A Murder is Announced

A Murder is Announced
Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie’s most ingenious murder mystery, reissued with a striking cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn, including Jane Marple, are agog with curiosity over an advertisement in the local gazette which reads: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m.’A childish practical joke? Or a hoax intended to scare poor Letitia Blacklock? Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, a crowd begins to gather at Little Paddocks at the appointed time when, without warning, the lights go out…

Copyright (#ud00fe465-4a5f-5c98-a2b9-c6f081d52cf5)

Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

www.harpercollins.co.uk (http://www.harpercollins.co.uk)

First published in Great Britain by Collins, The Crime Club 1950

A Murder is Announced™ is a trade mark of Agatha Christie Limited

and Agatha Christie® Marple® and the Agatha Christie Signature are

registered trade marks of Agatha Christie Limited in the UK and elsewhere.

Copyright © 1950 Agatha Christie Limited. All rights reserved.

www.agathachristie.com (http://www.agathachristie.com)

Cover by Nick Castle © HarperCollins/Agatha Christie Ltd 2016

Agatha Christie asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBN: 9780008196554

Ebook Edition © December 2016 ISBN: 9780007422524

Version: 2018-07-05

Dedication (#ud00fe465-4a5f-5c98-a2b9-c6f081d52cf5)

To Ralph and Anne Newman

at whose house I first tasted

‘Delicious Death!’

Table of Contents

Cover (#u3aa9bc92-5277-5121-97d1-4ddc0d954ddf)

Title Page (#ucaadc502-d916-501d-9150-1a6bc6264df8)

Copyright (#u7e8d0752-57d0-512c-bfa1-1b5db237e46f)

Dedication (#u8f360cac-24a0-56e4-85b4-1478459a7e2c)

Chapter 1: A Murder is Announced (#uabfacf82-9b11-516b-b371-8f3b01be92d9)

Chapter 2: Breakfast at Little Paddocks (#uc57f21ac-58c5-5e8e-80ff-8da7d3925f44)

Chapter 3: At 6.30 p.m. (#u4da60dfe-192f-5aa4-aa05-86bacc09c4ce)

Chapter 4: The Royal Spa Hotel (#u2b743291-9264-549f-82c4-37cc0e630189)

Chapter 5: Miss Blacklock and Miss Bunner (#uce169202-9702-5804-9ddb-e638e4ccb487)

Chapter 6: Julia, Mitzi and Patrick (#ud6362c86-523b-5dfa-9670-da1726d0569c)

Chapter 7: Among Those Present (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 8: Enter Miss Marple (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 9: Concerning a Door (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 10: Pip and Emma (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 11: Miss Marple Comes to Tea (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 12: Morning Activities in Chipping Cleghorn (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 13: Morning Activities in Chipping Cleghorn (Continued) (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 14: Excursion into The Past (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 15: Delicious Death (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 16: Inspector Craddock Returns (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 17: The Album (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 18: The Letters (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 19: Reconstruction of the Crime (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter 20: Miss Marple is Missing (#litres_trial_promo)