Agatha Christie’s Greenshaw’s Folly, Summary Automatic translate

The story, published in 1960, is typical Christie: a complex plot, deception and revelation through Miss Marple’s observation.

Raymond West, a writer, shows his friend, literary critic Horace Bindler, the eccentric mansion Greenshaw’s Folly, built in the 19th century by Nathaniel Greenshaw. The house, which combines elements of different architectural styles, attracts Horace, who collects unusual buildings. They meet the owner, Miss Greenshaw, the last of her line, an eccentric elderly woman who talks about her family and asks them to witness a will, supposedly in favor of the housekeeper Mrs. Cresswell. She hides the will in a book, Lady Audley’s Secret.

Louise Oxley, an acquaintance of Raymond’s, gets a job with Miss Greenshaw to work on her grandfather’s diaries. Soon Louise witnesses a shocking event: Miss Greenshaw, struck in the throat by an arrow, dies, and Louise and Mrs. Cresswell are locked in their rooms. The police suspect the housekeeper, the gardener Alfred Pollock and the nephew Nat Fletcher, but they all have alibis.

Miss Marple, Raymond’s aunt, solves the case. She suggests that Mrs. Cresswell and Nat Fletcher, possibly mother and son, had killed the real Miss Greenshaw earlier and staged the murder on the day of the crime. Mrs. Cresswell, dressed as Miss Greenshaw, faked the attack to confuse the investigation. Nat, using the police uniform from the play, helped complete the plan by killing the now unconscious Miss Greenshaw.

The will turns out to be a sham: Miss Greenshaw left everything to Alfred, her distant relative, rather than to her housekeeper. The motive for the murder is Mrs Cresswell’s belief that she is the heir. Miss Marple confirms her theory when she discovers that the "weeding" in the garden has been poorly done, indicating that Miss Greenshaw has been replaced.