The BBC has spoilt us with excellent adaptations of Agatha Christie classics such as And Then There Were None, Ordeal by Innocence, The Witness for the Prosecution, The Pale Horse and The ABC Murders in years past and, this Christmas, we have yet another treat in store — Murder is Easy.
Christmas is the perfect time to cosy up with a good murder mystery, especially a familiar favourite from the Queen of Crime herself. I’ve read and then re-read most of her works but when I saw which one would be on our screens this December, I realised it was one I hadn’t returned to in years — it was time to dust off my copy and get into it.
This book is part of the Superintendent Battle series (although the appearance of the man himself is of the ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-it variety) and the main sleuth is ex-police officer Luke Fitzwilliam. Recently returned from abroad, he finds himself on a London train with the delightful Lavinia Pinkerton who has a tale to tell — she’s on her way to Scotland Yard to expose a serial killer!
It’s very easy to kill — so long as no one suspects you. And you see, the person in question is just the last person anyone would suspect!
Murder is Easy — Agatha Christie
The plot thickens
Miss Pinkerton alleges that several murders have taken place in her village, the sleepy Wychwood-under-Ashe, and she knows who’s next and it’s the local doctor. Within hours of this meeting, Miss Pinkerton herself is killed in a hit-and-run accident in London. Luke puts it down to coincidence until he sees in the paper the obituary of Dr Humbleby, a local doctor from Wychwood…
Interest suitably piqued, he heads off to Wychwood under a ruse to flush out this multiple murderer and vindicate Miss Pinkerton.
The premise of the mystery — a killer with their sights set on the residents of a quiet English village – is a common Christie trope. The story itself starts strong and progressively gets more suspenseful as we stumble across the red herrings and variety of suspects. There’s even hints of witchcraft and a little romance thrown in for added drama.
A little suspect?
The weak link, for me, was Luke Fitzwilliam himself — he has neither the scary intelligence of Poirot nor the charming nosiness of Miss Marple. We get taken with him as he makes many a wrong assumption and at times, it did feel like he was the last character to know what was going on instead of being at the fore of the storytelling.
You can see why the ITV version adapted it into a Miss Marple story, giving Luke a secondary role — even if he was played by Benedict Cumberbatch in that instance.
Despite this — or perhaps because of this — it feels like it was written by a more whimsical Christie and overall, it was a good read (especially as I couldn’t remember whodunnit). There was just the right level of misdirection to keep me guessing to the end and final reveal of the murderer and their motivation was unexpected enough to make it worth the wait.
I can’t wait to see how the BBC treat this twisty-turny story which will air on Wednesday 27 December on BBC One.
by Agatha Christie
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