Marple: Twelve New Mysteries

  ‘'Here they were confronted by a stream of masked figures, marching past the front door to the house. They were like something from a medieval painting; demons and fiends come to carry the sinners away. The acrid scent of burning paraffin caught at the back of the throat. Several of them were beating drums. All carried lighted torches and several groups had hoisted aloft life-size, papier-mâché figures with hideously distorted features: oversized heads and bulging eyes, clad in the red robes and caps of Catholic cardinals. There was a strange hum of energy about the. It felt dangerous, even flammable - as though any second the very air might ignite. Miss Marple paused, staring: at once fascinated and repelled.''
Evil in Small Places (Lucy Foley): Miss Marple visits a friend a few days after Guy Fawkes's Night. When a rather...hated woman is murdered, secrets will come to the surface in a story that ends with a bang. Excellent start and references to a number of well-known characters from Christie's classic stories.
The Second Murder at the Vicarage (Val McDermid): Murder returns in our familiar vicarage. Unfortunately, this story seemed rather dull to me and cemented my opinion that McDermid is one of the most overrated writers out there...
Miss Marple Takes Manhattan (Alyssa Cole): In an exciting story full of the spirit of New York, Jane finds herself thrown into the glamour of Broadway.
The Unravelling (Natasha Haynes): A man is killed with a bow and an arrow in a story that read like the epitome of a snoozefest...
Miss Marple's Christmas (Ruth Ware): A very atmospheric and spirited Christmas story that also pays tribute to the great Dorothy Sayers and one of her classic mysteries.
The Open Mind (Naomi Alderman): A rather interesting story that delves deep into the machinations of the academic community, the sexism, the ambitions.
The Jade Empress (Jean Kwok): On a ship to Hong Kong, the death of a father who is about to meet his son after many years reveals a game of revenge and money. I solved this one too quickly but it was an exciting story with poignant remarks on colonialism and an exciting dose of Chinese folklore.
A Deadly Wedding Day (Dreda Say Mitchell): A complex mystery involving the death of a wedding guest, family vices and greed. The writer stresses the blatant racism towards the Caribbean, its people and its culture.
Murder at the Villa Rosa (Rosa Elly Griffiths): A writer travels to a luxurious retreat in Naples with the intention of ‘'killing'' his famous detective. he encounters a colourful cast and Miss Marple, along with certain strange coincidences...What started as a mystery worthy of Christie's legacy became an absolute drivel with one of the most far-fetched, naive endings I've ever read.
The Murdering Sort (Karen M.McManus): Miss Marple's brilliant nieces witnesses the death (or should we say murder?) of an eccentric patriarch in a beautiful story.
The Mystery of the Acid Soil (Kate Moss): A village in Chichester is struck by a series of deaths and a strange disappearance. Miss Marple is on her way there, unaware of the misfortunes. But a distraught curate and a weird death by tetanus will prompt her to solve yet another case. A well-written, albeit predictable, countryside mystery. 
The Disappearance (Leigh Bardugo): A young man disappears, a woman is found dead. Secrets among the community are plenty and Miss Marple's friend asks for help in a case which hides tragedies underneath its layers. In my opinion, this is the finest story in the collection. 
‘'I wonder, sometimes, if there isn't a concentration of evil in small places.''
Many thanks to William Morrow and Edelweiss for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.