Investigating Evil: Heroic Sleuths and Their Exceptional Cases

This book is a collection of essays about heroic, intelligent, perceptive, and resourceful private citizens with exceptional investigative capacities and their exemplary and important contributions to noteworthy criminal cases which are discussed in literary masterpieces by Agatha Christie and Dorothy Bowers. These citizen sleuths are motivated by a strong moral courage, by a commitment to examine the evidence in any case meticulously and thoroughly, by a spirit of civic devotion, by a dedication to searching carefully and honestly for the truth, and by a strong belief in ethical values, fairness, and justice so that the security and wellbeing of a community can be supported and preserved. These citizen sleuths, who often collaborate effectively with law enforcement officials in criminal investigations, all passionately share Miss Marple's belief, which she expresses in Chapter Twenty-eight of Agatha Christie's A Pocket Full of Rye, that it is vital "that wickedness shouldn't triumph" in everyday life and in society. Each of the four chapters focuses on a different type of malevolent character which these citizen sleuths notice and investigate: murderous family members, treacherous friends, devilish figures, and corrupt officials who abuse and exploit their positions of authority. The conclusion examines several fascinating cold case scenarios in the works of Agatha Christie.