Yesterday we reported that CBS is developing a series centered on Nancy Drew, and today brings word that another procedural with a famous female crime-solver with literary roots is in the works at the network. CBS is developing “Marple,” loosely based on Agatha Christie’s best-selling and long-running book series featuring Miss Marple.

The network is tinkering with the classic characters by making teen detective Nancy in her late thirties and Miss Marple, who is described in the books as an “old lady,” dramatically younger. (It sure would have been nice to see a 60+ actress in a leading role on television. We miss you, Angela Lansbury!)

According to Variety, “Marple” will revolve around “a young lady who, after inheriting her grandmother’s bookstore and realiz[ing] that things in her small California town aren’t what they seem, begins working as a private investigator to get to the bottom of the town’s mysteries.”

As is the case with Nancy Drew, Miss Marple has previously made her way to the small screen. The BBC murder mystery series “Miss Marple” had nearly a decade-long run, airing from 1984 to 1992. More recently, British network ITV broadcast “Agatha Christie’s Marple” from 2004 to 2013 — another success story.

In 2011 it was reported that Disney would produce a film adaptation of “Miss Marple” starring Jennifer Garner (again, a younger iteration of the eponymous character who is famously an elderly spinster).

The character was first introduced to readers in “The Tuesday Night Club,” a short story published in 1927.

Evidently there’s a demand for female-driven detective series. “Veronica Mars” creator Rob Thomas has said that he and Kristen Bell have discussed the possibility of following up the film reboot of the cult TV series with a limited-series format. Now seems like a good time to greenlight that project.

[via Variety]