When a handful of grain is found in the pocket of a murdered businessman, Miss Marple seeks a murderer with a penchant for nursery rhymes.

Wealthy business man Rex Fortescue collapses when he reaches his office. It is determined that he was poisoned. No one seems too upset, as everyone agrees that Rex was a tyrant. Soon however Rex's young wife also turns up poisoned. The maid, Gladyes, whom Miss Marple trained, writes to Miss Marple asking for help. Miss Marple arrives too late, as Gladyses' body is found strangled and strung up on the clothes line. Now it's personal, and Miss Marple is determined to see the murderer punished.—<[email protected]>

When Rex Fortescue dies at his office, it is soon determined that he was poisoned. Rex was not very well liked and was a brute of a man. His company was facing financial difficulties, much to the dismay of his son Percival. He was also married to a much younger wife who now stands to inherit everything. Into this mix comes a second son, Lance, something of a black sheep in the family who returns home after many years abroad. Oddly, the police find rye seed in Rex's jacket pocket but it is Miss Marple that makes the connection between his death and a well-known nursery rhyme. When a second and then a third member of the household are killed, Miss Marple assists Scotland Yard Inspector Neele in solving the case.—garykmcd