Murder is Easy was first published in 1939 with the opening scenes set on a train where a retired police officer, Luke Fitzwilliam hears a fantastical tale of a village where a murderer is reducing the population. To be honest Luke Fitzwilliam, in this day and age would probably have studiously avoided Lavinia Pinkerton’s eye and never heard the story of how she was going up to report her suspicions to the detectives at Scotland Yard. But these were different times and Luke Fitzwilliam is reminded of his own spinster aunts and sits and listens to the list of names which includes the next intended victim, Dr Humbleby, never letting the scoff in his head mar what I imagine to be his kindly features.
Imagine his surprise when reading the obituaries a few days later he sees that his travelling companion was knocked down by a car soon after they parted company – of course these days the spinster aunt would have to depend on kindly friends or relations to spread the news of her demise on social media. Not only that. Dr Humbleby reported as to having died of septicaemia. Our esteemed retired detective was a little bit bored now that he’s retired and a plan is made. He will stay at the home of a friend’s sister and pretend to be writing a book about witches and superstitions of the area. Hard to pull off successfully today as a quick google search would blow his cover to smithereens, but possible, after all who would look unless they were worried about their dastardly deeds being discovered?
Once in the town he is delighted by his pretend cousin Bridget Conway who is engaged to the frightfully rich Gordon Whitfield and as the house is large and not being the only servant, she shares his home in Wychwood under Ashe still acting as his secretary until they are married. It doesn’t take Luke long to find quite an impressive list of key suspects using the second spinster to have a leading role, Honoria Waynflete, who is both observant and knowledgeable and Luke suspects she already has a suspicion about the identity of this serial killer who uses a different method of murder for all his victims. Not for this killer the outright violence of a knife or a gun, no, young tear away Tommy Pierce fell from a library window whilst engaged to clean it and the servant Amy Gibbs swallowed hat paint instead of cough medicine in the night and was discovered in the morning when she wasn’t up and about laying fires and preparing breakfast.
Agatha Christie’s novels really do recreate an era that has long passed and although the mysteries are ingenious I can’t help but feel it is something of the nostalgia for something that has been lost forever that makes her books quite so appealing and it’s in the details that this is underlined. Who would honestly believe that a retired detective could pop up in a village, have his suspects, and there are quite a few, talk to him, often at length without his cover being blown. Meanwhile we have a young woman debating marriage to a man she doesn’t love to gain security seeing it as swapping one job for another – secretary or wife – as Bridget says it’s the same job description, but being the wife pays better.
I thoroughly enjoyed Murder is Easy although I confess I was a little worried because I do have a penchant for a certain Belgium and his little grey cells but without his pronunciations to make me giggle like a schoolgirl, I could really work hard at solving the puzzle and find the killer. It didn’t work, I failed miserably!
Murder is Easy /em> was my thirteenth read in my 20 Books of Summer 2017 Challenge.
First Published UK: 1939
Publisher:Harper Collins
No of Pages: 273
Genre: Crime Fiction
Amazon UK
Amazon US
I’ve read a lot of Aggie’s books, but dont’ remember this one at all. Another one for the TBR list.
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I didn’t remember this one either although I originally read these books a long time ago – it has some great murder methods and even more red-herrings than usual.
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Just watched The Man in the Brown Suit but I still think books are the best!
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Easily and these re-readings are uncovering aspects I’d previously missed.
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I couldn’t agree more about the nostalgia and the fact Agatha can take you back to an era when everything wasn’t based on forensic analyzes or our ways of doing these days. It’s refreshing to read crime in a setting and with clues that you just crave to get to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The old good way 🙂
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I agree, I just wish I was a bit better at piecing the puzzle together Meggy, I only got close to the right direction when the signals were flashing brightly!
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Haha, same for me! I can’t see where those stories lead until almost all the clues are here and I’m Duh, you should have known!
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I agree with you, Cleo, that Christie depicted her era very effectively, so it’s easy to get a sense of it as we read now. I’m very glad you enjoyed this on, even if it doesn’t feature Poirot. I always admire her for her versatility, and ability to tell all sorts of stories, with or without her usual main characters.
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Re-reading these has only served to increase my admiration- this book offered exceptionally good murders and a peek at a kind of life which has been lost forever.
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I always try to solve the case with Agatha and I always fail. Great review Cleo!
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Me too! Thank you Emma 😊
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I really must read these books! How have I managed to get to my age without having done so? Thanks for sharing.
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I don’t know? It was unofficial required reading for teens this side of the water… well amongst my peer group anyway because everyone had at least one on their parent’s bookshelf.
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I’m hopeless at solving the puzzle. Just as well I never wanted to be a detective
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You’d think with all that I read I’d be slightly better at it!
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Ooh, I loved this one and now I want to read it again! Great review! I particularly loved the murder methods – so original and I expect they appealed to your morbid fascination with poisons. 😉 Hat paint – I think it was this book that introduced me to the idea of women painting their hats to freshen them up for the new season. I wish I lived in a time when we all wore snazzy little hats every day…
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I was very enamoured with the murder methods and I knew nothing of hat paint – ingenious. I’m a little more wary of the necessity of hat pins – look painful 😂
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Sounds wonderful Cleo 🙂 One more for the TBR!
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I’ve only ever read Poirot and Miss Marple, so I am glad to know that this one is delightful without either of those stellar characters. One to check out sometime in the future!
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I love Agatha Christie’s books too! I too have read only Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot cases and found this one really good too! Her books are an essential part of my life.
Thanks for sharing!
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