Orem Library

The murder of Colonel Protheroe -- shot through the head -- is a shock to everyone in St Mary Mead, though hardly an unpleasant one. Now even the vicar, who had declared that killing the detested Protheroe would be 'doing the world at large a favour,' is a suspect -- the Colonel has been dispatched in the clergyman's study, no less. But the picturesque English village of St Mary Mead is overpopulated with suspects. There is of course the faithless...

This collection of twenty stories features Miss Jane Marple, the famous amateur sleuth who bases her solutions to crimes on past experiences and on an insistence that human nature is the same everywhere--Novelist.

Promoted on both sides of the Atlantic as Agatha Christie's 50th book and published in 1950 by William Collins, "A Murder is Announced" is a staple of crime fiction and is often considered the best of all the Miss Marple novels. The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn, including Jane Marple who is staying nearby, are agog with curiosity over an advertisement in the local gazette which reads: A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October...

A handful of grain is found in the pocket of a murdered businessman! Let us explain: Rex Fortescue, king of a financial empire, was sipping tea in his 'counting house' office when he suffered an agonising and sudden death. On later inspection, the pockets of the deceased were found to contain rye grain. What is that all about? But it was another incident, this time in the parlour at his home, which confirmed Jane Marple's suspicion that here she was...

Jane Marple takes a holiday at Bertram's Hotel in London for a much-needed rest and to relive the happy memories of sojourns there during her youth. The hotel is famous for fully preserving its Edwardian atmosphere -- from the proper staff to the elderly guests who frequent the tearoom. The décor is well appointed, and the service is impeccable. But with her keen powers of observation, Miss Marple quickly realizes all is not as it seems. The hotel...

"Marina Gregg is a famous, temperamental, much-loved movie star who has come to settle down in the village of St. Mary Mead. Heather Badcock is an ordinary and annoying woman. One minute, silly Heather had been babbling on at her movie idol, the glamorous Marina Gregg. The next, Heather suffered a massive seizure, poisoned by a deadly cocktail. It seems likely that the cocktail was intended for the beautiful actress. But while the police fumble to...

Miss Marple receives a postcard from the recently deceased Mr. Jason Rafiel, a millionaire whom she had met during a Caribbean holiday and who had been her greatest ally in solving a murder. He has left instructions for investigating an unspecified crime after his death. If she succeeds in solving it, she will inherit £20,000. Mr. Rafiel hasn't provided her with any details, but he has left her instructions to go on a vacation he has planned for...

On a quiet morning in St. Mary Mead, a maid wakes Colonel Bantry and his wife to inform them that a young woman is dead in their library. The victim is dressed in a tawdry dress, with dyed hair and heavy make-up. Mrs. Bantry knows that as long as the murder remains unsolved her husband will be the target of suspicion and gossip, so she asks Miss Marple for help. The victim is 18-year-old Ruby Keene, a dancer at the Majestic Hotel, whose body is identified...

Mr. Parker Pyne must recover a priceless diamond stolen as a dinner party trick, while Hercule Poirot proves that a crowd is the best cloak for a murder, and Miss Marple solves a baffling crime by the fireside, in an anthology of mystery tales.

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

"Each author captures Christie—and Marple—perfectly, while also displaying just a bit of her own unique touch. . . . This new and entertaining collection by some of our favorite writers will hook a new group of readers to the formidable Miss Marple." — Rhys Bowen, Washington Post

"Marple is the best loved [detective]. Also the most influential. . . . It

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