Murder at the Vicarage

In this classic mystery, Miss Marple gets her first full-length novel as she investigates an unholy crime in a clergyman's study. Outsiders might view St. Mary Mead as a sleepy little English village, but elderly Jane Marple sees it differently. A keen observer privy to all the local gossip, Miss Marple knows that beneath that peaceful exterior is a hotbed of intrigue, guilt, and deception . . . Landowner and churchwarden Colonel Lucius Protheroe stirs up a fuss wherever he goes, so it's no surprise that everyone—even the vicar—wishes the insufferable man was dead. It does, however, shock the vicar to find Protheroe bloody and lifeless in his study. While the police are baffled by the crime, Miss Marple has a suspect in mind. But first she must decipher the clues that will bring the killer to justice. Originally published in 1930. "The Murder at the Vicarage was my gateway drug into crime fiction at the age of nine and I've never regretted the addiction!" —Val McDermid, award-winning author of the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series and Karen Pirie series