He solved the case and prevented from anyone else becoming a victim. This story is an extremely typical detective story as it has the hero/ maverick and his apprentice crack the case (which they always do), saving the lives of innocent people. It contains vital ingredients for a detective story, suspense, atmosphere, tension and so on. .
"The Lamb to the Slaughter" is written in third person told by an onlooker. The story begins in the home of Mr and Mrs Maloney, the room is the first thing described building an image of the surroundings and creating an atmosphere. Within the first paragraph it describes "two tall glasses, soda water, whiskey. Fresh ice cubes in the Thermos bucket." this gives the idea of a routine of some sort before the story has even started. .
The most dramatic point in the story is when Mary Maloney killed her husband with a leg of lamb, it happens very unexpectedly. Even though the event took place early on in the story Roald Dahl is able to keep the reader interested because they would want to know her reaction and he outcome. The story ends with the detectives eating the murder weapon without realising they were eating the evidence. The last sentence of the story is "And in the other room, Mary Maloney began to giggle" this describes her ironic laughter and the fact that she was able to fool the detectives.
I do not think this is a typical detective story; it does not have the stereotypical suspense of the clue finding. It also does not have the oddball detective which is put on the case. Most importantly the case is not solved by the end of the story, normally by the end of a murder mystery/ detective story the case is solved.
The sentences in the speckled band are descriptive and highly formal it often made it difficult to read the sentences because of the length and complexity. For example the sentence which begins "when you combine the ideas of whistles at night- and ends "I think that there is good ground to think that the mystery may be cleared along those lines.