Plot+Analysis

Plot Analysis

 * Initial Situation**

A murder is announced at Little Paddocks, home of Leticia Blacklock. Many pass it off as a joke. Things start of quite casually, taking time to introduce all the characters and giving background information.


 * Conflict**

The murder turns out to be real, and Rudi Sherz ends up dead. Inspector Craddock, along with the others, must figure out who committed the murder. This task is quite daunting because in the confusion of the murder, each person who experienced it saw something different.


 * Complication**

Craddock must navigate through multiple red herrings, both deliberate and non-deliberate. Things also get even more complicated when more people end up dead...the murderer keeps on striking.


 * Climax**

Having been recruited by Inspector Craddock, Miss Marple puts all the pieces of the puzzle together and shows, with the help of the acting of others, that Leticia Blacklock, who is actually Charlotte Blacklock, committed the murders.


 * Suspense**

There is much suspense throughout this whodunit novel. The reader doesn't know who the killer actually is until the very end. Like Inspector Craddock, the reader must navigate through multiple red herrings, and the conflicting stories of the characters.


 * Denouement**

In the Evening at the Vicarage, Miss Marple explains the full story to the characters, and as a result, the readers. Everything comes together, finally.


 * Conclusion**

Everyone seems to live happily ever after. Edmund, who marries Phillipa, writes an extremely successful play, and then returns with his wife to Chipping Cleghorn.