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A review by obsidian_blue
4:50 from Paddington by Agatha Christie
5.0
I have to say that for any mystery enthusiasts out there you have to make sure that you read Agatha Christie. I cannot get over how many books this woman wrote and how she manages to surprise me every time with her endings.
4:50 from Paddington begins with Mrs. Elspeth McGillicuddy taking a train to visit a friend in St. Mary Mead (we all know who this friend is if you have ever read a Miss Marple novel before) for the Christmas holiday. After awakening from a nap, Mrs. McGillicuddy sees a woman being strangled to death in a train that is running parallel with her own. When she arrives at Miss Marple she is relieved to see that her friend believes her. Though Mrs. McGillicuddy has planned trips abroad and leaves, Miss Marple continues to investigate.
There was a unique cast of characters involved in this story and I was very happy to read the remarks made about previous cases such as "A Murder is Announced" and that we get to hear from previous characters from prior novels such as Griselda from "The Murder at the Vicarage".
Miss Marple through some more investigating determines that if someone did strangle a woman the only place that the body could have been thrown is at one particular stretch of land that is owned by the Crackenthorpe family. With some help from a companion that stayed with her years earlier, Lucy Eyelesbarrow is employed by the Crackenthorpe family and begins to investigate the family and grounds and reports back to Miss Marple.
I found that the main mystery of who the young woman was that was strangled and how was she connected to the Crackenthorpe family was very well done. I am going to say that the ending was a total surprise to me and I once again guessed the wrong person as the murder. There was a little intrigue left up in the air at the end of this novel which drove me bonkers.
Additionally, I thought that the introduction of Lucy was very good and I wish that we would have seen more of this character in subsequent Miss Marple stories.
I am very excited to get to the next book on my Agatha Christie list, "A Caribbean Mystery".
4:50 from Paddington begins with Mrs. Elspeth McGillicuddy taking a train to visit a friend in St. Mary Mead (we all know who this friend is if you have ever read a Miss Marple novel before) for the Christmas holiday. After awakening from a nap, Mrs. McGillicuddy sees a woman being strangled to death in a train that is running parallel with her own. When she arrives at Miss Marple she is relieved to see that her friend believes her. Though Mrs. McGillicuddy has planned trips abroad and leaves, Miss Marple continues to investigate.
There was a unique cast of characters involved in this story and I was very happy to read the remarks made about previous cases such as "A Murder is Announced" and that we get to hear from previous characters from prior novels such as Griselda from "The Murder at the Vicarage".
Miss Marple through some more investigating determines that if someone did strangle a woman the only place that the body could have been thrown is at one particular stretch of land that is owned by the Crackenthorpe family. With some help from a companion that stayed with her years earlier, Lucy Eyelesbarrow is employed by the Crackenthorpe family and begins to investigate the family and grounds and reports back to Miss Marple.
I found that the main mystery of who the young woman was that was strangled and how was she connected to the Crackenthorpe family was very well done. I am going to say that the ending was a total surprise to me and I once again guessed the wrong person as the murder. There was a little intrigue left up in the air at the end of this novel which drove me bonkers.
Additionally, I thought that the introduction of Lucy was very good and I wish that we would have seen more of this character in subsequent Miss Marple stories.
I am very excited to get to the next book on my Agatha Christie list, "A Caribbean Mystery".