The Alphabetical Murder Campaign

The A.B.C. Murders

This thread traces the apparent sequence of alphabetical murders from a private challenge into a public campaign that ultimately conceals a different crime.

increasing

Bearing strength in each event

decreasing

The First Warning The First Warning from "The A.B.C. Murders". A Challenge Arrives The warning An anonymous letter tells Hercule Poirot to watch Andover on June 21.

The First Warning from "The A.B.C. Murders". A Challenge Arrives The warning An anonymous letter tells Hercule Poirot to watch Andover on June 21.

A Challenge Arrives The warning An anonymous letter tells Hercule Poirot to watch Andover on June 21. Its confident tone troubles him more than it persuades the police. The threat takes shape Poirot suspects murder, though Arthur Hastings dismisses the letter as a drunken joke. Their disagreement establishes the first uncertainty of the case.

Andover Begins Andover Begins from "The A.B.C. Murders". The First Murder A shopkeeper killed Alice Ascher is found dead in her Andover tobacco shop, apparently struck from behind while serving a customer.

Andover Begins from "The A.B.C. Murders". The First Murder A shopkeeper killed Alice Ascher is found dead in her Andover tobacco shop, apparently struck from behind while serving a customer.

The First Murder A shopkeeper killed Alice Ascher is found dead in her Andover tobacco shop, apparently struck from behind while serving a customer. Her estranged husband becomes the obvious suspect. A railway guide An A.B.C. railway guide lies conspicuously on the counter. The object turns a local killing into a possible fulfillment of the warning.

The Second Letter The Second Letter from "The A.B.C. Murders". A Pattern Advertised Bexhill named A new letter taunts Poirot and identifies Bexhill-on-Sea as the next destination.

The Second Letter from "The A.B.C. Murders". A Pattern Advertised Bexhill named A new letter taunts Poirot and identifies Bexhill-on-Sea as the next destination.

A Pattern Advertised Bexhill named A new letter taunts Poirot and identifies Bexhill-on-Sea as the next destination. The interval gives the police warning, but no clear victim. A public danger Poirot reads the message as evidence that the first murder was only a beginning. The threat now appears to involve an ordered series.

The Series Expands The Series Expands from "The A.B.C. Murders". B and C A seaside victim Elizabeth Barnard is found strangled on the Bexhill beach, with a railway guide beneath her.

The Series Expands from "The A.B.C. Murders". B and C A seaside victim Elizabeth Barnard is found strangled on the Bexhill beach, with a railway guide beneath her.

B and C A seaside victim Elizabeth Barnard is found strangled on the Bexhill beach, with a railway guide beneath her. The apparent alphabetical design gains force. A delayed warning A misaddressed letter reaches Poirot too late to prevent Sir Carmichael Clarke’s murder at Churston. Each new crime enlarges the public panic.

The Pattern Exposed The Pattern Exposed from "The A.B.C. Murders". The Alphabet as Cover D goes wrong At Doncaster, the killer stabs George Earlsfield, apparently mistaking him for Roger Downes.

The Pattern Exposed from "The A.B.C. Murders". The Alphabet as Cover D goes wrong At Doncaster, the killer stabs George Earlsfield, apparently mistaking him for Roger Downes.

The Alphabet as Cover D goes wrong At Doncaster, the killer stabs George Earlsfield, apparently mistaking him for Roger Downes. The deviation reveals that the pattern may be theatrical rather than binding. A hidden purpose Poirot concludes that the sequence disguises Franklin Clarke’s murder of his brother. The supposed campaign has protected the real motive by making unrelated murders look connected.

June 1935, before the Andover murder

June 21–22, 1935

July 25, 1935

July 25 and July 30, 1935

September 1935, after the Doncaster murder