Agatha Christie is mistress of her genre... nobody can do a succinct, play-by-the-rules mystery like she can.
In this volume are thirteen short stories, mostly related by guests at a party. Miss Marple, of course, always holds the key because she's such a keen observer of human nature. Her maxim is that people are much the same, whether in her tiny village or out in the wider world.
Her injections of, "oh, this reminds me of so-and-so" are sometimes met with pity by her listeners, as she often sounds like she's wandering from the point in the tradition of the elderly. But then, wham, she solves the mystery.
Engaging stories without a lot of filler, that's why I like Agatha Christie, and these short stories are good for reading a few minutes at a time. ( )

4/8/22

Here are thirteen short stories by Agatha Christie featuring Miss Marple. The were published earlier in other places from 1928 to 1954. Most of the stories are set at a dinner party where Miss Marple is a guest. As other guests tell their baffling tales Miss Marple comes up with a solution to the mystery. Each guest has a story, reminded me a bit of the Canterbury Tales where each pilgrim told a tale. ( )

There are very few Christie books I haven’t read and this is one: a collection of 13 mystery short stories that are solved by Miss Marple. The stories are written between 1928 to 1961.

About half of the stories are told by various guests during a dinner arranged for just this event. A guest tells their tale and others voice their solutions, but they all turn to Miss Marple for the correct solution. Among the guests are Sir Henry Clithering, ex-Commissioner of Scotland Yard, a well-known actress, Miss Marple’s nephew Raymond West who is a well-known novelist and a few others. There are a few other stories that Miss Marple was actually involved with.

In each case, Miss Marple is able to solve the mystery using her life-long observations of people and life in the small village of St. Mary Mead, where she lives. It seems people are similar in their behaviours. And it is the small things that give thing away.

This was a pleasant change of pace for me, from what other books I’m reading. It was like visiting an old friend. ( )

I don't know if this is the same book as "13 Problems for Miss Marple" (although it seems likely based on the similarity of the names). This book of Miss Marple short stories contains the following:
- Tape-Measure Murder
- Strange Jest
- Sanctuary
- Greenshaw's Folly
- The Case of the Perfect Maid
- The Case of the Caretaker
- The Blue Geranium
- The Companion
- The Four Suspects
- Motive v. Opportunity
- The Thumbmark of St. Peter
- The Bloodstained Pavement
- The Herb of Death ( )