Lucy Foley is well known for her mysteries and thrillers like The Guest List and The Paris Apartment, so it is no surprise that she would be chosen to add a new adventure to the exploits of Agatha Christie's beloved Miss Marple. This outing takes place in 1950 after Colonel Bantry has died. Dolly Bantry decides to take a holiday in the Swiss Alps with her friend Jane Marple and her companion/secretary Diana Glass.
The hotel is a luxurious retreat that can only be reached by a private railway. Amenities include access to the powdery slopes, incredible dining and wine cellar selections, and there is even a spa. Dolly is delighted by the lounge chairs that offer a view of the ski slope and the waiters who attend to the lounging guests by skating across an ice rink to bring them cocktails or decadent hot chocolates. A wide mix of guests are drawn to the location. There are an up-and-coming British politician and his wife, an American film star, a young medical student, a war veteran, and even nuns from several different religious orders mixed in with all the well-to-do holidayers.
When one of the guests is found dead in the gondola car, it is only the first disaster to strike. Soon, the guests will be cut off from the village below and the greater world beyond. It will be up to Miss Marple and any other guests with special skills to figure out what is happening and prevent more fatalities if they can. The time period is captured perfectly in the social expectations, the clothing, and the references back to the recently ended World War II.
I listened to the audiobook version and was very impressed with the cast. Three different narrators take on the roles of several of the main female characters. Diana Glass, Mrs. Bantry's companion, is portrayed with an educated, no-nonsense diction. Catherine Narracott, the socialite wife of the British politician, is given a finishing school accent and a slightly girlish breathiness. In contrast, Sylvia Sinclair's lines are delivered in throaty, Hollywood bombshell tones playing up her full-figured starlet persona. A fourth narrator takes on the role of Bruno Crane, a wartime acquaintance of Mr. Narracott who seems to have bad nerves either from alcohol dependency or wartime trauma.
The cast brings each of the characters to life and makes it easy for the listener to distinguish which of them is speaking. The pacing is superb, the voices are clear, and the sound quality is excellent throughout. A final note from the author about being asked to write a new Marple story and her desire to do justice to the Christie legacy is read by Lucy Foley herself.
If you are a fan of Agatha Christie or Lucy Foley, then I highly recommend Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel. The audio file was provided by the publisher through NetGalley for review purposes.
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