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    A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery
    A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery
    A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery
    Audiobook8 hours

    A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery

    Written by Agatha Christie

    Narrated by Emilia Fox

    4.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    A Murder is Announced in a small-town newspaper advertisement—and Miss Marple must unravel the fiendish puzzle when a crime does indeed occur.

    The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn are agog with curiosity when the Gazette advertises “A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m.”

    A childish practical joke? Or a spiteful hoax? Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, the locals arrive at Little Paddocks at the appointed time when, without warning, the lights go out and a gun is fired. When they come back on, a gruesome scene is revealed. An impossible crime? Only Miss Marple can unravel it.

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateMar 26, 2013
    ISBN9780062265807
    Author

    Agatha Christie

    Agatha Christie (1890–1976) is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the bestselling novelist of all time. The first recipient of the Mystery Writers of America’s Grand Master Award, she published eighty mystery novels and many short story collections and created such iconic fictional detectives as Hercule Poirot, Miss Jane Marple, and Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. She is known around the world as the Queen of Crime.

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    Reviews for A Murder Is Announced

    4.5/5

    170 ratings44 reviews

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    • 4/5
      The Queen of crime keeps readers guessing. The narrator did a splendid job with a variety of voices.
    • 5/5
      Classic Christy surprise ending. Great Miss Marple story. Very good reader.
    • 3/5
      Believe it or not, this is the first book by Agatha Christie I have read. She is a much-beloved mystery writer, and was extremely prolific. Perhaps you can divide the reading world into those who are Agatha Christie fans, and those who are not. I, unfortunately, fall into the Not-a-Fan crowd. I didn't like the dated characters or the contrived way in which the crime occurred and was solved. However, for those who haven't read this one, which belongs to the Miss Marple series (of which my only knowledge is the Angela Lansbury reruns my mother watches), here is a brief description:One Friday morning an announcement appears in the local newspaper: "A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m. Friends please accept this, the only intimation." Based on this notice, the owner of Little Paddocks prepares refreshments for a gathering that evening, and various residents of the town who read the announcement drop 'round Little Paddocks for drinks. All are mystified by the announcement. Promptly at 6:30, the lights go out, and all are in darkness, until the door is opened and a dark figure holding a flashlight stands in the doorway. Shots ring out. When the lights go back on, a stranger lies in the doorway, dead, and the hostess has been wounded. Police begin an investigation, and Miss Marple arrives in town to gently guide them on their way.I think Agatha Christie fans would like this, and technically there's nothing wrong with it. As I said, however, this type of book isn't my thing.2 1/2 stars
    • 4/5
      Read this for library book group. The was done to compare with "A Daughter In Time" by Josephine Tey, which was written the same year. Very different styles and themes between the two authors. We understood that had a discord between them, but we couldn't find out the reason. I've read many Christie in the past, but had not previously read this one. I really enjoyed it, even though Miss Marple did play as prominent role as I'm used to. The one downside was that Christie spent a fair amount of time at the conclusion, after the climax, explaining how all the clues tied together. She did a good job of providing the clues throughout the book, but their ties were not all apparent till the conclusion.
    • 4/5
      Classic Ms. Marple -- what's not to love?
    • 4/5
      Always enjoy Agatha Christie!
    • 4/5
      The residents of Chipping Cleghorn are utterly surprised when an announcement appears in the local paper announcing that a murder will occur at the local estate of Little Paddocks at precisely 6:30 that Friday evening. Assuming that Miss Blacklock or one of her family who reside at Little Paddocks are having some sort of murder mystery party, several residents of the village arrive that evening to see just what will happen. But as they gather in the drawing room, the lights go out at precisely 6:30 and then shots are fired. In the aftermath of the shooting, one question remains: what was the purpose of that night and just who was behind it?Miss Marple mysteries are always a reliable solid read and this one was no exception. For the first time while reading Christie, I did manage to figure out whodunit in advance of the big reveal but I had also watched the episode of Marple adapted from this novel several years ago so some memories may have stuck with me that helped me weed through the red herrings and actual clues. Although this is the fifth Miss Marple novel, it's an excellent novel to try as your first Marple or your first Christie if you haven't taken the plunge yet.
    • 5/5
      "A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30 p.m. Friends accept this, the only intimation."

