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Miss Marple #SS 5
Motive v. Opportunity: A Short Story
Previously published in the print anthology The Thirteen Problems
At a meeting of the Tuesday Night Club, attorney Mr. Petherick relates an incident involving the late Simon Clode, a wealthy client. Obsessed by his granddaughter's death, Clode turned to spiritualist Eurydice Spragg to contact her in the afterlife, and then decided to write a new will leaving Eurydice as the benefactor and excluding his family. To everyone's surprise, when the envelope containing the will is opened, the paper is blank. The Tuesday Night Club goes on the case…
At a meeting of the Tuesday Night Club, attorney Mr. Petherick relates an incident involving the late Simon Clode, a wealthy client. Obsessed by his granddaughter's death, Clode turned to spiritualist Eurydice Spragg to contact her in the afterlife, and then decided to write a new will leaving Eurydice as the benefactor and excluding his family. To everyone's surprise, when the envelope containing the will is opened, the paper is blank. The Tuesday Night Club goes on the case…
26 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1928
78 people are currently reading
597 people want to read
About the author
Agatha Christie
5,749 books76k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews
July 18, 2025
Mr Petherick cleared his throat rather more importantly than usual. ‘I am afraid my little problem will seem rather tame to you all,’ he said apologetically, ‘after the sensational stories we have been hearing. There is no bloodshed in mine, but it seems to me an interesting and rather ingenious little problem, and fortunately I am in the position to know the right answer to it.’
Mr. Petherick, the lawyer in the Tuesday Night Club, shares his strange story that concerns a will, if not a direct murder, and still has a not-easily solvable / provable mystery. This was fun story and is a good one to pick up for a quick read. I particularly liked how Miss Marple, as always, picks up on the one insightful clue/ statement that points to the solution, and how she still stays in touch with her younger playful self.
🌟🌟🌟🌟1/4
[One star for the premise and the whole story; 3/4 star for the characters; 3/4 star for the world-building and description; One star for the plot; 3/4 star for the writing - 4 1/4 stars in total.]
Mr. Petherick, the lawyer in the Tuesday Night Club, shares his strange story that concerns a will, if not a direct murder, and still has a not-easily solvable / provable mystery. This was fun story and is a good one to pick up for a quick read. I particularly liked how Miss Marple, as always, picks up on the one insightful clue/ statement that points to the solution, and how she still stays in touch with her younger playful self.
🌟🌟🌟🌟1/4
[One star for the premise and the whole story; 3/4 star for the characters; 3/4 star for the world-building and description; One star for the plot; 3/4 star for the writing - 4 1/4 stars in total.]
April 22, 2025
What is it with so many of Christie's characters getting taken in by spiritualists all the time!?
I'm guessing that was probably a very talked-about THING back in the day.
Ooooh! Did you hear about Gertrude? She's been seeing that Madame Zartan on the regular since her husband died, and I'm pretty sure that wacky bitch is bleeding her dry. I'll bet her kids won't inherit a pot to piss in by the time she's done.
Or something along those lines.
Point is, vulnerable people have always existed to become the prey of unscrupulous snake oil salesmen.
Miss Marple and her Tuesday Night Club sit around discussing the will of Simon Clode, a wealthy old bird who lost his beloved granddaughter and was then fully taken for a ride by a Mr. & Mrs. Spragg, a self-proclaimed medium and her husband. Eventually, he even wrote a will that cut out his nieces and nephews in favor of this charlatan.
Mr. Petherick, Clode's solicitor, is the one telling the tale, btw.
He tried and failed to convince his client not to leave everything to the Spraggs, but in the end, he had no choice but to stand by as Clode wrote out his new will and to watch as the witnesses signed it. From there, he took the will to his office and locked it up for safekeeping.
Imagine his surprise when, upon Clode's death, he opens up the document to find it...blank.
GASP!
I liked this one, even though the resolution was a bit silly.
Originally published in 1928 in The Royal Magazine.
