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In Chipping Cleghorn, een klein Engels dorpje, wordt door middel van een advertentie in de dorpskrant een moord aangekondigd. De tijd en de plaats staan erbij: huize Little Paddocks, vrijdag 29 oktober, des avonds om half zeven. Hoewel de meeste dorpsbewoners denken dat het om een grap gaat, zijn er die vrijdagavond toch - zij het onopvallend - heel wat mensen op de been om te kijken wat er op Little Paddocks gebeuren zal. Daarbij is ook miss Marple.

Bespreking

One of Agatha Christie's most ingenious plots

In the small English village of Chipping Cleghord something quite remarkable is published in the advertisement section of the local Gazette. Most advertisements are about antique cars for sale, puppies for adoption or lovers seeking reunions, but not this particular one. This one advertises murder. "A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30 p.m. Friends please accept this, the only intimation." Needless to say that quite a party of people appears at Little Paddocks at the appointed hour. Alas, when it turns out to be all but a joke, only Miss Jane Marple seems to have a clue about what really happened.
This book, published in 1950, was claimed to be Agatha Christie's 50th novel, although not everyone agreed to this number, due to of a few short story collections. It certainly is one of the most memorable books she ever wrote. As always, the personalities of Miss Marple's friends create ample opportunities to introduce subtle sparks of humour to the story. Quite remarkable are the characters of Amy Murgatroyd and Miss Hinchcliff. This was certainly the first time Agatha Christie went this far portraying obviously "gay" people in one of her novels.
The plot itself is quite ingenious, even measured against Agatha's high standards, while the suspense is present from the very beginning until the final revelation. But most importantly the outcome is unscrupulously fair, since the book is scattered with clues - but also with quite a few of her famous red herrings. You need to note down every little detail if you want to catch the murderer before our old friend Miss Marple does.
This book is a must-read for every Agatha Christie addict or fan of a good detective story.