Murder Is Easy

Murder is Easy is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie and first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on 5 June 1939 and in the US by Dodd, Mead and Company in September of the same year under the title of Easy to Kill. Christie's recurring character Superintendent Battle has a cameo appearance at the end, but plays no part in either the solution of the mystery or the apprehension of the criminal. The UK edition retailed at seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US edition at $2.00. The novel concerns the efforts of retired police officer Luke Fitzwilliam to discover the identity of a serial killer, active in the village of Wychwood under Ashe. He learns that the series of deaths were mistaken for accidents by the locals, while the local nobleman Lord Whitfield attributes most of the deaths to divine justice. Plot summary Upon his return to England after his overseas job in the police, Luke Fitzwilliam shares a London-bound train carriage with Lavinia Pinkerton. She talks to him about her reason for travelling to Scotland Yard: she plans to report a serial killer in her village and tells him who was killed and who will next be killed— Amy Gibbs, Tommy Pierce, and Harry Carter have been killed; Dr John Humbleby will be the next victim. This woman reminds him of a favourite aunt, so he replies politely and recalls what she said. Luke reads of Miss Pinkerton's death the next day, and then of the death of Dr Humbleby, who has died of septicaemia. Luke will not let this rest, and he travels to the village, Wychwood under Ashe. He poses as one finding material for a book on beliefs in witchcraft and superstition, as he investigates. He stays at the home of Gordon Ragg aka Lord Whitfield (Easterfield in the U.S. edition), claiming to be a cousin of Bridget Conway, Whitfield's fiancée, who is the cousin of his own good friend. He and Conway receive the assistance of Honoria Waynflete, a woman who, they believe, may know the person behind the deaths. He talks with villagers to learn the stories of the recent murders, including Mr Abbot, the solicitor who fired Tommy Pierce from his service; the Reverend Mr Wake, local rector; Mr Ellsworthy, an antique shop owner who appears to be mentally unstable; and Dr Thomas, Humbleby's younger partner. People in the village view the deaths as accidents.