A Murder is Announced (1950) by Agatha Christie: A Reread

📰 From the first four (based on publication dates) murder mysteries of Miss Jane Marple, I think this one is my favorite. Miss Marple is less "faded into the background" than the other three. She even arranged a rather theatrical performance to induce the murderer to show themselves, so to speak. Much like what Hercule Poirot often does. It's quite surprising, came from Marple, and I liked that.

 📰 The inhabitants of a little village called Chipping Cleghorn (what a charming name for a village!) were not a little surprised one day, finding an odd advertisement in their local gazette: ‘A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6.30 p.m.’ The early chapters are about several different houses in Chipping Cleghorn - our characters to be - revealing how the advertisement had stirred them. And believe me, after three of them, I could cite the advertisement by heart! The general reaction was exciting; they took it as an invitation for a soiree with murder game as main entertainment. And so, all of the characters did appear at Little Paddock a little before 6:30 p.m., with their own "reason" to stop by.  

📰 The residents of Little Paddock, however, saw the advertisement, and were half annoyed and half amused. That is a nasty prank, who would have done that?! Little Paddock belongs to Letitia Blacklock, a sixty-ish spinster who had worked as secretary to a wealthy businessman. She lives with her companion, Dora Bunner, an old schoolfriend whom she had taken in the year before. A young war widow, Philippa Haymes, is also boarding there; as well as Letitia's cousins she hadn't seen before: Patrick and Julia Simmons. Last but not least, a foreign girl called Mitzi, a hysterical creature but a splendid cook. Annoyed as they all were, they did their best to prepare for the inevitable visits of their curious and highly excited neighbors.

📰 When the clock chimed at 6:30, a succession of events started: the lights went out; a man with a pistol opened the door and shot twice; then he collapsed after another shot. After the men from the guests fixed the fuse, the lights came, and they found the mysterious man dead, while the bullet from his shot had grazed Miss Blacklock's ear. Is it a an attempted murder to Miss Blacklock? But why did the man then killed himself? Suicide out of remorse? Inspector Craddock, who investigates the case, is as appalled as the Chief Constable, when enters Miss Jane Marple, an old gibberish spinster who's visiting her friend at Chipping Cleghorn. Of course there's no further question, it was a murder after all. And not just one, for two more are following as the investigation is progressing.

📰 I remember the excitement excitement of my first reading of this book many years ago. The premise is a clever one: announcement to a murder, then the murder is committed with an audience as eye witnesses. What a daring and cold-blooded kind of murder! My favorite part is when the two spinsters who were guests at the Little Paddock (Miss Hinchcliffe and Miss Mugatroyd) are reconstructing the event (the scene is a bit funny but also thrilling). Although, as usual, we don't get to know the final answer 'till the end, I guessed the murderer correctly! All in all, this was a perfectly-constructed murder mystery (the proportion of mystery and thriller, action and reflection, are so well balanced). I guess I have just found my favorite Miss Marple mystery!

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Read for:

Cloak and Dagger Reading Challenge 2026

hosted by Carol @ Carol's Notebook

Lost Horizon (1933) by James Hilton

🗻 Every time I hear the word "Shangri-La", my head always produces the famous luxury hotels in South East Asia. I vaguely know that Shangri-La is a kind of mythical paradise-ish place somewhere near China. But I hardly know that that myth was brought to surface by James Hilton's novel: Lost Horizon. It is, indeed, a remarkable book - half mythical, half adventurous. And this Shangri-La is actually a hidden place in Tibet, near the Himalayan, where time stood still, and peace reigned.

🗻 Four passengers were on board a plane from Afghanistan, to avoid the forthcoming civil war. They were Hugh Conway, a British diplomat; his deputy, Mallinson; an American called Barnard; and a missionary woman, Miss Brinklow. Conway had shown himself as brave, calm, and resourceful, either during WW1, or his service as diplomat, as was endorsed by Mallinson. So, it is not surprising that when the passengers found out that they were probably been kidnapped - the plane flew off course, and the pilot knew no English - they were all relying on Conway's resourcefulness to be in charge.

🗻 The plane finally crashed on top of a high mountain near the Himalayan, and the pilot was dead; but not before whispering that they need to find shelter at a monastery up the valley. When they were about to prepare for the journey to the unknown territory, there came a procession of some Tibetan lamas, who introduced themselves as lamas from the said monastery. Thence they were brought and rescued, and soon Conway and his friends found out the unreality, as well as the reality, of this place called Shangri-La. Shangri-La is a kind of paradise, but at the same time, it could be regarded as prison. For Conway, to whom freedom, peacefulness, and nature have absolute charm, it is paradise. But to Mallinson, who adored the comfort of modern city, it is a prison. The problem is, there's almost no way out from that hidden and protected Shangri-La. So, what is this Shangri-La, with its quality of utopian tranquility and immortality? To say nothing of it being a cross-cultured between East and West.

🗻 I loved how the story was told by Conway's friend's, who, in the end, did not get hold of all the facts. It just added the surreal aspect to the whole story. Is Shangri-La real? Or is it just hallucination from Conway's side? Did this peaceful and beautiful place ever exist? Or is it a mere dream? All in all, it's an entertaining adventure story, with a touch of mystery, and the certain atmosphere you'd particularly find in every story about Tibet.

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐1/2