A Murder is Announced: pm ... The ad in the local paper is a joke, of course. In bad taste, of course. But none of Miss Blacklock's friends can resist calling on her at the appointed hour. Certainly not Miss Marple ... At 6:30 precisely the lights go out

The villagers of Chipping Cleghorn, including Jane Marple, are agog with curiosity over an advertisement in the local gazette which read: 'A murder is announced and will take place on Friday October 29th, at Little Paddocks at 6:30 p.m.' Unable to resist the mysterious invitation, a crowd begins to gather at Little Paddocks at the ppointed time when, without warning, the lights go out . . .