It may be any one... The butcher, the baker, the grocer, a farm labourer, a road-mender, or the man who delivers the milk.
Murder is Easy
by Agatha Christie
Genre: Murder Mystery
About: On his way to London, Luke Fitzwilliam comes across an old lady on the train who reminds him of his dear aunt. They get talking and soon she starts telling him of the murders happening in her village. He indulges her, putting it down to wild imaginations. But when he reads of her sudden death in the paper he starts to realise that this old lady, much like his aunt, was right all along...
The Good
This is a really intriguing set of murders that seem to have no clear connection between them. I was straining to find the thread that ties the victims together for most of the pages and went back and forth between suspects, totally lost for a motive other than madness. Luke Fitzwilliam does a poorer job as he falls for Agatha Christie's magic trick at the very beginning - always you have to pay attention to exactly what a character says. Assume and she'll make an ass of you.
The part that I probably enjoyed more than the murders was surprising the romance. The suddenness of it, the Englishness of it, everything about it just tickled me.
The Bad
Most of the murders happen before the story begins and I think the story loses some tension because of it. I would have preferred to have known Miss Pinkerton for longer and watched as the 'accidents' start happening, only for her to not be taken seriously.
The Somewhat Iffy
This is labelled as a Superintendent Battle novel but he doesn't appear in the story until the last few pages. He doesn't even do any detective work, which was disappointing to me as I really enjoyed his character in The Secret of Chimneys.
Overall
A really fun mystery with a satisfying twist and plenty of clues that are easy to miss, and miss them I did.
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