"Murder at the Vicarage" is a detective novel by Agatha Christie, centered around the murder of Colonel Protheroe in a small English village. Vicar Leonard Clement encounters suspicious characters as investigations unfold to uncover the culprit.
"Murder at the Vicarage" is one of Agatha Christie's famous books, narrated by the church vicar Leonard Clement, who is the vicar of St. Mary Mead, married to a lady named Griselda, and lives with his nephew, who is named Denis. The story begins with a dinner attended by church wardens and staff, including Leonard Clement, Colonel Lucius Protheroe, who is known to be rude and hard-hearted, as well as extremely wealthy. During the dinner, the former jokingly tells the latter that whoever kills him would be doing humanity a service, and the dinner concludes with laughter and fun.
The real events of "Murder at the Vicarage" begin the next day when Leonard Clement unexpectedly encounters Colonel Protheroe's wife in a lamentable situation, as she is having a romantic moment with a young man, Lawrence Reading, who is an artist visiting their village. Leonard Clement assures them that he will not expose their secret, but he feels compelled to inform the young man that he must leave the village. The following morning, there is an arrangement to meet Protheroe to review the church's accounts. However, Clement decides to visit one of the shepherds whom he learned was dying, only to find out that the shepherd has recovered at the last moment. On his way back, he encounters Reading at the vicarage gate, and shortly after, he discovers Colonel Protheroe shot dead at his desk.
The investigation into "Murder at the Vicarage" is initiated with the formation of a committee led by Dr. Haydock, who confirms that the shooting was from behind, while the police, led by Colonel Melchior and Inspector Slack, begin their inquiry. Many witnesses claim to have heard a loud gunshot in the woods but not inside the house or office. Strangely, both Lawrence Reading and Protheroe confess to the murder, but due to the lack of evidence, they are acquitted. The investigation points to several suspects, including Archer, the husband of the maid working for Protheroe, a woman who raised suspicions recently in the village, and others.
Miss Marple, a witness, states that there are seven suspects, who are:
The novel "Murder at the Vicarage" concludes with the testimony of Miss Cram, who was seen carrying a bag in the village at midnight. Later, Clement finds that bag containing a vial of picric acid, and it becomes clear that the bag holds jewelry and silver belonging to the family of the victim's wife. Miss Cram provides much testimony, and in the end, it is revealed that the perpetrators are (the victim's wife and the young man Lawrence Reading) who decided to eliminate him in order to be able to marry. Reading hid a silenced pistol in one of the garden vases for Colonel Protheroe to shoot him, then he enters and writes a letter to mislead the police. The vial of acid found later is merely a chemical ball that the young man placed for the purpose of exploding later to also mislead the police, and even their testimonies were deliberately contradictory to indirectly exonerate each other
