Murder Is Easy by Agatha Christie Narrator: Gemma Whelan
Series: Superintendent Battle #4
Published by HarperAudio on March 3, 2020 (first published June 5, 1939)
Source: Purchased
Length: 6 hrs 57 mins
Pages: 253
Format: Audiobook
Purchase at Bookshop.org or Purchase at Amazon
Add on Goodreads
A quiet English village is plagued by a fiendish serial killer in Queen of Mystery Agatha Christie’s classic thriller, Murder is Easy.
Luke Fitzwilliam does not believe Miss Pinkerton’s wild allegation that a multiple murderer is at work in the quiet English village of Wychwood and that her local doctor is next in line.
But within hours, Miss Pinkerton has been killed in a hit-and-run car accident. Mere coincidence? Luke is inclined to think so—until he reads in the Times of the unexpected demise of Wychwood’s Dr. Humbleby.…
Murder Is Easy starts well. Luke Fitzgerald, retired policeman, meets Lavinia Pinkerton, an elderly woman, on a train. Lavinia is sure there is a serial killer in her village and is on her way to tell Scotland Yart. Of course, Luke doesn’t believe her, but then she’s killed by a car before making it to Scotland Yard. He also reads that the “victim” she predicted, a doctor, has been found dead. So, Luke heads to the village to do some sleuthing.
Luke is a bit bumbling in his investigating. And he manages to fall in love with the striking, intelligent Bridget Conway, pretty much at first sight. She’s good as his sidekick, smart and familiar with the townspeople, but I could have done without the declarations of love. On the other hand, it did help push the plot along.
We’ve got several suspects, including an antique dealer who was not portrayed very well, a doctor, a lawyer, and a few others; all the typical people. And enough red herrings to distract us from the clues. This is technically a Superintendant Battle book, but he doesn’t show up until the very end and doesn’t do any of the work. For all intents and purposes, it’s a stand-alone.
I enjoyed the ending, well, except the whole bit with the woman who needs rescuing – that gets old. Other than that, the killer was surprising, at least for me, and I tend to be a sucker for happy endings.
About Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English crime novelist, short story writer and playwright. She is best known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around her fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world’s longest-running play, a murder mystery, The Mousetrap, and six romances under the name Mary Westmacott. In 1971 she was elevated to Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) for her contribution to literature.
This is one of Christie’s standalone novels I haven’t read yet. It sounds like fun. 🙂
It’s not really a stand-alone. It’s part of the Superintendent Battle series, although he’s not the main investigator of even in 80% of the book.