Agatha Christie

Murder is Easy

Luke Fitzwilliam is a police officer returning from duty abroad, when he meets a dear old lady on the train. She tells him a fantastic story about a small village called Wychwood, where she lives. Miss Pinkerton believes that a murderer is at work given the recent numerous "accidental" deaths in her village and she is on her way to Scotland Yard to tell them. The only problem is Miss Pinkerton never makes it to Scotland Yard. She is killed in a hit-and-run car accident. When Luke finds out he decides to head down Wychwood to investigate for himself. What he finds in Wychwood is no one that looks like a murderer. That is until he starts to look more closely at the inhabitants. Could it be the young doctor, who has a fancy for the more occult arts, and who no longer has to share a practice, because Dr Humbley had a "accident". What about the lawyer, Mr Abbott? He sure looks like he has something to hide.Is there a financial adviser selling income protection insurance to unsuspecting customers? It's up to Luke to use a bit of power of detection and find the killer before he or she strikes again!

Now while murder might be easy, trying to find a killer isn't. As the reader I sure had a hard time trying to figure out who was killing people in Wychwood. The victims had no common thread, and came from a variety of classes, and I just couldn't see a motive. I kept taking a stab in the dark and in the end was wrong! I shouldn't be surprised because Agatha Christie stumps me every single time. She definitely deserves the title of "Queen of Mystery" as far as I'm concerned, just for her ability to keep me guessing!

While this is a "Superintendent Battle" mystery he really plays such a minor role and only comes in towards the end of the investigation. Most of the sleuthing is done by Luke Fitzwilliam, along with Bridget, who lives in the village.