In the rural idyll of St Mary Mead, a murder has taken place. The despised Major Protheroe is found dead in the vicarage study by Reverend Leonard Clement. Though the Major had many enemies, the violence of his death shocks the sleepy village and starts the tongues of the local gossips wagging. The first suspects are the Major’s beautiful young wife, Anne, and her purported lover, handsome artist Lawrence Redding. But St Mary Mead is full of secrets, and the real killer could be anyone. Was it Protheroe’s daughter, Lettice, set to inherit a fortune? Then there’s Dr Stone, an archaeologist whose story isn’t adding up, and Mrs Lestrange, a woman no one seems to know anything about. Even the Vicar’s own wife could be a suspect. Miss Marple is the only person perceptive enough to see through the façade of polite society — and once she turns her attention to someone, their true nature is fully exposed .