Magpie Murders

Reverend Robin Osborne adjusts his sermon before Mary’s funeral. He lives in a cozy vicarage with a warm kitchen, skylights, and windows looking out over a wooded area called Dingle Dell. Since moving there, his wife Henrietta turned the house into a home.

Robin describes how Mary was involved in the church and in the community, and how she worked as a cleaner at Pye Hall. Mary was always around and could be helpful, but she was also a busybody. Robin notes that a few weeks prior, Mary visited the vicarage with peppermint oil to help with a wasp problem and saw something she wasn’t supposed to see. A few days later, she suddenly passed away while the couple was on vacation.

Robin’s wife Henrietta is an attractive woman in her late forties. They have a happy marriage, but weren’t able to have any children. Henrietta objects to his description of Mary in his eulogy, remarking that she was secretive and strange, not fun and lively. She complains that funerals are “completely hypocritical,” and that death makes people dishonest (18). Robin is still nervous that Mary may have seen something she wasn’t supposed to see, although he doesn’t reveal what. At the end of the chapter, he tears up the eulogy.

The next chapter focuses on Dr. Emilia Redwing. That morning she woke up early, and when she couldn’t fall back asleep headed to the kitchen to make tea and watch the sun rise above the ruins of Saxby Castle. Emilia practices medicine in a sleepy town with few serious illnesses. She and her husband Arthur have been married for 30 years in what she describes as a “happy and successful marriage,” and have a son named Sebastian with whom they are no longer close (19). Arthur had been a promising architect but chose to pursue painting—which proved unsuccessful. Several years ago, he painted a striking portrait of Emilia that hangs in their kitchen.

Emilia thinks about Mary breaking her skull in her death as she cooks eggs for breakfast. The two women had become unlikely friends, and Emilia would often come to Mary for advice. Brent, the grounds man at Pye Hall, found Mary after she fell down a flight of stairs. He phoned Emilia, and together she and Brent broke into the locked house in order to get to Mary. It appeared as if she had tripped while vacuuming. A few days prior to Mary’s death, Emilia confided in her that a bottle of poison had gone missing from surgery.

The story shifts to Johnny Whitehead, a local antique dealer, and his wife Gemma. Johnny doesn’t want to attend the funeral, but Gemma insists. Johnny tells his wife that Sir Magnus Pye and Lady Pye won’t be back in time for the funeral.

Gemma asks Johnny why Mary was at the shop before she died. Johnny makes a vague excuse, but in reality, Mary came to the shop accusing him of something. Johnny admits to himself that he “couldn’t be more pleased” that Mary is dead (28).

The novel switches to the perspective of Clarissa Pye, who is getting dressed for the funeral. Clarissa is unhappy with her home in a less stylish part of town, which is all she can afford, and is lonely and unhappy. She is Magnus's twin sister, and describes that they grew up as “equals, happily protected by all the wealth and privilege which surrounded them” (30). When their parents unexpectedly died, however, Magnus alone inherited the estate, leaving her penniless.

After Magnus's inheritance, she worked for a time as a tutor in America, and then returned home with enough money saved to buy a small house. She is envious of her brother, who is unkind and not as bright as she is. She implies that she may be planning to kill him so that she can claim possession of her family’s house and fortune.

Mary’s coffin is taken to the funeral with her son Robert Blakiston and his fiancée Joy Sanderling in the back seat. Robert is 28 and still figuring out his way in the world. His younger brother died in an accident when they were young, and his father left them soon after. Robert was bright but did poorly in school and had trouble connecting with people. After he graduated, he got an apprenticeship at a mechanic through Sir Magnus, but was let go after getting in a bar fight. Robert got a job at the local garage, and lives in a small flat above the shop. His relationship with his mother continued to deteriorate, and they “never really got on well” after he returned from his apprenticeship (33).

Robert injured his hand while working on a car, and met his fiancée Joy at the doctor’s office, where she works as a receptionist. Shortly after, the two began dating, and are now in a serious relationship. Joy aspires to travel and is saving for an Italian honeymoon.

Robert’s mother had always been cold to Joy, which exacerbated existing conflicts between the mother and son. A few days before her death, Mary and Robert argued outside the Queen’s Arms. Although the argument began with a trivial disagreement, it ended with Robert telling her he wished she were dead. 