Read as part of the short story collection The Thirteen Problems.
I'm guessing that was probably a very talked-about THING back in the day.
Ooooh! Did you hear about Gertrude? She's been seeing that Madame Zartan on the regular since her husband died, and I'm pretty sure that wacky bitch is bleeding her dry. I'll bet her kids won't inherit a pot to piss in by the time she's done.
Or something along those lines.
Point is, vulnerable people have always existed to become the prey of unscrupulous snake oil salesmen.
Miss Marple and her Tuesday Night Club sit around discussing the will of Simon Clode, a wealthy old bird who lost his beloved granddaughter and was then fully taken for a ride by a Mr. & Mrs. Spragg, a self-proclaimed medium and her husband. Eventually, he even wrote a will that cut out his nieces and nephews in favor of this charlatan.
Mr. Petherick, Clode's solicitor, is the one telling the tale, btw.
He tried and failed to convince his client not to leave everything to the Spraggs, but in the end, he had no choice but to stand by as Clode wrote out his new will and to watch as the witnesses signed it. From there, he took the will to his office and locked it up for safekeeping.
Imagine his surprise when, upon Clode's death, he opens up the document to find it...blank.
GASP!
I liked this one, even though the resolution was a bit silly.
Originally published in 1928 in The Royal Magazine.
Read as part of the short story collection The Thirteen Problems.
January 24, 2026
3 Stars. It's Petherick's turn. The legal member of the Tuesday Night Club has his opportunity to deliver a challenge. The 16 page short story was carried in Royal Magazine in 1928. I read it in Miss Marple: the Complete Short Stories from 2011. Mr. Petherick starts off with, "It will seem rather tame to you all." It's about a second revision in a will. Petherick's client was Simon Clode who had cared for his granddaughter Christobel after her father had been killed in the Great War and her mother had died in childbirth. The girl died at age eleven and Clode was devastated. Petherick explains that the first change in the will had acknowledged the granddaughter's death and directed his estate to go to his brother's three children. Then, when Clode was on his own death bed, an urgent call came for Petherick to assist in making another revision. Clode now wanted most of his money and worldly goods to go to a spiritualist, Eurydice Spragg, who had reconnected him to his beloved Chris. But the new will disappeared. Who had the motive to steal it? Who had the opportunity? He was right; it was a little tame but why don't we ask Aunt Jane? (Se2020/Ja2026)
November 4, 2022
A good story that is easy to deduce but fun to read.
Petherick’s turn this time to narrate the mystery to the Tuesday Night Club. (I laughed at how Miss Marple warns him very clearly right at the start not to narrate anything with legal wrangles! 😄)
The story involves a man who is possibly being cheated by a spiritualist. Unlike what you would assume, the mystery isn’t about revealing the true nature of this medium but about understanding why his will was blank.
I loved the title and how well it suited the mystery. Even the backstory that leads to the events is interesting. The mystery itself was quite guessable, even though Christie tries her best to put across red herrings within the limited pagespace she has. I still liked it enough, not just because my guess was right but also because it springs sensibly from the story. I just wish the writing would have presented a greater challenge – there are so many clues scattered throughout that the deduction is facile.
3.5 stars.
This story is part of the Miss Marple short story collection, The Thirteen Problems.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
Petherick’s turn this time to narrate the mystery to the Tuesday Night Club. (I laughed at how Miss Marple warns him very clearly right at the start not to narrate anything with legal wrangles! 😄)
The story involves a man who is possibly being cheated by a spiritualist. Unlike what you would assume, the mystery isn’t about revealing the true nature of this medium but about understanding why his will was blank.
I loved the title and how well it suited the mystery. Even the backstory that leads to the events is interesting. The mystery itself was quite guessable, even though Christie tries her best to put across red herrings within the limited pagespace she has. I still liked it enough, not just because my guess was right but also because it springs sensibly from the story. I just wish the writing would have presented a greater challenge – there are so many clues scattered throughout that the deduction is facile.
3.5 stars.
