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| The Thirteen Problems (Miss Marple Mysteries) | 
| Author: Agatha Christie
Publisher: Signet
Category: Book
List Price: $6.99
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Avg. Customer Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 163020
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 224
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7
ISBN: 0451200209
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.912
EAN: 9780451200204
ASIN: 0451200209
Publication Date: May 1, 2000
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| Customer Reviews:
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 The first 13 of Dear Aunt Jane's shorter cases. September 9, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
"Miss Marple insinuated herself so quickly into my life that I hardly noticed her arrival," Agatha Christie wrote in her posthumously-published autobiography (1977) about the elderly lady who, next to Belgian super-sleuth Hercule Poirot, quickly became one of her most beloved characters. Somewhat resembling Christie's own grandmother and her friends, although "far more fussy and spinsterish" and "not in any way a picture" of the author's granny, like her, she had a certain gift for prophecy and, "though a cheerful person, she always expected the worst of everyone and everything, and was, with almost frightening accuracy, usually proved right."
Although Christie herself considered Miss Marple her favorite creation - preferred even over the prim and proper Belgian with the many "little grey cells," of whose exploits she occasionally tired and whom she brought back again and again chiefly because of her audience's undying demand - there are only twelve Miss Marple novels and twenty short stories: while no small feat in any other author's body of work, just over one tenth of the lifetime output of the writer justifiedly dubbed The Queen of Crime.
This compilation unites the twenty short stories revolving around St. Mary Mead's elderly village sleuth, beginning with the canon of originally six and, after an expansion for republication in book form, later thirteen stories which, in addition to the novel "A Murder at the Vicarage" (1930) introduced Miss Marple to the world; a series of unsolved problems told by her guests one Tuesday night, to be followed by six further problems narrated during a similar gathering at the home of village squire Colonel Bantry and his wife Dolly, about a year later.
In attendance on those two nights are a number of people who make recurring appearances next to Miss Marple; first and foremost her doting nephew - thriller novelist Raymond West - and retired Scotland Yard Commissioner Sir Henry Clithering, as well as village solicitor Petherick, and of course the Bantrys (who will move center stage, much to their embarrassment, in "A Body in the Library," 1942); furthermore Raymond's new flame, artist Joyce (later reincarnated as his wife Joan), a doctor, a clergyman, and a well-known actress. Of course, all the stories also feature Christie's usual cast of other unique characters, many of whom could just as well figure in one of Miss Marple's "village parallels," those seemingly unimportant events summing up her knowledge of life, on which she unfailingly draws in unmasking even the cleverest killer.
Avid Christie readers will doubtlessly, moreover, recognize individual character types, plot snippets, settings and other features here and there; for Dame Agatha was known to draw repeatedly on devices she found to have worked before, and she tended to use her short stories as mini-laboratories for elements later expanded on in novels. Caveat, lector, of premature conclusions, however, for Christie was equally known to throw in a little extra twist in such cases: what is a real clue in one instance may well be a red herring in another and vice versa, and one story's innocent bystander may easily be the next story's murderer.
The following are the thirteen problems recounted in this collection:
"The Tuesday Night Club:" Sir Henry Clithering opens the evening with the case of a woman's mysterious poisoning by arsenic.
"The Idol House of Astarte:" A man inexplicably dies after a costume party's nightly excursion to a pagan temple.
"Ingots of Gold:" Raymond West tells about a treasure hunt, sunken ships and murder on the Cornish coast.
"The Bloodstained Pavement:" Joyce and the case of a drowned wife in a Cornish watering place called Rathole.
"Motive vs. Opportunity:" Mr. Petherick's tale of a will that mysteriously vanishes from its sealed envelope.
"The Thumb Mark of St. Peter:" Miss Marple's story how she quashed rumors about the sudden death of her niece Mabel's husband.
"The Blue Geranium:" Opening the second round of mysteries, Colonel Bantry's narration about a prophecy involving death and three uncharacteristically blue flowers.
"The Companion:" Two English ladies go on a holiday in Tenerife, but only one returns home alive.
"The Four Suspects:" Sir Henry Clithering's account of the murder of a retired secret agent.
"A Christmas Tragedy:" Having failed to prevent a murder, Miss Marple is all the more eager to unmask the murderer.
"The Herb of Death:" Mrs. Bantry's gifts as a storyteller, a serving of sage and foxglove, and a charming young girl's unexpected death.
"The Affair at the Bungalow:" Double-dealings, charades and mischief on stage and off, just outside of London.
"Death by Drowning:" A village girl "in trouble" finds a desperate solution - or does she?