      Little Paddocks is set in a typical village in the English countryside, where people enjoy the quiet life, away from the hustle and bustle of bigger towns, and where everyone knows everything that is going on in the lives of their neighbours. Or do they?

      “In an English village, you turn over a stone and have no idea what will crawl out.”

      I have read A Murder is Announced three times now and I still count this as one of my favourite Christie novel - and, yes, even that sanctimonious old busy-body that is Miss Marple does not spoil the book for me.
      The reasons I like the story so much are quite simple: It's essentially a locked-room mystery, but in this one the motives for the murder are different from some of the other mysteries and caused me to think a lot about the effect that the one simple lie (I won't spoil which one) had on the lives of all the people involved - including on the perpetrator, who is very conflicted over the course of actions taken, when that lie is at risk of being discovered.

      “It's what's in yourself that makes you happy or unhappy.”

      Unlike in some other Christie mysteries, the portrayal of characters is also much more sympathetic to the more ordinary characters who usually seem to be somewhat patronised or ridiculed - quite often by Marple, which is why I don't like her much. For some reason, she's not as quick to pass judgement in this book and the villagers are allowed to contribute to the story and to the solution.

      “It’s a fine murdering day, (sang Bunch) And as balmy as May And the sleuths from the village are gone.” A rattle of crockery being dumped in the sink drowned the next lines, but as the Rev. Julian Harmon left the house, he heard the final triumphant assertion: “And we’ll all go a’murdering today!”
    • 5/5
      This is the second Miss Marple book I have read, but it won't be the last. I loved it! Everyone in Chipping Cleghorn is stunned when "a murder is announced" in the local gazette. Naturally, they all assume it will be a dinner party with a dramatized crime, but it's still odd that no one knew anything about it beforehand - least of all Ms. Blacklock, at whose house it is supposed to occur! Knowing her neighbors as she does, she expects them all to drop by at the appointed time. Once everyone is gathered, the lights go out and a gun goes off. The body of a young mane is very real, as is the bullet graze on Ms. Blacklock. Who could have orchestrated this and why would anyone want to harm Ms. Blacklock?This is a Miss Marple mystery, but like her first case Murder at the Vicarage, it is not told from her point of view. This time, the Constable tells the story as he tries to sort through all the witnesses, make sense of small town life, and track the killer. Miss Marple appears about a third of the way through, visiting friends. Her keen observations, and familiarity with small town life, help point the way for the constable. She isn't the only one who connects some of the dots, and there will be more victims before she solves the mystery.It's rare for a book to surprise me, even a mystery, but the conclusion here was nearly as brilliant as the one in "And Then There Were None." Further, it was completely earned. Sometimes, I feel like the deduction of super sleuths is contrived, the arrive at the last to put the puzzle together with information only they have. Here, Christie laid out all the clues Miss Marple pieces together so the solution works. A great read.
    • 5/5
      One of my favorite Agatha Christie novels, and a treasure of misdirection. Not to be missed.
    • 3/5
      Miss Marple solves another murder in a small village. Not my favorite Miss Marple, but very good.
    • 3/5
      Although this novel didn’t have me on tenterhooks, I appreciate the author’s plotting skills and characterisation. It’s a book I liked in parts rather than on the whole. At times it bored me a little, but certain scenes proved highly engaging.Bunny is my favourite character. Without giving anything away, there’s a scene where guests arrive at a house, speaking with tact, trying to learn something with a series of subtle hints, then Bunny arrives and asks outright the question that the others have been hinting at. Classic comedy timing!Read this in January 2012, so can't remember much more at nearly six years on.
    • 3/5
      Read a long time ago, & just listened to BBC Radio adaptation. One of the greatest Christie set-ups - a murder is announced in the local newspaper, and the villagers invite themselves to the house where the promised drama is to play out.So many could-be murderers, & Miss Marple gets herself invited locally to do some discreet detective work.
    • 2/5
      The twist was a bit of a stretch here. It was a decent story but had far too little Ms. Marple for my taste.
    • 5/5
      Another great Miss Marple story.
    • 4/5
      I’ve read this book since the late nineties, adding in a few splodges of listening on Audio and recently added it on Audible since my ipod bit the dust and I can’t afford a new one. It’s like a comfortable blanket that every now and then I pull out of the boiler closet and just wrap myself back into the story for the week it takes me to read/listen. I know the story nearly be heart by now, and I know exactly who did and –why-, but that never stops me from wanting to read/listen to it at least once a year. I don’t think there is any better praise I can make of it, other than the fact that I have it on Audible, in paperback and in Facsimile edition. The characters in it might fall into stereotypes, the background these characters live in may not be fully fleshed out and after two to three reads it may be easy enough to recall even after months between in reading it, but I still find the mystery, the actual writing style of Agatha Christie that grips me every time.Miss Marple remains one of my favourite detectives, outclassing Poirot who I find shines more on screen rather than any actual reading, as I love how the nosy, old woman can not only use occurrences that have happened in her own small village to figure out what people are really like, -and- take her pretence of just –another- gossipy old woman to piece it all together. It can be slightly annoying how she falls back into that fluffy woman by the end, attempting to give the police all the credit but it is understandable. Agatha Christie carefully weaves in Miss Marple’s mindset through the entire book, leaving little pieces of her background that explains what kind of life the main character had, how her views were formed by the yester-years and how that still colours the opinion and mannerisms of Miss Marple. And at the same time, it proves that if Miss Marple had been allowed, had chosen to, she could have been a great detective herself. I’d highly recommend this, if my review wasn’t praise enough to –why- it should be read and bought, and this is one of my favourite Agatha Christies, along with ‘The Caribbean Mystery’, ‘A Pocketfull of Rye’ and ‘The Body In the Library’.
    • 5/5
