miss Marple story but I liked the character of Miss Bella. This would have been better as a standalone.
9. Murder at the Villa Rosa by Elly Griffiths: This was long-winded and a bit rambly. It also felt more like a Poirot story and didn’t give Miss Marple much to do. Pretty forgettable.
10. The Murdering Sort by Karen McManus: This didn’t work for me. It felt like a bad copy of something. It didn’t feel as though Karen McManus knew much about the character.
11. The Mystery of the Acid Soil by Kate Mosse: This was another fine story. It was one of the strongest in terms of writing but I’m not sure the story was very exciting.
12. The Disappearance by Leigh Bardugo: This would have ended up as another fine but the ending was just awful. Not at all in keeping with the character. What an awful way to end the collection.

I think listening to the audiobook of this was the best way to go. I’m not sure I’d have finished every single one if I’d been reading from the book. The narrators really brought the different tales to life and I think it’s the best way to do it. It’s also probably a good idea to see this as something other than a Miss Marple collection. It would have been great had this been inspired by the character instead of featuring her. That way, you wouldn’t be so quick to compare to the original. Nobody quite gets the character right or the tone. This isn’t a terrible collection but it’s also not a great one. Why read someone pretending to be Agatha Christie when you can just read her? This certainly hasn’t convinced me that we need to keep letting contemporary writers have a crack at these characters.