From the Bookshelf of Reading the Detectives…

A Murder Is Announced (Miss Marple, #4)

Agatha Christie

Start date: October 1, 2025

Finish date: October 31, 2025

Discussion: Group Challenges

Why we're reading this: The next book in our Christie challenge.
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Group Challenges

* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) by Agatha Christie
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* Sept 25: The Mystery of the Blue Train (1928) - SPOILER Thread
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What Members Thought

Mar 30, 2017 Susan rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Published in 1950, this is one of my favourite Miss Marple mysteries. It is set in the small village of Chipping Cleghorn, which is not unlike St Mary Mead, with its cast of local characters and, of course, a local newspaper – which is delivered every Friday. On Friday, October 29th, the paper is perused by the villagers, who discover an odd message in the Personal column: “A Murder is Announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th at Little Paddocks at 6:30pm. Friends please accept this Published in 1950, this is one of my favourite Miss Marple mysteries. It is set in the small village of Chipping Cleghorn, which is not unlike St Mary Mead, with its cast of local characters and, of course, a local newspaper – which is delivered every Friday. On Friday, October 29th, the paper is perused by the villagers, who discover an odd message in the Personal column: “A Murder is Announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th at Little Paddocks at 6:30pm. Friends please accept this the only intimation.”

Of course, Miss Letitia Blacklock, of Little Paddocks, who lives with her old friend, Dora Bunner, young cousins Patrick and Julia, war widow Philippa Haymes and a volatile European refugee cook, named Mitzi, has no choice but to act as hostess to the gathering of local villagers who ‘drop by’ to see what will happen. What actually does happen is murder, when a young man holds up the room at the appointed time, and the stage is set for a wonderfully convoluted plot, involving the will of a wealthy financial, a great cast of possible suspects and some romance.

The crime is investigated by Detective Inspector Dermot Craddock, who turns out to be the godson of Sir Henry Clithering, the ex-commissioner of Scotland Yard, who is a great believer in the powers of Miss Marple. Sir Henry is delighted when she turns out to be staying at the very hotel where the young man, who incongruously appeared at Little Paddocks, worked. By chance, she knows Bunch Harmon, one of the locals who turned up at Miss Blacklock’s, so she immediately re-locates to Chipping Cleghorn, in order to aid the investigation.

One of the most notable things about this mystery is not only the classic Christie setting, and characters, but the fact that the author makes much use of the changing world after WWII. Whereas before, Miss Marple bemoans, you knew who everybody was and where they came from, now people are displaced, move away and you take them at face value. With people bringing back guns from their time in the army as souvenirs, not locking doors and allowing neighbours access to their homes and having to accept people are who they say they are, this allows Christie freedom to really enjoy herself with red herrings, identities and clues. A thoroughly enjoyable mystery, with Miss Marple highly involved in the action. ...more

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Jul 13, 2013 Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore rated it it was amazing

Shelves: village, mystery, series, cat, murder, agatha-christie, miss-marple

Book 6 for the Miss Marple challenge. Amidst the personal column in the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette one Friday morning is the announcement of a murder to take place at Little Paddocks that evening. Intrigued, the inhabitants of this little village head off there expecting a murder game. And at half past six, as announced, it starts with the lights going out and a sudden hold up, but things soon begin to take a serious turn as shots are fired and Miss Letitia Blacklock is grazed by one of them, and Book 6 for the Miss Marple challenge. Amidst the personal column in the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette one Friday morning is the announcement of a murder to take place at Little Paddocks that evening. Intrigued, the inhabitants of this little village head off there expecting a murder game. And at half past six, as announced, it starts with the lights going out and a sudden hold up, but things soon begin to take a serious turn as shots are fired and Miss Letitia Blacklock is grazed by one of them, and the shooter, a young Swiss man (who no one (besides Miss Blacklock) seems to recognise) ends up dead. And this is unfortunately only the first of the deaths that take place in this exciting mystery. The case is handed to young Inspector Craddock, intelligent, efficient, good-hearted, and who also just happens to be Sir Henry’s godson. When an elderly lady writes to offer her help, Sir Henry (on the scene at that point) is thrilled to find that it is his own special old lady (not the words he uses) with matchless skills, and Craddock doesn’t take long to find out either that she is the real thing. Miss Marple is once again in this book (like in Sleeping Murder before this) much more active, diving into life at Chippng Cleghorn, paying visits, gossiping and putting on the appearance, as Craddock puts it, of having “nosey parkeritis” in what is her most complicated puzzle yet. This one I also found somewhat different from the other Marple books so far in that Miss M doesn’t rely entirely on her knowledge of human nature to solve her case but far more on information that emerges from the many conversations she has with those involved.

The puzzle for me is among Christie’s best and though I was reading this for the fourth or fifth time, I thoroughly enjoyed it, especially the characters (all unique and with their little idiosyncrasies), all the little details and plot twists. The setting of this book is in the post-war period and AC weaves in the changes and challenges that this brought with it—rationing, the not so very legal exchanges of everyday things, young war widows having to earn their livings, a generation adjusting to the sweeping changes in the way of life that have come about, and another not knowing that things were any different from what they are. An excellent read.
...more

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May 11, 2018 Kavita rated it it was amazing

Shelves: uk, mystery, golden-age-mystery

One of my most-read Marple mysteries. I must have read this book a dozen times and more. Unfortunately, this means that there are no surprises to be sprung anywhere. Still, there is a thrill to the reading and it is great fun.

The residents of the village of Chipping Cleghorn wake up one fine day and found an invitation to a murder party in their newspapers. They all decide to visit out of curiosity. What happens is that a strange man actually gets murdered and the hosts appear to have no clue ab ...more

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May 10, 2017 Damaskcat rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: miss-marple

Locals are inclined to think it is a joke when they see a murder announced at the personal column of their local paper. Naturally they all decide to turn up at the address shown at the right time to see what happens. When a murder - or possibly suicide - does actually take place they are all horrified. Miss Marple is fortunately staying at the hotel where the victim worked and has soon accepted an invitation to stay with the vicar and his wife for the duration of the police investigation.

This is ...more

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Jan 04, 2014 Christine PNW rated it really liked it

Shelves: vintage-women

3/2014

Bought 8/2/2013

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Aug 17, 2017 Jennifer M rated it it was amazing

Shelves: z-read-2017, z-read-2022

I loved this book! I found the murder mystery party angle intriguing. I love murder mystery shows and parties...but to have one where the hosts know nothing about it? Absolutely fascinating!

The character descriptions and mannerisms were spot on and I felt like I knew them!

At one point, the book started turning out like an episode of Midsomer Murders. 😂 Sooo many murders!

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Jan 04, 2013 Cricket Muse added it

This is the first Christie mystery I've read even though I do relish a good cozy now and then. I tend to watch all of Christie's books as adaptations and would have been content until I watched the new Miss Marple series with McEwan. She's a different sort of Miss Marple, which made me scurry to the source. As always the original is always the best. However, it is difficult to read a whodunnit when you know whodidit. ...more

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Jan 31, 2020 Jinx rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: library-books

Listened to the audiobook of this book. Not my favorite narrator.

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Mar 19, 2018 Pranit rated it really liked it

Shelves: miss-marple

A story filled with twists & turns. I enjoyed reading this book although I felt it wasn’t the usual AC style of writing. Nevertheless, another addition to my Miss Marple collection.

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