Lamb to the Slaughter published in 1953 is about a mother named Mary Maloney who is six months pregnant waiting for her husband to get home from work. Usually when Patrick Maloney, her husband gets home from work they go out to dinner. When Patrick comes home he is in a strange mood and takes a stronger drink than usual. Mary tries comforting him by asking him if he would like any food or crackers. Patrick denied her service and asked her to sit down, announcing he has important matter to discuss with her. It is implied that Patrick wants to divorce Mary, and tells her she will be supported and provided by him. Also, he says that he does not want any fuss because of his position at work in the police force. When Mary hears this news, she is in
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Mary calls the police reporting her husband had been killed. Two police officers, one’s name Jack Noonan, arrive at the house. Mary is familiar with both men, as she knows most of Patrick’s friends from the police department. They begin the investigation of Patrick’s murder by asking Mary her story of what had happened that night as she came home to Patrick’s body. Noonan comforts Mary and asks if she would like to stay at her sisters for the night, but Mary denies and wants to stay at her house. Doctors and other specialists arrive to examine the body, and the police inform them that he was killed by getting his in the head with a large instrument, mostly made of steel."That's the hell of a big club the gut must've used to hit poor Patrick," one of them was saying. "The doc says his skull was smashed all to pieces just like from a sledgehammer" (Dahl, 116). The police continue the investigation and search for the instrument, but had no luck finding it. As the men are finishing up the investigation, Mary offers the men to eat the lamb that she had cooked for dinner. "Personally, I think it's right here on the premises."
Mary calls the police reporting her husband had been killed. Two police officers, one’s name Jack Noonan, arrive at the house. Mary is familiar with both men, as she knows most of Patrick’s friends from the police department. They begin the investigation of Patrick’s murder by asking Mary her story of what had happened that night as she came home to Patrick’s body. Noonan comforts Mary and asks if she would like to stay at her sisters for the night, but Mary denies and wants to stay at her house. Doctors and other specialists arrive to examine the body, and the police inform them that he was killed by getting his in the head with a large instrument, mostly made of steel."That's the hell of a big club the gut must've used to hit poor Patrick," one of them was saying. "The doc says his skull was smashed all to pieces just like from a sledgehammer" (Dahl, 116). The police continue the investigation and search for the instrument, but had no luck finding it. As the men are finishing up the investigation, Mary offers the men to eat the lamb that she had cooked for dinner. "Personally, I think it's right here on the premises."