| Jerry Burton, a recovering pilot, and his sister Joanna rent a small house in Lymstock, a small village in the English countryside. They soon receive an anonymous letter accusing them to be lovers and not brother and sister. They don't mind at all but, after a few discussions with some of Lymstock inhabitants, they learn that, for some time now, somebody is sending such letters to most of the local people. A few days later, the wife of the town lawyer commits suicide after having read one of these anonymous letters.
Although the local police investigates, the writer goes on with his detestable writings and, of course, everybody starts to suspects everybody. When Agnes, a servant, is found murdered, the minister's wife decides to ask one of her friends, Mrs. Marple, to come to Lymstock to observe the little community and search for the author of the letters. With the help of Mrs. Marple, Jerry Burton will finally understand that the letters may be a decoy that hides the real motives of the murderer. | ||
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Plot & Themes Tone of story - suspenseful (sophisticated fear) How difficult to spot villain? - Challenging Time/era of story: What % of story relates directly to the mystery, not the subplot? - 70% Kind of investigator Any non-mystery subplot? descript. of violence and chases - 0 % Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40 % Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20 % How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 40 % Crime Thriller Yes Crime plotlets: Murder Mystery (killer unknown) Yes General Crime (including known murderer) Yes Main Character Gender - Male Profession/status: Age: - 20's-30's Ethnicity/Race Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 40's-50's Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters Setting Europe Yes European country: - England/UK Small town? Yes Small town people: - nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee Writing Style Accounts of torture and death? - moderately detailed references to deaths Unusual forms of death - poisoning Unusual form of death? Yes Amount of dialog - significantly more dialog than descript |
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