Strange Jest and Other Stories cover art

Strange Jest and Other Stories

Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

Strange Jest and Other Stories

By: Agatha Christie
Narrated by: Joan Hickson
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £12.06

Buy Now for £12.06

About this listen

First, the mystery man in the church with a bullet-wound. Then, the riddle of a dead man's buried treasure...the curious conduct of a caretaker after a fatal riding accident...the corpse and a tape-measure...the girl framed for theft...and the suspect accused of stabbing his wife with a dagger.

Here are six gripping cases with one thing in common: the astonishing deductive powers of Miss Marple.

©1960, 1979 Agatha Christie Limited, a Chorion Company. All rights reserved; (P)1993 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London UK
Anthologies & Short Stories Crime Fiction Detective Fiction Mystery Short Stories Traditional Detectives Crime
All stars
Most relevant
This is a fantastic collection of Miss Marple tales! I loved them!

I downloaded this set of six Miss Marple stories in audiobook for my mom, so it would give her something to occupy her time while recuperating; she had been very ill in hospital at the time. I decided to listen to it myself once she had recovered, because I love Agatha Christie's mystery books too.

This audiobook was narrated by one of the best actresses (I feel) to have portrayed Miss Marple, Dame Joan Hickson. Her narration of six of the stories brought them to life for me. And, as she also acted in some of them on TV as serial episodes, I could picture them with ease.

The stories in this collection are:
The man found dying in the church sanctuary
The puzzle of Uncle Henry's hidden legacy
The baffling mystery of the stabbing of Mrs Rhodes
The question of the murderer with the tape-measure
The case of Miss Skinner's Maid
The curious conduct of the caretaker
There are also two bonus stories that were narrated very well by another lady, which were not Miss Marple mysteries. They were called 'The Dressmaker’s Doll’ and ‘In a Glass Darkly’.

Each one of these stories was very entertaining. I love reading mysteries, and Agatha Christie, in my opinion, wrote some of the best detective novels of her day. Her two most well known characters, Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, have entertained readers like me for many years. However, I don't think these were her best stories. Although Joan Hickson did a remarkable job in telling these tales, Agatha Christie seemed to have had rushed a couple of them; the plots were not as solid as her earlier pieces. I will say that The Dressmaker's Doll was extremely spooky, and more like a ghost story than a mystery. Nevertheless, it was a pleasure to listen to all of the stories in this collection. I will be revisiting them again, I am sure!

I highly recommend this book if you love classic mystery or thriller genres. - Lynn Worton

A Fantastic Mystery Collection!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Interesting and engaging cases read by Joan Hickson. Enjoyed listening to the stories read by me over and over again.

Enjoyable

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Some classic stories well delivered. A gentle, enjoyable series of sleuthing and mystery. Enjoyed them while gardening!

Enjoyed these while gardening!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This collection of short stories is great and Joan Hickson is a delight to listen to but the mystery, that needs solving, is why does a new story not start a new chapter. It is impossible to find where one finishes and another one starts. Surely it is not difficult to have each one starting a new chapter to aid the listener. 😁

A mystery worthy of Agatha herself

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

This is an excellent book as it has lots of short stories, all read by Joan Hickson, it was an easy to listen to book

Miss Marple final cases

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews