Customer Reviews

Murder Is Easy (The Christie Collection)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I hardly need speak about Agatha Christie, deservedly the best-selling mystery novel author of all time. Murder is Easy is one of her best novels, being typically easy to read, obviously contrived and yet filled with plot twists and misdirections. During the exposition of the plot the reader cannot help but be seduced by the unravelling of the mystery, and it all seems, indeed, a little too easy... but with a breathtaking twist in the tail everything is turned around more than once. In retrospect it seems so simple, and all the clues are there. And yet the reader is almost guaranteed not to guess the ending. The only thing to add is that this is one of the few Christies where the pleasure of detection and mystery is leavened with the tension of personal risk to the main characters. The final few chapters in particular took my breath away when I first read the book. Written in the 1930s and yet still as accessible today as it ever was, this is a book well worth reading for both the Christie fan and the generalist reader of detective fiction. Read it and see why Christie is the Queen of Crime.

Luke Fitzwilliam has just returned home to England after several years working in the East. As he settles into a train compartment on the way to London he strikes up a conversation with an elderly woman who reminds him of one of his aunts. She tells him a strange story of murders in her village, giving him details of the crimes and relating how she is on her way to Scotland Yard to try and stop the murderer before there is another death. Luke listens to her with half an ear and then forgets the incident after his arrival in London. He is reminded though when he sees that his traveling companion was killed in a street accident shortly after they parted company. He is further surprised to hear that the person named as the next victim has in fact died suddenly.

He decides to investigate further, travels to the village and begins become involved in the village life. While there Luke meets the usual village ensemble, the old maids, local doctor and family, local lord of the manor and his household and others. Luke begins to find certain disturbing aspects on the local scene that convince him that the outrageous stories he had been told just might be the truth after all.

This is a departure from Christie's usual work, there are no appearances by Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple however Sgt. Battle does make an appearance at the very end of the story. Luke Fitzwilliam is one of Dame Agatha's one appearance only heroes which is a pity. He and his romantic interest quite charming, it would be nice to meet them again.

Miss Lavinia Fullerton is a typical English spinster. In fact, she is very reminiscent of Miss Marple and the charming elderly ladies that inhabited the cozy villages of England in the time between the two World Wars. While travelling on a train to London, she chats with Luke Fitzwilliam, a young policeman, about all the murders that have been taking place in her village of Wychwood under Ashe. Her subsequent death in London traffic involves Luke in this cozy village mystery.

The novel is populated with the basic village characters: doctor, lawyer, vicar, several elderly ladies, a retired military man, and one precocious young boy. Luke will suspect just about all of them at one point or another in the story, but in a tense and thrilling ending, all is revealed.

This entertaining book became a 1982 made-for-tv movie starring Bill Bixby as Luke and Helen Hayes as Lavinia.

My boook I read is about murder. The main character in this book is Mr, Fitzwillia, who goes to Wynchwood in the search of a murder. He heard of this from and old lady named Miss Fullerton while they were on a plane togeather. She talked about how people died, and how she thinks it was murder. Miss Fullerton mentioned people who she thought would die, and they did. Later, the day after the pane ride, Miss Fullerton died.

Then while Mr. Fitzwhilliam was in Wynchwood he searched around for people who might have murdered those people Miss Fullerton had mentioned. He aslo had help from a woman named Bridget Conway.

My opinion on this book was that it was one of the best mystery books I have read. This book was very entertaining, and drew my attention. I think if you are looking for a book to read, you should deffinently choose, Murder Is Easy.

As much as I enjoy Agatha Christie mysteries and her quaint, endearing sleuths, I always seem to enjoy her novels that do not have Poirot or Miss Marple as the detective much more. This is the case with "Murder Is Easy", which follows the retired policeman Luke Fitzwilliam through his trials to piece together a string of deaths that may or may not be murder. Christie's novel is well thought out, plentiful in red herrings, and a quick, enjoyable mystery.

Traveling into London by train, Luke Fitzwilliam finds himself stuck in a compartment with Miss Fullerton, a supposedly dotty old maid who instantly tells him about life in her quaint little village of Wychwood. Except that Wychwood isn't all it's cracked up to be; Miss Fullerton is certain there's a murderer on the loose and is on her way to Scotland Yard to tell them. Luke humors her and would likely forget her story, except that he discovers she was run over by a car on her way to Scotland Yard, and the man she fingered as the next victim of the murderer, suddenly dies a short time later. Now Luke is convinced that Miss Fullerton's suspicions were correct, and he sets off to Wychwood to uncover the mystery for himself.

As soon as Luke is in the village, he sets out to discover who the murderer might be, compiling lists of suspects and motives, along with any possible connections between the victims. It is a daunting task, especially when it must be done under a false cover, but the villagers are more than willing to help out. And when the murderer strikes again while Luke's in town, all certainties are thrown out the window as he tries to uncover the unlikely murderer. "Murder Is Easy" is a quick-paced read, that draws the reader into the story. I wasn't fooled by all the red herrings, as Luke tended to be, so I wasn't surprised by the ending. All in all, even if one figures out the mystery before the author takes one there, the book is still a pleasant escape into the world of one of the best mystery writers.

Superbly read by Hugh Fraser. Wonderful way to enjoy a Christie mystery.

Though it's not the best of Christie, and is missing her two most famous detectives, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, "Murder is Easy" somehow contrives to be one of my favourite installments in her massive body of work. In a typical cozy set in a small English village filled with eccentric characters and a range of suspicious deaths, Christie leads the reader up the garden path and back again with a constant stream of twists and turns.

Luke Fitzwilliam is back in England after several years overseas, and is eager to re-absorb himself in the culture of his homeland. Thus, he strikes up a conversation in the train to London with an elderly woman who reminds him of his favourite aunt, though the discussion soon takes an extraordinary turn. According to her, a murderer is on the loose in her small village of Wychwood, and she's on her way to Scotland Yard to report it to the police. What's more, she knows the name of the killer's next intended victim.

Naturally, Luke doesn't take it seriously, but imagine his astonishment when he spots an article in the paper the following day, revealing that the old woman was killed in a hit-and-run accident. His concern deepens when he reads an obituary a week later, reporting the death of Doctor John Humbleby in Wychwood village: the very person that his travelling companion had believed was next in line to die. As there's hardly enough evidence to go to the police, Luke takes matters into his own hands and travels to Wychwood himself to investigate.

Under the pretext of researching a book on local superstitions - Wychwood itself being replete with old folklore and rumours of witchcraft - Luke begins to scrutinize the population for any possible murderers. Exactly what you'd expect is waiting for him: a list of unexpected deaths and a collection of suspects, all with the means and motivation to kill. There's the retired military man, the charming doctor, the gaggle of old spinsters, the creepy antiquarian, the secretive lawyer, and of course Lord Whitfield, the pompous lord of Ashe Manor. Most interesting of all (to Luke anyway) is the beautiful and witch-like Bridget Conway, engaged to Lord Whitfield, but willing to help Luke in his subterfuge.

Unlike Poirot or Marple, both of whom were more-or-less infallible in their methods, Luke misinterprets evidence, blunders through various encounters, and suspects nearly everyone in the village before coming to several wrong conclusions, but it all leads to a heightened sense of suspense considering both he and Bridget are possible targets for the killer.

As always, there are plenty of coincidences and contrivances (Luke's cover story is based on the fact that his friend is a cousin to Bridget Conway), but Christie doesn't mince words: the ball is rolling right from the start of the story and the pace doesn't let up until the final page - this was perhaps the quickest I'd ever devoured one of her books. As it turns out, "Murder is Easy" was also one of the few mysteries that I managed to crack before the denouement, though that's not saying much, as Christie leaves me dumbfounded ninety percent of the time. Oh, and look out for Inspector Battle's brief cameo.

The romance is hit-and-miss - what develops between Luke and Bridget is a rather dark and argumentative bond, but it offsets the grim atmosphere of the story quite nicely, and ultimately the best account of the novel is wrapped up in its title. "Murder is Easy" (or for many American publications "Easy to Kill") is a rather terrifying notion, one that is threaded throughout the story as the mystery gradually unfolds.

Murder is Easy. However, writing great murder mysteries is not! Dame Agatha Christie was at the top of her game writing this excellent novel in the scary year of 1939. Dame Agatha proves again in this one that she is the Queen of Crime!
The intricate plot,with a cast of fascinating characters, concerns a series of horrible murders in the village of
Wychwood set in rural England. Luke Fitzwilliam has returned to Britain following several years in Malaysia. He meet Mrs Lavinia Fullerton on a train heading for London, The old lady is traveling to Scotland Yard to report a series of murders in Wychwood. She is murdered by being pushed in front of a speeding motor car. Luke is intrigued and decides to investigate the case. He enters into a romance with Bridget Conway, Together the pair team up to solve the crime. Who is the murderer? The weird Lord Easterfield who has many skeletons in his closet? Jim Harvey the local mechanic who was in love with the murdered Amy ? Old Major Horton whose shrewish wife was poisoned?
Honoria Waynflete who was made at Eastefield for jilting her and taking up with Bridget? Whodunit??? Read and it will be revealed unto thee!
The story has many twists and turns before the person guilty of the murders is uncovered in a spectacular ending which will chill the bones and bruise the frayed nerves of the reader!
Agatha Christie wrote in a simple style easy to understand. She makes it easy to keep the many characters straight as the clues are followed leading to the satisfying ending. This reviewer recently saw "Murder is Easy" on Masterpiece Mystery. The BBC film was good but this book (which differs in significant ways from the film) is even better! Nothing profound here just pure sleuthing joy!

In many ways Murder Is Easy reminded me of one of my favorite Christie novels, the Miss Marple outing The Moving Finger (Miss Marple Mysteries). Both books draw back the curtain on seemingly tranquil, "ideal," English village life where everyone has secrets and no one is as they seem. Luke Fitzwilliam, newly retired from overseas police work, has a chance encounter with the eccentric Miss Fullerton on the London train. She tells him a fantastic tale of a murderer running loose in her village, knocking off people left and right - really too incredible to be believed. Or so Luke thinks, until he gets the news that his elderly informant was killed in a freak accident on the way to report her findings to Scotland Yard. He hatches a plan to pose as a friend's cousin writing a book on local customs, and goes to stay with his cousin Bridget, who turns out to be a stunning beauty engaged to the local bigwhig, Lord Easterfield. Not knowing who to trust, Luke joins forces with Bridget - but the murderer could be craftier than they think...

Most of my Agatha Christie reading has been confined to the Poirot or Marple novels, so it's always a treat to discover one of her standalones that delivers a good corker of a mystery. The pacing is excellent, and the way Christie introduces the cast of suspects, only to dismiss each in turn, is supberbly handled. Being something of a hopeless romantic (LOL), I loved the romantic, but atypical subplot between Bridget and Luke. They sparred and fought like crazy, but couldn't help falling for each other. :) And the last few chapters, where the murderer is revealed, are absolutely un-put-downable. With this book Christie created one of her creepiest, most disturbing villains, proving the revenge is a frightening dish best served cold. For all the pros, I did think the dialogue is a bit "clunky" and just does flow as well as some other Christie efforts I've read. But that's a small quibble, and certainly shouldn't detract one from reading what is a thoroughly enjoyable puzzler from Dame Agatha Christie.

It is easy to understand why Agatha Christie's collective works have only been outsold by Shakespeare and the Bible. Her works set the standard for mystery, a genre which she helped to revolutionize. "Murder is Easy" (also published as "Easy to Kill" is among her most known works outside the Poirot Series and Miss Marple Series.

Luke Fitzwilliam was initially annoyed by the elderly woman he met on the train. Her tales of murder and conspiracy seemed nothing more than the gossip of a lonely woman. But when that woman is shown to be dead in the next day's newspaper, Fitzwilliam's interest in peaked. The village of Wychwood plays host to the mysterious deaths that precede his traveling companion. Fitzwilliam takes the guise of an author researching the paranormal until he also becomes involved with the townspeople. One answer seems to reveal more questions. Red herrings abound in this work of Christie.

Among the qualities of Christie's writings is the easy flow of her novels. The pace makes for an easy read, and the book that much harder to put down. The secrets of Wychwood are not easy to find.