Talking Volumes: Lucy Foley talks ‘Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel’

Miss Marple rides again in Lucy Foley’s new novel, “Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel.” This time, the beloved spinster sleuth finds herself on holiday, at a glamorous and isolated hotel nestled high in the Swiss Alps — where a body is quickly discovered on the first gondola ride of the day.

Thankfully for the hotel guests — and mystery readers — Miss Marple is there, observing from the sidelines and taking it all in.

As Foley told Kerri Miller at Talking Volumes, “Murder at the Grand Alpine Hotel” is the first full-length, commissioned novel featuring Agatha Christie’s beloved Miss Marple in fifty years. The challenge was translating her into a more modern sensibility.

“[Miss Marple] would definitely not describe herself as a feminist icon,” Foley told Miller on stage at The O'Shaughnessy. “I think she would say, ‘I’m just a traditional Victorian who believes in traditional Victorian values.’ But in terms of her creation, she absolutely is, because she’s an old lady who uses her invisibility as an older woman as her superpower.”

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Agatha Christie fans since childhood, Foley and Miller also talk about the magic of Christie’s mysteries and her belief in the importance of “fair play” with the reader. Is it really possible all the clues are hidden in plain sight? Foley says absolutely. Because what’s the fun of a mystery novel if you can’t figure out who done it?

The appropriately mysterious and magical Minneapolis-based musician Aby Wolf provided music for the evening.

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