Dead Men Tell No Tales vs Marble Hall Murders: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Mystery

Dead Men Tell No Tales E. W. Hornung · 1899 ★★★☆☆ 3.2 217 pages · ≈ 4 h 01 m · Challenging

“Nothing is so easy as falling in love on a long sea voyage, except falling out of love.”

The classic story ties together themes of adventure and romance. Hornung's traditional writing style is incredibly descriptive and can be often relaxing to read. The story of Dead Men Tell No Tales doesn't rush but…

Fiction

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Marble Hall Murders Anthony Horowitz · 2025 ★★★★☆ 4.3 592 pages · ≈ 10 h 58 m · Moderate

Watch Marble Hall Murders, the final installment in the Susan Ryeland series, premiering September 6 on MASTERPIECE on PBS.“Diabolically clever.”—New York Times"Horowitz dazzles with the brilliant third entry in his…

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Marble Hall Murders highest: Marble Hall Murders 4.3 · Dead Men Tell No Tales 3.2.
Dead Men Tell No Tales is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 10 for Marble Hall Murders.
Marble Hall Murders has the widest readership — 34636 ratings behind its score.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Dead Men Tell No Tales ≈ 4h vs 10h for Marble Hall Murders Just want the better-reviewed one? Marble Hall Murders 4.3 vs 3.2 from readers New to the genre? Marble Hall Murders Moderate vs Challenging for Dead Men Tell No Tales

Scores by source

	Dead Men Tell No Tales	Marble Hall Murders
Goodreads	3.1 (157)	4.2 (34636)
Hardcover	—	4.0 (51)
Apple Books	—	4.5 (415)

Reception

	Dead Men Tell No Tales	Marble Hall Murders
Ratings	157	34636
Editions	128	4
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	151	37454
Reading it now	18	3454
Written reviews	26	3749
Wikipedia attention	109	8995
Pages	217	592

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Dead Men Tell No Tales or Marble Hall Murders?

Marble Hall Murders has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Marble Hall Murders 4.3/5, Dead Men Tell No Tales 3.2/5).

Which is shorter to read: Dead Men Tell No Tales or Marble Hall Murders?

Dead Men Tell No Tales is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Dead Men Tell No Tales (217 pages, ≈ 4 h 01 m); Marble Hall Murders (592 pages, ≈ 10 h 58 m).

Which is harder to read: Dead Men Tell No Tales or Marble Hall Murders?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Dead Men Tell No Tales: Challenging; Marble Hall Murders: Moderate.