A Murder Is Announced

As the clock strikes the hour, the lights go out, a door swings open and a man with a torch orders everyone to put their hands up. Shots ring out, and when the lights come back on, the stranger is dead and Miss Blacklock has been slightly wounded. The dead man turns out to be a young foreigner who worked at a hotel in a nearby town, and the police are baffled about why he would stage such an attack.

Inspector Craddock investigates, and Miss Marple, who happens to be staying at the same hotel, takes an interest. The household at Little Paddocks, with its old friends, young relatives and lodgers, is full of secrets, and many residents are not quite who they claim to be. Christie captures post-war English village life, with its rationing and newcomers, with wit and precision. The clues are fairly laid, and the solution is one of her most satisfying. Violence is limited and not graphic.

Clever, entertaining and beautifully constructed, often ranked among the best Miss Marple novels. Readers new to Christie will find it an excellent introduction, and longtime fans often name it as a favourite. About 320 pages in the William Morrow paperback.