I realised it’s been over 11 years since I read my first book by this author, and I have thoroughly enjoyed Lucy Foley’s back catalogue, and so requesting her new novel from Net Galley was done without reading the blurb. I have always found them incredibly well written, with real literary clout, despite modern storylines. I’ve always enjoyed the stories being told from multiple perspectives and timelines. So it was a surprise when I found out that this was a Miss Marple mystery – but I can see that Lucy Foley would be the perfect person to pick up Agatha Christie’s mantel, as her books have always had a similar air about them.

Here is the blurb:

“High in the Swiss Alps, with glorious mountain views and exclusive access to powdery slopes, the Grand Alpine Hotel draws guests from far and wide.
The notorious actress
The high-flying politician
The inscrutable political wife
The reckless friend
The shrewd doctor
But when a guest enters a gondola alive, only to be found dead at the top of the mountain, it’s clear there’s a killer in their midst.
As tensions rise, and old grudges emerge like cracks in the ice, someone watches from the shadows. An unassuming woman with an extraordinary mind: Miss Marple.
She suspects everyone in the hotel, and she’s right to. For it isn’t just a question of who has a motive, but who’s next…
Arriving 50 years after Agatha Christie’s last MISS MARPLE novel was published, Lucy Foley’s Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel is a landmark event.“

I enjoyed the book from the start. As with Ms Foley’s more recent books – it has a ‘closed set’ feel, with the murder needing to be solved by a small group of people – how lucky that Miss Marple was one of these at the amazing hotel in the Swiss Alps!! It was nice to see she’d escaped St Mary Mead for a change.

The book twists and turns – and it wasn’t immediately obvious who either the victim or murderer would be – which I enjoyed.

The chapters were quite short so you could pick up and put down the book – and romp through it at quite a pace.

As with all of this author’s books – it was eloquently written, and really evocative of the setting. I always feel Ms Foley’s books are well researched and presented.

I think the author and Miss Marple are excellent bedfellows – and thoroughly enjoyed the book. I’ve been a little late in writing my blog post due to #life – so if you like the sound of it, then it is out already! It’s had loads of publicity (it was all over the London Underground when we were there during half term) so you might have spied it already – but now it has my recommendation to add to any others you’ve read!

Thank you to the publishers and Net Galley for my advance review copy.