The rage for crime fiction today mysteriously includes a wide and enduring attraction to the few remaining wholly admirable role models still available to readers. The iconic Miss Marple, 'faved' by traditionalists and pop fans alike, deftly models her love of God and neighbor in concrete terms-and stands boldly for Truth and Good. This beloved, enigmatic, mild-mannered spinster champions the triumph of order over chaos in society, through her process of detection in which the solution rests in provable fact.

By Isabel Anders