      Miss Marple pays a visit to her niece, a vicar's wife in a neighboring village. Of course, she arrives just in time to help the local police investigate murder and mystery. A great read as usual.
    • 4/5
      This is an interesting story and one in which Christie explores identity as quute a few characters turn out not to be who the reader thinks they are. The final revelation of the murderer is quite shocking, even by Christie's standards.
    • 2/5
      I read this Agatha Christie novel to "cleanse my literary palate" after spending that rather dull time with Renoir in LUNCHEON OF THE BOATING PARTY. Alas, this mystery featuring Miss Jane Marple was rather slow, too. Clever solution of the murders, but the summing up between Miss Marple and Inspector Craddock was 26 pages long. Christie's wit shows through in the story. The first time I read it in the late 60's I'm sure I didn't appreciate that wit. And the characters were entertaining, if a bit stereotyped. Unfortunately, I won't be re-visiting Miss Marple for a long while. Sigh!
    • 5/5
      A very long time ago. when I was in my twenties, I discovered Agatha Christie and immediately read many of her books, one after another. At that time and age, I was completely taken with Hercule Pirot. I considered him to be her superior sleuth.Now many years later I am reading Agatha again, with a mind to savour each book and enjoy the wonderful way she has with conversation, her exact pin-pointing of an era in time, and of course, her highly entertaining murders. Much to my surprise I am finding Jane Marple to be my new favourite. Perhaps because I am older myself, I can appreciate her art of being a good listener, her gentle, yet probing questions and her way of fitting into the background and observing all. I still love Hercule, but Jane Marple is winning a special place in my heart.A Murder Is Announced is a Jane Marple story, and what a story indeed. Filled with wonderful characters and having a lovely English village atmosphere, I suspect this one is destined to be one of my all time favourites, it even had the delightful ending of inviting all the witnesses to the scene of the crime for accusations and the final solving. I am so glad that I discovered Agatha Christe in my youth, yet I am equally glad to be able to enjoy her books at this age too.
    • 4/5
      Everyone in the village is surprised to read an announcement of murder in the newspaper's local ads. The villagers assume it's an invitation to a murder game at Letitia Blacklock's home, Little Paddocks. Letitia has two young cousins living with her, and surely one of them is to blame. But the residents of Little Paddocks are as much surprised as anyone. The villagers gather at Little Paddocks at the appointed time. Suddenly the lights go out, shots ring, and when the lights go up, someone lies dead...In earlier Miss Marple novels, Miss Marple's appearances are short and sweet. She has much more “face time” in this novel. She is gaining a reputation within law enforcement circles as a reliable witness and a shrewd judge of character and motive. Perhaps a younger Christie didn't quite know what to do with her elderly sleuth. As the age gap closed between Christie and her fictional creation, it seems Christie saw more possibilities for Miss Marple as a central actor rather than a sideline observer.
    • 5/5
      Excellent book and excellent performance of Emilia Fox! I enjoyed it.
    • 3/5
      Here is the book that made me guess the murderer for the first time ever. It's a classic and not a dime novel, and I'm glad for that. Other people too have guessed correctly and in hindsight I must say that the finale, with Miss Marple hiding and using her voice, is slightly artificial, clumsy and forced. Nevertheless most of the book is vintage Christie, and this book pushed me to read more and all of the Marpel stories. P.S Miss Murgatroyd and Hinchcliffe are "the L word".
    • 5/5
      One of my favourite Miss Marples. Set in a small village in post war Britain, where the social order has been disrupted by the war populated by types who may or not be who they say they are, a murder IS announced in the local paper and the locals turn up expecting a game only to find a real murder taking place in their midst. Miss Marple is invited by her goddaughter, the vicar's wife, to help solve the crime. I particularly love the discrete but obvious depiction of the loving female couple Hinch and Murgatroyd. A very entertaining read.
    • 4/5
      In the newspaper an announcement is made to the townspeople, that they are invited to a murder on a particular evening, at a particular time, at a particular home....No one knows what to make of it, but seems as if it is an invitation to a "who-done-it" party.... The residents of the house, are as surprised as everyone else, but they prepare for guests....A little past the time the lights go off, a per son w/ a gun enters and shoots.... but then when the lights go back on, the shooter is found dead, murdered.The premise was interesting, but (at the beginning) the characters were insipid & uninspiring. I didn't like them, nor did I like the endless mindless chatter that was their conversations..... so the book began as ONE StarAs the book moves on & Miss Marple sticks her nose in, the book definitely picks up, and I ended up liking it after all!
    • 4/5
      Guessed the culprit very early on in the novel but I really enjoyed this story nonetheless, which goes to show Christie could have been a delightful general fiction author too. Very interesting characters, some funny lines and some metatextual references to Christie's life as an author plus some an intertextual reference at the end to Elephants Can Remember which I thought was lovely. Really great atmosphere throughout - I could picture everything very easily. Just like the Poirot books at some point, Christie lingers on how society has changed and how little people follow expected patterns of behaviour now. It made me think about how the profession of policeman and detective has changed since 1950 and how little it relies on actual detection and psychology today. This is a nice book, with an interesting premise and a jolly good read.
    • 5/5
      Great read! As expected with any Agatha Christie novel, it’s fast-paced with a surprising twist and a satisfying end. Just get through the first few parts of character introduction and scene-setting and all will be worth it.
      This is my first taste of Miss Marple, coming from
      Hercule Poirot, and she is far more subtle and in the background than HP, but just as cunning. I look forward to reading more of her.
    • 2/5
      A Murder is Announced was, as I'm finding usual with Agatha Christie, quite fun and reasonably absorbing. One could tire of it very easily, since the writing isn't anything special -- although I generally like the characters in the background quite a lot. When I like them a lot, it's a three-star read; when no one particularly caught my attention, only two-star. (The difference between "it was ok" and "liked it".)