This story is part of the Miss Marple short story collection, The Thirteen Problems.
———————————————
Connect with me through:
My Blog | The StoryGraph | Facebook | Twitter
November 1, 2020
The mysterious tales of the Tuesday Night Club continue in this 5th Miss Marple short story. The Tuesday Night Club is a group of six friends -- Miss Marple, her nephew, a lawyer, an artist, a writer and a clergyman -- who meet on Tuesday nights to share stories of unsolved or mysterious happenings. Each week a member of the group shares a story, and the others try to figure out the truth. This time it's the lawyer, Mr. Petherick's, turn. His story is a very classic whodunit sort of story -- a dying man makes out a will, but when the time comes to read it, the document has been altered. Many had the opportunity to do it....but who had the motive and the know-how to pull it off??
This is my favorite of these short Marple stories so far! The story is quite short -- only 14 pages long in the old hardback edition of Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (Putnam, 1985) that I'm reading, but it has a classic Golden Age mystery feel to it. The drama surrounding a death-bed will, a group of relatives and a possible charlatan hanging around hoping for an inheritance, and one sneaky culprit's shenanigans. So much fun to read!
This story was first published in The Royal Magazine in April 1928 (UK) and in Detective Story Magazine in June of that year (US) under the title "Where's the Catch?'' All of the stories were gathered in the short story collection The Thirteen Problems, published in 1932.
On to the next story -- Miss Marple's turn -- The Thumb Mark of St Peter. I'm enjoying these stories immensely! Agatha Christie has been my favorite author since I was 9 years old, but until now I never read any of the short stories she wrote. I'm reading through her writings in publication order just for the sheer joy of it!
This is my favorite of these short Marple stories so far! The story is quite short -- only 14 pages long in the old hardback edition of Miss Marple: The Complete Short Stories (Putnam, 1985) that I'm reading, but it has a classic Golden Age mystery feel to it. The drama surrounding a death-bed will, a group of relatives and a possible charlatan hanging around hoping for an inheritance, and one sneaky culprit's shenanigans. So much fun to read!
This story was first published in The Royal Magazine in April 1928 (UK) and in Detective Story Magazine in June of that year (US) under the title "Where's the Catch?'' All of the stories were gathered in the short story collection The Thirteen Problems, published in 1932.
On to the next story -- Miss Marple's turn -- The Thumb Mark of St Peter. I'm enjoying these stories immensely! Agatha Christie has been my favorite author since I was 9 years old, but until now I never read any of the short stories she wrote. I'm reading through her writings in publication order just for the sheer joy of it!
November 19, 2025
Figured this one out sorta 😍
October 23, 2025
This Miss Marple short story is entertaining if a little lacking in a couple of respects – namely, that the eminent spinster does not really play much of a part and that the author employs a cheat which, after considering such as a possible explanation, I roundly dismissed as too audacious!
Nonetheless, it is a satisfying cozy puzzle, well-constructed, featuring an account related by a lawyer to a group of fireside listeners (Miss Marple among them), of an elderly gentleman prompted to disinherit his family in favour of a disreputable spiritual medium who takes advantage of his loss of a child.
On his death bed he alters his will, and in the brief interregnum between the lawyer conveying it to the safe in his office, several members of the household might have gained access to the envelope in his jacket pocket.
When it comes to the opening of the revised will, the envelope contains a blank page!
Whodunit? Miss Marple swiftly references an errant schoolboy from St Mary Mead, citing his personality for comparison to that of the likely perpetrator. She hands a folded note to the lawyer with the name she suspects.
Of course, she will be right, but one must read (or listen) to the tale to find out.
Nonetheless, it is a satisfying cozy puzzle, well-constructed, featuring an account related by a lawyer to a group of fireside listeners (Miss Marple among them), of an elderly gentleman prompted to disinherit his family in favour of a disreputable spiritual medium who takes advantage of his loss of a child.
