4:50 from Paddington - Agatha Christie

Yes, yet another Agatha Christie review I'm afraid. Come on, stick with me, there's only a couple of titles left on Dooyoo to review (Murder on the Orient Express and And Then There Were None). Then I'll give you all a break. Fortunately Dooyoo does not have the 90 strong Christie collection available for review :) It's 1957. Christmas is 5 days away, and Elspeth McGillicuddy forces her way through the hustle and bustle of Paddington railway station to reach Platform No. 3 for The 4:50 to Brackhampton, on her way to visit an old friend. She boards. As the train begins it's long journey she has a short nap. A porter passes down the ...  Read the complete review

At the end of a long journey to London and a day's shopping, Elspeth McGillicuddy doubtless felt like doing nothing more than resting before meeting her friend, Miss Jane Marple and indeed, when her train - the 4.50 pm from Paddington, departs, she is able to manage a 35 minute sleep upon it. But events are conspiring to ensure that the end of the journey will not be as relaxing. When another train runs parallel for a few minutes Elspeth finds herself watching it, which places her in the ideal position to witness a horrific tableau. As the blinds on one of the carriages opposite her fly open the scene shows a man, his back turned to Elspeth, ruthlessly strangling a ...  Read the complete review

This edition was published in 2005 as part of the Marple TV tie-in series and, rather like a DVD, has added extras to entice the reader. These consist of colour photographs of the cast on the set of the new TV dramatisation, which stared Geraldine McEwan as Christie's famous detective Miss Jane Marple, as well as behind the scenes interviews and a cast list. First published in 1957 by Harper Collins, this limited edition paperback would be a treat for fans, but in any case is one of Christie's best. Returning on the train from Christmas shopping in London, Elspeth McGillicuddy witnesses a man strangling a young woman as her carriage draws alongside ...  Read the complete review

Most murder mysteries start with a body being discovered, but not this one. One of Miss Marple's friends has witnessed a murder but, as a clever twist on the genre, the first mystery is where the body is. The body is found, and the story proceeds with a mixture of clues and red herrings. Throughout the story, various characters are introduced and developed, although, as is often the case in the Miss Marple series, the 'main' character takes somewhat of a background role through most of the action (I'm reminded of 'The Moving Finger', in which she doesn't arrive until the last few chapters!). However, especially when reading several ...  Read the complete review

I am a big fan of Agatha Christie, and believe that the Miss Marple series is superior to the Poirot stories. Both are great, but I find that the Miss Marple mysteries are just as good but often with a far better story as well. I find that the rather more mundane setting usually leads to a far better tale, often more believable than Poirot's high-class cases. 4.50 From Paddington is just one of these Miss Marple mysteries. Just for the uninitiated, Miss Marple is an elderly English spinster whose apparently sheltered life in a quiet village has given her an incisive knowledge of human nature. In this particular puzzle, a friend of Miss Marple's sees, as she ...  Read the complete review