Also recommended:
Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection)
Agatha Christie: Five Complete Miss Marple Novels (Avenel Suspense Classics)
Miss Marple's Final Cases
Marple Classic Mysteries (Caribbean Mystery/4:50 from Paddington/Moving Finger/Nemesis/At Bertram's Hotel/Murder at Vicarage/Sleeping Murder/They Do It with Mirrors/Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side)
Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye)
The Mirror Crack'd
 Another wonderful mystery collection May 18, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Such an enjoyable example of Miss Marple- a keen brain hiding behind a fluffy exterior! Using village parallels and her unique outlook on life, Miss Marple solves a series of mysteries that have stumped more sophisticated guests at various dinner parties in St. Mary's Mead. I love Agatha Christie's novels, and this book is an old favorite that I pull off the shelf when I need a quick hit. If you've never read it, I highly recommend the Tuesday Club Murders.
Great Fun January 1, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
In my mind, Doyle's Sherlock Holmes is as good as it gets in the mystery genre. Miss Marple, however, is excellent, too. This volume presents thirteen short mysteries. Most are presented as tales recounted by dinner guests while sitting around the evening fire. The challenge is to see who can tell the most baffling story and who, if anyone, can solve each one. Miss Marple, of course, astounds the others by seeing through each to the solution. Along the way, the reader is treated to a selection of fascinating and enjoyable tales. Some are easy enough for the experienced mystery fan to see through, but all are fun to read nevertheless. THE THIRTEEN PROBLEMS is Agatha Christie at the top of her game and should be a great pleasure for anyone who enjoys a good mystery. I loved it. Highly recommended.
Problem Solving December 10, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Originally published as "The Tuesday Club Murders", "The Thirteen Problems" is a collection of Miss Marple stories, mini-mysteries that readers and characters alike are meant to solve. As always, Agatha Christie has a great knack at crafting mysteries that are both ingenious and simple, once solved or explained. "The Thirteen Problems" is a quick read, each story nicely paced and readily solved.
The setup to the collection is a get-together of friends and family for an evening of fun and games. When one guest proposes that each person present a 'problem' for the others to solve, the game is underway. When each little problem is presented, only Miss Marple can see her way through to the solution. These mysteries run the gamut of typical mystery stories, with murder and intrigue at the center of each.
Yet several of the stories in "The Thirteen Problems" are extremely predictable - anyone who has read a fair number of mysteries can spot the answer from the getgo, although there are several that are a bit more puzzling. And at times, the characterization of several key players is stereotypical and rather one-dimensional, an acceptable failing in a short story, but when several stories are collected in one space, it can become rather tiresome. Overall, "The Thirteen Problems" is a delightful read for any Christie fan.
Must read for all Miss Marple fans May 16, 2004
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
This 1932 collection was also published as THE TUESDAY CLUB MURDERS. Many of the stories have also appeared separately in other collections. Like THE LABORS OF HERCULES and PARTNERS IN CRIME it is a series of short stories bridged together in an arc. The opening setting is a gathering in St. Mary Mead at Jane Marple's cottage, attended by her nephew writer Raymond West, artist Joyce Lempriere, Sir Henry Clithering - retired Scotlandyard commissioner, Dr. Pender - the local clergyman, and solicitor Mr. Petherick. The group decides to entertain themselves by describing puzzling crimes they have experienced and to challenge the rest of the group to arrive at the solution. The group at first does not plan to include Miss Marple in their game but condescend to do so when she objects. Naturally Aunt Jane arrives at all the answers. The following year Sir Henry Clithering was visiting his friends the Bantrys (THE BODY IN THE LIBRARY), and mentioned his previous trip to St. Mary Mead and Miss Marple. After dinner that evening another evening of curious problems took place. This time the group included Col. and Mrs. Bantry, Dr. Lloyd, actress Jane Helier as well as Sir Henry and Miss Marple. Again Miss Marple had all the answers, including one to a crime that hadn't happened yet. The final problem was presented sometime later when Sir Henry was again visiting his friends, the Bantrys. A village girl, the daughter of the local pub owner, had killed herself the night before, sad but of no particular interest to Sir Henry. No interest that is, until Miss Marple arrived to request that Sir Henry investigate the murder, not suicide, of the girl. She even gave Sir Henry the name of the murderer! Sir Henry agreed to look into matter and.....well, read the story The mysteries are all perfect little Christie gems, challenging the reader (with all the clues tucked in among the red herrings) to solve the crime before Miss Marple. The device of linking the stories in post dinner party conversation is charming. It is wonderful to meet characters that will return in other Miss Marple stories: Raymond West and Joyce Lempriere; Col. and Dolly Bantry; and Sir Henry Clithering.
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