It may not come as much as a surprise that I love Agatha Christie. After all, the protagonist of my mystery series is a 62-year-old woman who lives in a small village. You have to think Miss Marple. I certainly did.
But what I love about Miss Marple is not that she's a fluffy little old lady, but that she's tough. She sees the world the way it is. She has friendships, she's loyal, but she's really smart and people are always underestimating her. I like underdogs and I like writing about people that other people tend to dismiss because they think they know who they are.
Here are some of my favorite Miss Marple quotes (by and about her).
“Yes, it was dangerous, but we are not put into this world, Mr. Burton, to avoid danger when an important fellow creature's life is at stake. You understand me?”
― Agatha Christie, The Moving Finger
“It's what's in yourself that makes you happy or unhappy.”
― Agatha Christie, A Murder Is Announced
“Downstairs in the lounge, by the third pillar from the left, there sits an old lady with a sweet, placid, spinsterish face and a mind that has plumbed the depths of human iniquity and taken it all as in the day's work....where crime is concerned, she's the goods.”
― Agatha Christie, The Body in the Library
“One does see so much evil in a village,' murmured Miss Marple in an explanatory voice.”
― Agatha Christie, The Body in the Library