"A Murder is Announced" begins with a shooting during a murder game at Little Paddocks, home of Letitia Blacklock. The victim is who apparently shot himself accidentally. However, few people believe this and Dora Bunner believes the intended victim was actually . It soon becomes apparent the victim was murdered, because a door was recently oiled to prevent it from squeaking and a revolver belonging to was stolen.
The investigation pushes into high gear when , known for saying too much, is murdered on her birthday. spoke to the second victim recently and she revealed that the lamps in the living room had been switched and she saw in the garden with a strange man. and his sister are potential suspects as they stand to inherit Miss Blacklock's small estate. However, the estate could grow considerably as is near death. Should Miss Blacklock die before her, a mysterious would inherit a fortune.
As Miss Marple begins to lay the pieces into place, a third victim is killed: , a neighbor. Before her death she told that "she wasn't there". This is the last piece of evidence Miss Marple needs. In the summation, is revealed as Emma and Miss Marple accuses of being Pip only for Phillipa to claim this title. However, this is all a red herring. volunteers to trap the killer who tries to drown her in the sink. Miss Marple reveals the murderer's identity as , who was masquerading as her dead sister so she could one day inherit Randall Goedler's money.
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Answer:
'A Murder is Announced" was first published in 1950 and was advertised as Christie's fiftieth novel but this was an exaggerated claim. The novel is widely regarded as the best Miss Marple novel, according to both critics and Christie fans.
Miss Marple is in the village of Chipping Cleghorn for a relaxing spa retreat when she notices Rudi Scherz, a clerk at the spa, has forged a check from her and pocketed the cash. Miss Marple becomes active in the investigation into his death because she does not believe Rudi would hold up a room full of people and try to shoot Letitia Blacklock, as he was a petty thief and nothing more.
Miss Blacklock stands to inherit a fortune from her former employer Randall Goedler. However, this is contingent upon Miss Blacklock outliving Goedler's widow Belle. Should Belle outlive Miss Blacklock, the money will go to Randall's estranged sister Sonia's children, Pip and Emma. No one knows who Pip and Emma are, but they are the prime suspects.
Dora Bunner, Miss Blacklock's friend, tells Miss Marple everything she knows including how Miss Blacklock's living room had been rearranged, the central heating turned on and squeaky door oiled. She also tells Miss Marple about Miss Blacklock's sister, Charlotte a recluse who died after having goiter surgery in Switzerland. Meanwhile, neighbors Miss Hinchliffe and Murgatroyd realize that Miss Murgatroyd could have seen who shot at Miss Blacklock as she was not blinded by the flashlight. Unfortunately, Miss Murgatroyd is murdered before she can say what she learned. All she can muster out is "she wasn't there" with an emphasis on "there".
This is all Miss Marple needs to know to solve the crime. First, she exposes Julia Simmons and Philippa Haymes as Pip and Emma. However, they are innocent of the murder. The real murderer is Miss Blacklock, who is actually Charlotte, not Letitia. Rudi Scherz worked at the hospital where Charlotte had her surgery. However, it was Letitia who died, not Charlotte. Charlotte returned to England as Letitia because she knew Letitia was set to inherit a fortune. She was forced to murder both Dora and Miss Murgatroyd because they knew too much. Dora knew Miss Blacklock was really Charlotte but struggled to keep this a secret. Miss Murgatroyd knew that Miss Blacklock had left the room when Scherz pretended to hold everyone up. She murdered Rudi Scherz because he, too, knew Letitia was really Charlotte.
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