The Body in the Library
by Agatha Christie (Dodd, Mead and Company, 1942)
audiobook read by Stephanie Cole (Lamplight, 2015)
Significantly more engaging than the first Miss Marple novel (albeit still padded out and weighed down by tedious faux-comedic depictions of minor characters). Though Miss Marple herself proves a force to be reckoned with, Christie’s artful misdirection comes very close to cheating.
The Thirteen Problems
by Agatha Christie (Collins Crime Club, 1932)
audiobook read by Juliet Stevenson (HarperCollins, 2022)
This first collection of mysteries shows Miss Marple well-suited to the short form. Some of the stories are better than others, some crimes more ingenious, but Christie usually plants enough clues to have the reader exclaim, “Oh, of course!” at the end.
The Murder at the Vicarage
by Agatha Christie
(Collins Crime Club, 1930); audiobook read by Joan Hickson (Lamplight Audiobooks, 2015)
The first Miss Marple novel is inventive enough, though for much of the book Marple herself is sidelined and the detection takes place via committee. Joan Hickson is a curious choice of audiobook narrator, given that Reverend Clement is the viewpoint character.