On his death bed he alters his will, and in the brief interregnum between the lawyer conveying it to the safe in his office, several members of the household might have gained access to the envelope in his jacket pocket.
When it comes to the opening of the revised will, the envelope contains a blank page!
Whodunit? Miss Marple swiftly references an errant schoolboy from St Mary Mead, citing his personality for comparison to that of the likely perpetrator. She hands a folded note to the lawyer with the name she suspects.
Of course, she will be right, but one must read (or listen) to the tale to find out.
September 22, 2012
I actually figured this one out myself! Fun.
September 22, 2015
It had nothing to do with what we're used to, murder, I mean, but still, it was interesting :)
December 21, 2025
Great story but the details are disappearing from my memory as if some dissolved iodine in alcohol and wrote them with it. But I'll have 6 days.
February 5, 2021
It is Mr. Petherick’s turn to tell of a mystery for The Tuesday Night Club. In his role as solicitor, he was asked to write a new will for a client on his deathbed. Mr. Clode was rewriting his will to leave his fortune to a medium who had been living with him and bringing the spirit of his dead granddaughter to him. In doing so, he was disinheriting his nieces and nephew. Mr. Clode asked the maid and cook to come in as witnesses and asked to maid to fetch his fountain pen from the right hand drawer. She said that it wasn’t there, but found it in the left hand drawer. They wrote, signed and witnessed the will and it was placed in an envelope which Mr. Petherick placed in his coat pocket. He was asked to stay for tea so the niece and nephew both had access to his coat and therefore the will. As did the medium and her husband. When Mr. Clode died weeks later, Mr. Petherick retrieved the envelope from his office safe and found it to contain only a blank sheet of paper. Who replaced the will? Miss Marple knew, as did I, that no one replaced the will. It was written with disappearing ink. Another clever short story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 15, 2024
The problem solvers meet together, The Tuesday Night Club, to think over a problem that seems unsolvable, this week presented by lawyer Mr Petherick.
Raymond West, Sir Henry Clithering, Joyce Lemprière, Dr.
Pender, Mr. Petherick and of Miss Jane Marple complete with her knitting.
A really clever scheme is outlined where there is no logical explanation for events. Each ‘suspect’ had either opportunity or motive none seems credible none has both to fit the crime.
Miss Marple waving her knitting needle draws upon her experiences and naughty boys in the village clearly has the solution. The others remain flummoxed as will you my fellow reader unless you understand riddles about eggs and amused yourself as children with secret messages.
Despite the generation gap I’m sure you’ll enjoy this story as much as I did, typical Christie.
Raymond West, Sir Henry Clithering, Joyce Lemprière, Dr.
Pender, Mr. Petherick and of Miss Jane Marple complete with her knitting.
A really clever scheme is outlined where there is no logical explanation for events. Each ‘suspect’ had either opportunity or motive none seems credible none has both to fit the crime.
Miss Marple waving her knitting needle draws upon her experiences and naughty boys in the village clearly has the solution. The others remain flummoxed as will you my fellow reader unless you understand riddles about eggs and amused yourself as children with secret messages.
Despite the generation gap I’m sure you’ll enjoy this story as much as I did, typical Christie.
June 5, 2018
4.5 stars and I always round up. I loved how, even rereading, I had no clue as to how the thing was pulled off!
The only thing that rubs me the wrong way, constantly, is the way Miss Marple goes about showing off how she knows. It's annoying and tedious and I prefer Poirot's boasting any day to Miss Marple's constant downplaying her own talents. 🙄🙄🙄
The only thing that rubs me the wrong way, constantly, is the way Miss Marple goes about showing off how she knows. It's annoying and tedious and I prefer Poirot's boasting any day to Miss Marple's constant downplaying her own talents. 🙄🙄🙄
July 10, 2023
eponymous sentence:
p11: "...But here we come to a curious point: she had the opportunity of substituting the blank paper, but no motive...."
Smoke and mirrors.
Read as part of the collection The Thirteen Problems.
p11: "...But here we come to a curious point: she had the opportunity of substituting the blank paper, but no motive...."
