In Agatha Christie's A Murder Is Announced, an announcement in the local paper states the time and place of an imminent murder. The local villagers read the announcement and mistake it for an invitation. When an unknown visitor to Miss Blacklock's Victorian home dies under the prescribed circumstances, Miss Marple turns up to solve the case.

The book illustrates how the effects of World War II lasted long after the conflict was over. Although Mrs. Swettenham claims “we've got over all that” (3), Christie presents an England still negotiating postwar challenges, including economic austerity and changes to the fabric of society.

The novel concludes with Pip and Emma (formerly “Phillipa” and “Julia”) inheriting their rightful fortune. Pip and Edmund then marry and settle in Chipping Cleghorn.