Marple: Twelve New Mysteries

MARPLE: TWELVE NEW MYSTERIES is a new story collection with Agatha Christie’s iconic character Miss Jane Marple at the center. The twelve who-dun-its are written by a variety of award-winning and best-selling authors, including Leigh Bardugo, Lucy Foley, Karen McManus, and Kate Mosse. While there are many references to the tiny village of St. Mary Mead, Ruth Ware (“Miss Marple’s Christmas”) and Val McDermid (“The Second Murder at the Vicarage”) actually set their tales there. Others choose to pursue a rather unexpected twist and imagine Miss Marple as an international traveler: Alyssa Cole transports her to New York (“Miss Marple Takes Manhattan”), Jean Kwok to Hong Kong (“The Jade Empress”) and Elly Griffiths to rural Italy (“Murder at the Villa Rosa”). Rounding out the dozen stories are selections from Naomi Alderman, Natalie Haynes, and Dreda Say Mitchell. Each suspenseful choice is a reminder of Christie’s skills in developing characters and also a portrayal of the other crime writers’ ability to craft a puzzling tale. Mystery fans will find much to enjoy; MARPLE: TWELVE NEW MYSTERIES has a beautiful cover and received a starred review from Booklist.

What the Fact? by Seema Yasmin

WHAT THE FACT? by Seema Yasmin is a work about Media Literacy whose main goal is to instruct regarding “Finding the Truth in All the Noise.”  That is a much-needed and admirable goal, but unfortunately, I feel that this title falls a bit short. My main concern is that the preview at least seems very dense and therefore not all that engaging for young people and students. It does have a few memorable illustrations (one refers to diversity in newsrooms and amongst readers) and could have benefited from more. Roughly ten percent of the text is devoted to helpful sources and notes. I am curious to see a print version, particularly since both Kirkus and Publishers Weekly gave WHAT THE FACT? a starred review. Other related titles that we have purchased include Renee Hobbs’ Media Literacy in Action and Megan Fromm’s Student Journalism & Media Literacy as well as several texts about critical thinking. 

Treasure State by C.J. Box

TREASURE STATE is a mystery story by C.J. Box involving female private investigator Cassie Dewell. The setting is modern day Montana, specifically a small former mining town named Anaconda. Cassie is working simultaneously on two cases – one involves fraud and a slick operator who has stolen significant funds from her client, an older woman named Candyce Fly. The other involves a fortune that treasure seekers are competing to find. The founder of that hunt hires Cassie to see if see can find him – it is his contention that being hidden will make for a fairer contest. C.J. Box is a well-regarded author (Joe Pickett is another of his characters) and it should be no surprise that TREASURE STATE received starred reviews from Booklist and Publishers Weekly. I greatly enjoyed the audio version read by Christina Delaine. The story is intricately plotted and while there are references to previous Cassie Dewell adventures (this is number six in the series), this Montana mystery is full of its own twists and turns and works as a stand-alone.

The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves

THE RISING TIDE by Ann Cleeves is the latest in the Vera Stanhope mystery series. The setting is in the North of England, specifically Holy Island which is periodically cut off from the mainland when the causeway is flooded due to changing tide levels. Forty-five years ago, a young women died when she misjudged the timing of the tides. Her friends have been holding reunions on the island (it “transported them back to a time when they were young and free, and life was exciting and full of possibilities”) every five years and during the most recent visit someone else perishes. Vera and her team, Joe and Holly, are assigned to investigate the apparent suicide. In addition to the group of friends (baker Annie, loyal wife Lou and husband Ken who has dementia, BBC commentator Rick, and priest Philip), there are several other local connections and some dubious links to the deceased’s reputation regarding exploiting young female colleagues. Kirkus summed up THE RISING TIDE as “a character-driven puzzler that ends in a painful denouement.” It is quite a tangle for Vera, her team and Cleeves’ many readers. I enjoyed listening to the audio version read by Janine Birkett and am already looking forward to the next installment!