Smoke and mirrors.
Read as part of the collection The Thirteen Problems.
April 15, 2022
I don't know, I liked the outcome of the story but I did not like the device which took us there!
3/5
3/5
November 27, 2022
A Miss Marple short story. Light and entertaining.
April 16, 2025
this one was good! the twist was unexpected!
October 25, 2019
La disyuntiva establecida en el título y el planteo del cuento ameritaba una resolución más ingeniosa.
Cuento #5 de Los trece problemas
Anterior: “The Blood-Stained Pavement”
Siguiente: “The Thumb Mark of St. Peter”
Cuento #5 de Los trece problemas
Anterior: “The Blood-Stained Pavement”
Siguiente: “The Thumb Mark of St. Peter”
November 20, 2021
Delightful
March 18, 2023
Fun short story.
June 1, 2024
Another Miss Marple short story... this one involving a missing will and a spirtualist.
It's Mr Petherick's turn to tell a story. He tells the story of a missing will, written by a Mr Simon Clode, who changes his will right before his death. The new beneficiary is a spiritualist, who he has only recently met. However, when the will is opened it is just a blank piece of paper.
Oh this one was very, VERY clever. The conclusion to this mystery was so clever that it had me laughing out loud on my dog walk, as I listened. Sometimes the most obvious answer is the answer. Instead I was looking for convoluted clues and as such, I didn't solve it before Miss Marple. Such a clever mystery, and if you like mysteries without murder then this one will definitely be a fun one to solve!
I'm really enjoying these short stories. Each one is really different and they are fun little brain teasers to read or listen to.
It's Mr Petherick's turn to tell a story. He tells the story of a missing will, written by a Mr Simon Clode, who changes his will right before his death. The new beneficiary is a spiritualist, who he has only recently met. However, when the will is opened it is just a blank piece of paper.
Oh this one was very, VERY clever. The conclusion to this mystery was so clever that it had me laughing out loud on my dog walk, as I listened. Sometimes the most obvious answer is the answer. Instead I was looking for convoluted clues and as such, I didn't solve it before Miss Marple. Such a clever mystery, and if you like mysteries without murder then this one will definitely be a fun one to solve!
I'm really enjoying these short stories. Each one is really different and they are fun little brain teasers to read or listen to.
September 1, 2017
A wealthy old man changes his will in favor of a spiritualist who's been keeping him "in touch" with a deceased loved one, yet when it's time to read the hastily handwritten will, it's just a blank sheet of paper. Will the Tuesday Night Club in St. Mary Mead be able to figure it out? Everyone get in line behind Miss Marple! Another fun twist that you feel as though you should've seen coming from miles away.
June 14, 2020
A rather fun humorous story by Agatha Christie. The story revolves around a will written and securely placed in a safe. Once the individual passes away, the will is retrieved a few months later, but, it’s blank? Why? Who removed it and for what purpose? It was really enjoyable following the group trying to deduce “who done it”. But, Miss Marple knew right from the start.
In this story, I felt Miss Marple came over very Poirotesque.
In this story, I felt Miss Marple came over very Poirotesque.
April 21, 2016
Miss Marple: the Complete Short Stories
Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again
Rating System:
* couldn't finish, ** wouldn't recommend, *** would recommend, **** would read again, ***** have read again
March 19, 2014
A case of mistaken identity of an inanimate object rather than murder.
November 28, 2015
This is one interesting story of how something may not be what it seems. I am not familiar with Miss Marple, but I will for sure check some of the work on her out.
September 13, 2016
Another great Miss Marple where she is able to figure it out when no one else can.
December 15, 2017
Working my way threw the complete short stories
May 23, 2018
A bit slow at the beginning, but picks up quick, and serves a very nice mystery.
March 7, 2019
Audio CD. Realizing that I'm just not a fan of the Miss Marple stories. They're a little too convenient as they make Marple seem like an armchair detective with a good guessing ability.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 62 reviews