Motive vs. Opportunity cover art

Motive vs. Opportunity

A Miss Marple Short Story

Preview
Try Premium Plus free
1 credit a month to buy any audiobook in our entire collection.
Access to thousands of additional audiobooks and Originals from the Plus Catalogue.
Member-only deals & discounts.
Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Motive vs. Opportunity

By: Agatha Christie
Narrated by: Katy Lawrence
Try Premium Plus free

Auto-renews at $16.45/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for $7.99

Buy Now for $7.99

About this listen

At an intimate gathering of the Tuesday Night Club, solicitor Mr. Petherick recounts the perplexing case of Simon Clode, a wealthy widower shattered by the loss of his granddaughter. Consumed by grief, Clode places his trust in sinister American spiritualists, the Spraggs, eventually rewriting his will: his nieces and nephew receive a modest legacy, while the rest goes to the Spraggs, his trusted mediums.

But at Clode's deathbed signing, everything goes awry. The sealed will is opened, and it's blank. The Spraggs had every opportunity to tamper with it, but no reason. They were already poised to inherit. His relatives had every motive to nullify the will, but lacked opportunity. In classic Christie fashion, Miss. Marple, drawn in by the puzzle, reveals the elegant deception: a disappearing ink pen planted among the servants, allowing Clode himself to overwrite his will before death, ensuring his true heirs remain protected.

This short story is a masterclass in Christie's brand of logic driven mystery: subtle clues, everyday objects turned weapons of intrigue, and a closed circle of suspects where nothing is as it seems.

Public Domain (P)2025 Story House Audio
Classics Mystery Short Story
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.