Village Life versus City Life

Horowitz argues that people who live in villages are more likely to commit murder simply because these people are so involved in each others' lives. Susan agrees with this premise after having spent some time in a small village on vacation. She thinks that it is easier to make enemies in this small town setting than it is to make friends. Ironically, the Whiteheads move to the village hoping that they will have a better life there than they did in London.

Horowitz quotes fictional detective Sherlock Holmes with the line “The lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside” (55). Because Horowitz chooses to set not only the murder of Magnus in Magpie Murders in the countryside but also the murder of Conway in an almost identical setting...