Miss Marple (TV series) In addition to Miss Marple, there are two semi-regular characters in the series. The first is Inspector (later Superintendent) Slack, played by David Horovitch; the second is Constable (later Sergeant) Lake, played by Ian Brimble. Slack and Lake appear in five episodes: "The Body in the Library", "The Murder at the Vicarage", "4.50 From Paddington", "They Do It with Mirrors" and "The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side". They are the official detectives and both (particularly Slack) originally dislike and are exasperated by Miss Marple, her interference and her methods, but they eventually come to respect (and indeed, in the
Miss Marple the Poirot collection "The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding" (1960). Four stories in the "Three Blind Mice" collection (1950) feature Miss Marple: "Strange Jest", "Tape-Measure Murder", "The Case of the Caretaker", and "The Case of the Perfect Maid". The Autograph edition of "Miss Marple's Final Cases" includes the eight in the original plus "Greenshaw's Folly". Although popular from her first appearance in 1930, Jane Marple had to wait thirty-two years for her first big-screen appearance, starring Margaret Rutherford. These were popular and successful light comedies, but were disappointing to Christie herself. Nevertheless, Agatha Christie dedicated the novel "The Mirror Crack'd