      The plot of this one is very torturous, and very... unlikely. Okay, okay, most of these books are, but the way that two imposters show up, but neither of them are actually doing anything wrong, although both keep their identity hidden, and then suddenly at the end a third imposter is revealed...

      Still, fun and easy, which is what I expect from these books.
    • 4/5
      Emilia Fox did an excellent narration despite the fact that her voice for Miss Marple was a tad too firm for my image of the character.
    • 5/5
      Years ago I watched Joan Hickson play Miss Marple in this story and had completely forgotten who the murder was. As I finished reading the book I realized I followed the same though process of suspecting some characters as I did with the movie. This is an exceptionally good and intricate plot. Mrs. Christie was an extremely good writer, as generally were the writers of hers and the prior generations. (And that is the main reason why I can't stand modern authors, who are mostly poor, sloppy writers.) This repartee from "Julia" is fantastic: "I needn't have had a job then. I could have just stayed at home and done the flowers, and written notes... why did one write notes and who were they to?" It contains the author's subtle sense of humor and her frequent comments about days gone by--that she clearly missed. This book was a pleasure to read and I had to tear myself away from it every time I needed to stop reading. I love Agatha Christie's books and always look forward to reading her stories. I must stress the fact that I never enjoyed reading mystery books until I read hers. Highly recommend this one.