A Murder Is Announced [Paperback]

Agatha Christie (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1991

The townspeople expect a fun game of "whodunnit" after they receive strange invitations that clearly spell out the time and place of a murder, but when a real corpse is introduced into the "game" it becomes time to bring in the best player of all--Miss Jane Marple. Reissue.

Editorial Reviews

Review

'Establishes firmly her claim to the throne of detection. The plot is as ingenious as ever! the dialogue both wise and witty; while the suspense is maintained very skilfully until the final revelation.' A.A. Milne 'As good as Agatha Christie ever wrote.' Robert Barnard 'In her own sphere there is no one to touch her, and her millions of readers are going to buy A Murder is Announced and like it.' Margery Allingham 'A super-smooth Christie -- three neat murders in an English village, [and] an assortment of her famous red herrings, all beautifully marinaded.' New York Times Book Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Agatha Christie was born in Torquay in 1890 and became, quite simply, the best-selling novelist in history. Her first novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, written towards the end of the First World War, introduced us to Hercule Poirot, who was to become the most popular detective in crime fiction since Sherlock Holmes. She is known throughout the world as the Queen of Crime. Her books have sold over a billion copies in the English language and another billion in over 100 foreign countries. She is the author of 80 crime novels and short story collections, 19 plays, and six novels under the name of Mary Westmacott. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback
• Publisher: Berkley (November 1, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0425129624
• ISBN-13: 978-0425129623
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,708,542 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Agatha Christie was born in 1890 and created the detective Hercule Poirot in her debut novel, The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1920). She achieved wide popularity with The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926) and produced a total of eighty novels and short-story collections over six decades.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A CLASSIC TALE SUPERBLY READ, April 20, 2002

By 

Gail Cooke (TX, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Murder Is Announced: A Miss Marple Mystery (Audio Editions Mystery Masters) (Audio Cassette)

Although first published in 1950 "A Murder Is Announced" by vaunted mystery writer Agatha Christie has lost none of its zest. Deemed a classic in its genre this suspenseful tale is ably represented by British voice and television actress Rosemary Leach.

When invitations are sent reading "A murder is announced, and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m.," everyone, including the indomitable Jane Marple, would anticipate an unusual party game. Such as, someone will be chosen as the murderer, the room is darkened, and the victim meets his fate.

It's not all fun and games when a real dead body is found. Miss Marple, on your mark! With her inimitable skill Agatha Christie allows listeners to enjoy solving the crime, step by step, just as much as Miss Marple does.

Curl up in an easy chair and revel this remarkable tale wonderfully read.

- Gail Cooke

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Agatha!, March 26, 2004

By 

T. George "anne-with-an-e" (An American city) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Murder is Announced (Miss Marple Mysteries) (Paperback)

Like with "The Moving Finger," this is a Christie mystery I read maybe 5 years ago and then picked up again just recently. And, similar to that one, I somewhat remembered the solution to this mystery, though I couldn't remember nor ever quite reconfigure the logic behind it.

For those who don't know, this excellent mystery starts off with a murder being announced in the personal ads in the local village paper. Somewhat akin to the irony of "Gross Pointe Blank" - where nobody believes that Cusack is a hitman because he states it directly - no one believes that a murder will really happen. Who would advertise such a thing? And so, in a predictable English manner, all the neighbors turn up - each insisting they just happened to drop by.

Thus begins a subtly humorous and mind-bending tale. After reading a number of poor books lately, I have to say that it felt good to be back in Agatha's capable hands. She develops a small pool of likable characters that you can keep track of...and never really trust. She throws out red herrings galore and keeps you on your toes as you try to fit together the random jig saw piece clues handed to you. Of course, Miss Marple is on to things fairly early, but will you be?

Of note in this particular Christie mystery:
- In addition to Miss Marple, Christie develops a likable & capable if slightly lackluster inspector in Craddock. I think it shows Christie's continued desire to mix things up and try new crime-solving combinations
- The time period is right after WWII, and so you pick up on what life was like in Britain in that time period. There is reference to food rations, Mittel European servants, reduced amounts of hired help, shifting of the population (even in small towns), an increased amount of suspicion with foreigners, etc. It's all very interesting.
- This is one of the few murder mysteries I remember with a real lack of rich/titles characters. There are a few in the background, but they don't play in the main plot at all. It was quite nice to read about working folks and their lives.
- Christie sets up several foils with the number of middle aged women in the book. I've never read a British novel where 3 main characters were weak minded (Bunch, Murgatroyd, and Dora), but Christie is able to develop each with distinction. However, each woman's relation with a strong woman (Marple, Hinch and Blacky) makes for an interesting study. (BTW - It is unclear if Murgatroyd and Hinch are a gay couple. Certainly, it seems possible, but Christie doesn't focus on that.)

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Cold blood and old secrets..., September 13, 2007

By 

- Kasia S. (New York City) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: A Murder is Announced (Miss Marple Mysteries) (Paperback)

This was my first Miss Marple mystery but by no means my first Christie book. I have enjoyed the different way in which the sharp mind worked over Hercule Poirot's genius but truth be told, Miss Marple as good as she was didn't appear in the book too often. This was also the time I figured out who the murderer was, more likely because I have read a lot of Agatha and knew her to be a trickster when it came to fooling the reader but also partially due to clues given out fairly this time. The final answer made total sense and there were a few things that were twisted and few truths were new to me but overall it all came together , so those who pay attention can figure it out.

Murder is announced - in deed it is, in a local Gazette that everyone reads in Chipping Cleghorn. When everyone assumes it's some sort of a party they get a huge surprise that a murder does take place and one of the attendees is somehow responsible. I will not give anything else away but the story has a great setting and there are tons of clues. I felt like a grand detective reading all the accounts and enjoyed the old-fashioned talk and mannerisms. The house of Letitia Blacklock has been violated and her closest friends, neighbors and family members are the only ones who could have dipped their fingers in the dark pool of death. Miss Marple enters the book and shines some light on interesting family relations and past that wants to be forgotten with a few unlucky turns for some of the members of the party. When more deaths happen the police know they must act quickly or there won't be anyone left.

The only problem I had with the book was the amount of characters; my head was spinning and I was dizzy trying to gather them all up in my mind. The names were also similar and long some making me a bit batty but overall I enjoyed the book and loved the cozy setting marred with chilling death hiding in the dark corridors of the Blacklock house. I do recommend this but it left me with a bit of a headache at the end and I was anticipating the ending to finally come and bring my brain some relief. Murder is nasty business and Christie knew how to work it to her advantage.

- Kasia S.