If I were at any time to set out on a career of deceit, it would be Miss Marple that I should be afraid. - Agatha Christie

Hello, Ximalaya, this is Lindsay from New York. We will introduce Agatha Christie’s books again. It is so hard to pick another one from her numerous masterpieces. Finally we agree that a murder is announced should be the one.

选择这本A murder is announced，而不是其它大众更熟悉的比如尼罗河上的惨案，一是因为它的开头，报纸上登一则启示说好了某时某地会有谋杀然后就真的众目睽睽下神秘地发生了，吊足胃口，先声夺人；第二，作为一个女性作家，阿加莎创造的主角女侦探Miss Marple在探案小说类别里显得非常稀有且突出，我可以说这个人物是独创的填补空白的。阿加莎是一个女性主义者，feminist。这让我很觉得值得仔细跟大家说一下。Lindsay, can you briefly talk about the plot?

At very beginning of this book, there is an announcement in the local newspaper reading: A murder is announced and will take place on Friday, October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m. Friends please accept this, this only intimation.

intimation意思是indirect suggestion，告诉你但又不特别直白的意思， this only intimation这个用法不大常见，多半见于报纸上，就不再另外发卡片邀请函给个人了，这个启示就是邀请，这个意思。Little Paddocks 是案发地址。

Little Paddocks is the name of the place where Miss Letitia Blacklock lives with her niece(侄女）, nephew（侄子）, and housekeepers（收拾房子的）. Her neighbors from town gather at her house in confusion, wondering just what is happening. Then at 6:30 , the lights go off and a masked man appears in the darkness. Two shots from a gun ring out. The lights come back on, there are two bullet holes in the wall by Ms. Blacklock, and her ear is bleeding. Everybody is terrified. They find the masked man on the floor. He’s dead, shot by the gun.. Is it suicide? Another murder? Who knows..? The police begin to investigate, and soon a string of murders begin..

你以为闯入的蒙面陌生人是凶手？结果倒下死去的却是他。这本小说虽然一开始就是吊足胃口加上高潮，但是，那远不是结局。String of Murders, 系列谋杀，是的，不止一起谋杀在这个故事里。

There was this thrill of suspense and urgency throughout the book because of the several murders that occur. Every red herring leads you on, and the real clues are there and obvious, but elusive. It was done in the classical Christie style and yet it’s still hard to decipher each clue.

这本小说悬疑外有一种紧迫感，urgency，系列谋杀嘛，herring是一种鱼，red herring means False clue,错误的线索。人就好像上了钩，拿起书就放不下，特别想解开谜团，decipher就是解密。那么侦探Miss Marple，聪明破案的人马普尔小姐，又是怎么样一个人呢？

Miss Marple is an elderly woman with a knack for reading people. From the way they act, she can deduce what they have done. Miss Marple is quite smart and intuitive（直觉的）. She seems like an elderly spinster （独身未婚）and grandma filled with knitting and teatime, but in reality she has a quick-moving mind filled with knowledge of human tendencies.

Miss Marple可不是福尔摩斯那种聪明外显的侦探。她就是一个小镇上毫不起眼的老太太。Agatha Christie 自己曾经这样说过她的笔下人物马尔普小姐，If I were at any time to set out on a career of deceit, it would be Miss Marple that I should be afraid. 马尔普小姐这样的才是真正的厉害角色，看上去毫无杀伤力，让你放下所有戒备，而她，却把你看了个透彻。

L: Miss Marple doesn’t seem to have a job. Her role in the book is to help the police like a consultant（顾问）. However, she is the real brain to solve all the puzzles. Because she is very lovable, quirky, and comforting, town people like to share secrets or findings with her either casually or intentionally. They don’t think she is dangerous or smart enough to solve any mysteries involving them. They underestimate Miss Marple.