Murder Is Announced

'A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29, at Little Paddocks, at 6:30pm. Friends please accept this, the only intimation.' Nestled among the usual notices about dogs for sale and appeals for domestic help, the startling entry in the personal column of the Chipping Cleghorn Gazette has the entire village agog with curiosity. Is it a game? And who is meant to attend? The mistress of Little Paddocks, Letitia Blacklock, is also taken completely by surprise. Suspecting her nephew of a practical joke, she's sure of one thing: half the village will be converging on the house expecting a glass of sherry. Sure enough, the evening sees a crowd of residents standing expectantly in the drawing-room. Then the clock strikes the half-hour, the lights go out, and three gunshots ring in the dark. When the lights go back on, the promised murder has been committed. Can Miss Marple work out what has happened and why? One of Agatha Christie's most intriguing mysteries is dramatised with a full cast including Ian Lavender and Jamie Glover.