Magnus and Frances Pye are on vacation when they receive news about Mary’s death in a letter from the vicar. Magnus doesn’t want to go back for the funeral, and expresses dislike for Mary, explaining that he “couldn’t really stand the sight of her” (38). Magnus and Frances are in a loveless marriage, with both parties staying together out of convenience rather than true affection.

The story shifts back to Jeffrey Weaver, the local gravedigger. At 73, Jeffrey has been to a lot of funerals, and dug the grave for Mary himself. Jeffrey reflects on the people who have turned up for the funeral. He is full of “opinions about every one of them,” and remarks on the strange behavior of several members of the congregation (38). Jeffrey saw the Osbornes slipping into the woods by the manor house at night. He also notices a stranger at the back who leaves the funeral before the sermon is even finished. The strange man passes beneath a tree full of magpies, which are a bad omen.

The next section introduces the reader to the famous detective Atticus Pünd. Atticus is a German immigrant and a survivor of Nazi concentration camps during World War Two. He has recently been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and expects to die within “two or three months” (44). He lost most of his family during the war, and has few personal connections besides his assistant, James Fraser. James is an aspiring actor turned amateur detective’s assistant, who helps Atticus solve his cases. 

Joy Sanderling travels to London to request Atticus’s services as a detective. Although Atticus initially says he is too busy, she insists that he help her. She explains her relationship with Robert Blakiston and his background, including the death of his younger brother Tom several years earlier. She describes how people are accusing Robert of murder because of the fight he had with his mother before her death. Joy explains that she was with Robert at his flat that night, so he couldn’t possibly have killed his mother. She is afraid publicizing that she spent the night with Robert will damage her relationship and says that her parents “would die if they found out” (51). Atticus tells Joy that he can’t help her and politely sends her away.

After meeting with Atticus, a disappointed Joy heads back to the train. She wants to protect Robert from any further harm and knows that he isn’t capable of murder. She makes a plan that she thinks will keep Robert safe and “protect their life together” (54).

Frances Pye dines in London with Jack Dartford, with whom she is having an affair. Magnus suspects something about the relationship, and fights about it with Frances. Frances considers leaving him but knows she wouldn’t get any money in the divorce. Although Jack works in finance, he has been unlucky in his investments and isn’t able to support Frances on his own.

Frances tells Jack about Mary’s death, and explains that afterward someone broke into the house through the open window. They idly talk about what would happen if Magnus were to die or be murdered, and although Frances insists that the idea is absurd, she is privately intrigued, thinking that life without Magnus would be “considerably simpler and a great deal more enjoyable” (58).

Emilia visits her father, who has dementia and is in a nursing home. He is confused and ill but seems to want to tell her something. When she returns home, she finds that her husband Arthur is upset and has been drinking. A painting he did of Lady Pye burned, and he found it in the trash at the estate. The painting was also slashed, as if someone had tried to “cut it to pieces” (61).

Alone in the medical office, Joy types a letter. Robert comes into the office and she quickly turns the letter over so that he can’t see the contents. Joy reassures Robert that everything will be okay once they’re married, and that they “don’t have to stay in Saxby” if they don’t want (65). Robert wants to be with her but is worried about the rumors circulating about his involvement with his mother's death. Joy leaves to deliver the letter.

Clarissa Pye prepares dinner for herself when Magnus stops by her house. Clarissa reflects that even though they are twins, they are nothing alike. She brings her brother a drink and makes small talk with him but is unsure why he is there. Magnus offers her Mary’s old job and place to stay at the Lodge House, and Clarissa is furious with him but hides her feelings. She feels nauseous, upset, and “numb with anger,” and doesn’t understand how Magnus could make such an insulting offer (68).

Brent gardens near Dingle Dell. He sees a strange man approaching Pye Hall but decides not to turn back because he is angry with Magnus for firing him and considers it none of his business. He heads down to have dinner and a few pints at the Ferryman. On the road, he comes across Henrietta Osborne looking disheveled and looking for her husband. Later, Brent hears Robin’s bicycle and because “the sound it made was unmistakable,” he assumes that Robin was the one up at Pye Hall (71).

Atticus reads the paper and sees that Magnus has been murdered. With only three months to live, Atticus had not expected to take on another case, planning instead to set his affairs in order. Atticus scraps these plans and decides to investigate the murders. He has James pack their bags and prepares to journey to Saxby-on-Avon.