Agatha Christie is, according to her estate, the most widely-published author of all time, the only exceptions being the Bible and William Shakepeare. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, she's the best-selling novelist ever, with roughly 2 billion copies sold. She was extremely prolific, writing 66 detective novels (along with numerous short story collections and plays). Hercule Poirot is definitely her most famous character but I've always liked Miss Marple better. I absolutely love that she's an older woman, often overlooked or not taken seriously, who is incredibly smart and observant. Despite living her life in a small village, she's seen plenty of evil in her time, and recognizes it when it appears.

The books have a soothing formula. They're definitely a bit dated, but they're comfort reads--the murders will be solved, the innocent vindicated, the guilty punished.

The first novel that features the character is Murder at the Vicarage (1930), and Miss Marple'ss a bit of a nosy, gossipy personality at the start. But she's astute and she's always right--she solves the crime and also is the first to realize the vicar's wife is pregnant. Here's a quote from the Vicar (who narrates the novel):

"You forget," I said. "My calling obliges me to respect one quality above all others — the quality of mercy."

"Well, I'm a just man. No one can deny that." I did not speak, and he said sharply:

"Why don't you answer? A penny for your thoughts, man." I hesitated, then I decided to speak.

"I was thinking," I said, "that when my time comes, I should be sorry if the only plea I had to offer was that of justice. Because it might mean that only justice would be meted out to me.”

You should also read The Body in the Library, published in 1942. Miss Marple comes to the rescue again, to solve a murder, but also to avert a scandal and save the reputation of her friends. It's a decidedly feminine sensibility she brings to her detection, noticing details that the police miss, or fail to see the importance of.

The Moving Finger is also from 1942--here Miss Marple tackles a poison pen stirring up trouble, rumors, and resentment. Of course, she figures out what is really going on, and solves several crimes (some much more serious than anonymous nasty letters) that had baffled the police.

I also recommend the 1950 novel, A Murder is Announced, with a satisfyingly twisted and complex plot, Miss Marple being her clever and correct self, and an intersting look at the changing times--English village life after WWII with food rationing still in effect.

In 1964, Christie came out with A Caribbean Mystery. For a change, she's not in a small English village, but at a resort--and is the only one to realize that a fellow vacationer's sudden death was actualy a case of murder. Naturally, she solves the crime and heads back to England.

Those are her best, in my opinion, but if, like me, you enjoy spending time with Miss Marple, you'll want to read all of them--there are twelve novels and numerous short stories. Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot feature in the same fictional universe; there are crossover characters found in both of these series. But they never meet--somehow I'm not entirely sure they'd get along if they did.