Miss Marple, the beloved busybody sleuth, is introduced in this first-ever mystery to feature her brilliant talents. This ordinary, small-town spinster triumphs over the best brains of Scotland Yard! Everyone, even the vicar, said the death of Colonel Protheroe would be a service to the world. Pushy, pretentious, and pompous, the colonel annoyed, frightened, and outraged almost everyone in St. Mary Mead. So when he is found shot, no one is terribly surprised. In fact, most residents are pleased, and nearly everyone in town is a suspect: his daughter, his second wife, the artist enamored with both of them, the poacher… even the vicar. The murder even has two people insisting on taking credit for it themselves. Into this uproar of a crime and its aftermath, Miss Marple steps carefully and shrewdly. With her uncanny cleverness and annoying meddling, the sharp-eyed spinster fits the nearly endless pieces of the puzzle together and succeeds in trapping the murderer.