Reading order · 12 books · 1930 to 1976 · Set in the fictional St Mary Mead, England
Miss Marple Books in Order
Miss Jane Marple is an elderly spinster who lives in the village of St Mary Mead and appears to be a gentle, fluffy old lady. Her knowledge of village life gives her a deep understanding of human nature, and she solves murders that baffle the police.
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Series facts
- Books
- 12
- Published
- 1930 to 1976
- First book
- The Murder at the Vicarage
- Latest
- Sleeping Murder (1976)
- Setting
- Set in the fictional St Mary Mead, England
The reading order
Every Miss Marple book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
12 books · Set in the fictional St Mary Mead, England
- 1The Murder at the Vicarage1930With Leonard ClementColonel Protheroe, disliked by most of the village of St Mary Mead, is found shot in the vicar’s study.Buy on Amazon
- 2The Body in the Library1942With Miss MarpleColonel and Mrs Bantry wake to find the body of a young woman in their library, and no one in the house has seen her before.Buy on Amazon
- 3The Moving Finger1942A brother and sister rent a house in a quiet village to recover from an injury, and the village is soon flooded with poison-pen letters.Buy on Amazon
- 4A Murder Is Announced1950With Miss MarpleAn advertisement in the local paper announces that a murder will take place at a house in the village of Chipping Cleghorn on Friday evening.Buy on Amazon
- 5They Do It with Mirrors1952With Miss MarpleMiss Marple visits an old school friend whose husband runs a home for young offenders in a vast Victorian house, and murder follows.Buy on Amazon
- 6A Pocket Full of Rye1953With Miss MarpleA businessman dies in his office, poisoned, with rye grain in his pocket.Buy on Amazon
- 74.50 from Paddington1957With Miss MarpleAn elderly woman on a train sees a woman being strangled in a carriage on a passing train.Buy on Amazon
- 8The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side1962With Miss MarpleA famous film star buys Miss Marple’s friend’s old house in St Mary Mead, and at a reception there a local woman dies after drinking a poisoned cocktail.Buy on Amazon
- 9A Caribbean Mystery1964With Miss MarpleOn holiday in the Caribbean, Miss Marple listens to an old major’s rambling stories, and when he dies suddenly, she suspects he was killed because of something he was about to show her.Buy on Amazon
- 10At Bertram’s Hotel1965With Miss MarpleMiss Marple stays at Bertram’s Hotel in London, an old-fashioned hotel that seems untouched by time, and senses that things are not what they seem.Buy on Amazon
- 11Nemesis1971With Miss MarpleAfter the death of the millionaire Jason Rafiel, Miss Marple receives a letter from him asking her to investigate a crime, without telling her what it is.Buy on Amazon
- 12Sleeping Murder1976With Miss MarpleGwenda Reed, a young bride from New Zealand, buys a house in Dillmouth, and finds she remembers it from her childhood, including a murder.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
The novels stand alone and can be read in any order, though Sleeping Murder was written as her last case and is best read last.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Miss Marple | Leonard Clement | Raymond West | Dermot Craddock | Dolly Bantry | Sir Henry Clithering | Jason Rafiel |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 The Murder at the Vicarage | MMajor | LLead | ·Minor | ||||
| 2 The Body in the Library | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | MMajor | |||
| 3 The Moving Finger | MMajor | ||||||
| 4 A Murder Is Announced | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | ||||
| 5 They Do It with Mirrors | LLead | ||||||
| 6 A Pocket Full of Rye | LLead | ||||||
| 7 4.50 from Paddington | LLead | MMajor | |||||
| 8 The Mirror Crack’d from Side to Side | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | ||||
| 9 A Caribbean Mystery | LLead | ·Minor | MMajor | ||||
| 10 At Bertram’s Hotel | LLead | ·Minor | |||||
| 11 Nemesis | LLead | MMajor | |||||
| 12 Sleeping Murder | LLead | ·Minor |
Characters in the Miss Marple books
7 characters from Agatha Christie’s chart, with the number of Miss Marple books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| Miss MarpleElderly spinster from St Mary Mead | 12 | The Murder at the Vicarage 1930 |
| Leonard ClementVicar of St Mary Mead | 2 | The Murder at the Vicarage 1930 |
| Raymond WestMiss Marple’s novelist nephew | 4 | The Murder at the Vicarage 1930 |
| Dermot CraddockDetective inspector, Sir Henry’s godson | 3 | A Murder Is Announced 1950 |
| Dolly BantryMiss Marple’s friend | 2 | The Body in the Library 1942 |
| Sir Henry ClitheringRetired Scotland Yard commissioner | 2 | The Body in the Library 1942 |
| Jason RafielWealthy invalid | 2 | A Caribbean Mystery 1964 |