4:50 from Paddington

By: Agatha Christie

Narrated by: Emilia Fox

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's Summary

For an instant the two trains ran together, side by side. In that frozen moment, Elspeth witnessed a murder. Helplessly, she stared out of her carriage window as a man remorselessly tightened his grip around a woman's throat. The body crumpled. Then the other train drew away.

But who, apart from Miss Marple, would take her story seriously? After all, there were no suspects, no other witnesses...and no corpse.

This title was previously published as What Mrs. McGrillicuddy Saw!

©1957 Agatha Christie Limited (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers

A delightful, different kind of Miss Marple!

This is a wonderful story, and quite different from the usual detective tales, in which the detective is in the forefront throughout the story.

In this book, Miss Marple is puzzled by how a man that a friend witnessed killing a woman on a train was able to dispose of the body in such a way that the police cannot verify that the murder even happened. She is determined to solve the mystery, but realizes she is not up to the physical tasks her investigation requires. She thus engages the help of an engaging, intelligent, and enterprising young woman to act as her agent. It's this character's actions that we follow through most of the story, along with a few other investigators Miss Marple brings in. Her agents' adventures are fascinating to follow, but Miss Marple's way of directing her actors is where the true magic of the story is found.

The result is very entertaining, and the narrator does a wonderful job of bringing the written word to life. This book became an instant favorite, and is one that I plan to listen to many times!

2 people found this helpful

Fun story! Great narration!

Emilia Fox brings such reality to this classic Agatha Christie mystery. Clever Miss Marple uses all of her ingenuity to recreate a murder commuted on one train and observed on another. From that point begins a series of events and cast of characters entangled in such ways as to make the recognition of the murderer seemingly impossible. It is only the cleverness of Miss Marple that the culprit is identified.

1 person found this helpful

Loved it love them all

great story, loved her voice. I have enjoyed all the books. even my 10 year old son enjoyed it.

1 person found this helpful

A lovely listen

All Jane Marple fans will be delighted with this audible version. The reader has captured the characters perfectly.

1 person found this helpful

Can't beat Agatha Christie!

I enjoyed this so much! I wanted to drag it out and make it last a long time, but I loved it too much.

1 person found this helpful

Can't go wrong with Agatha Christie

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Great narration and a typical Agatha Christie plot, starring Miss Marple. These stories are just charming, and even though there is always a murder ( sometimes more than one) there is no actual violence and nothing offensive. It's a nice change from the current tendency toward graphic descriptions of violence and mayhem.

Would you ever listen to anything by Agatha Christie again?

Absolutely.

What about Emilia Fox’s performance did you like?

She voiced the characters beautifully, both genders. Really excellent narration !

2 people found this helpful

Narrator Emilia Fox Does A Fine Job

Like other Audible listeners, I put Hugh Fraser at the top of the list for Agatha Christie readers — and when I don’t like a narrator, I simply can’t go on. I had read so many negative reviews of Emilia Fox that I held off purchasing one of her takes on Miss Marple until I finally bought this one to keep me company while painting my laundry room.

What a relief and what a delight to discover that Emilia Fox captures Miss Marple’s intelligence and active mind with such perfection. Male characters don’t come as easily for her, it’s true, but they are not cringe worthy. This book also has a wonderful female character in Lucy Aylesborough (spelling?) who Emilia Fox also embodies with skill and believability.

A fun listen for the Agatha fan — and fear not the narrator!!

Predictable

I called it from the beginning. I really enjoyed the narration. I thought the storyline was a little predictable and drawn out.

my kind of book

Where does 4:50 from Paddington rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I want to read this book for some time getting in audio mAde to better. I get to listen to it over and over.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I like to listen over time some time to help me sleep.

Any additional comments?

I don't know I was what I would do if there was on audio books. for someone with a reading disability. some many book I would have never be able to read. that make me feel so sad. I look books. for someone that read dose not came easy to audio book is a God sent, and a great joy. thank you you don't know what you give people like me.

Great performance by Emilia Fox!

This classic Agatha novel was wonderfully brought to life and narrated by Emilia Fox. I enjoyed the story a lot, and there is a great amount of misdirection and intrigue to keep the reader guessing until the very end.
My only annoyance is the Miss Marple seems to know who committed the murder with about an hour left in the book. However, she doesn't tell the Detective what she knows to help guide him. It's quite frustrating. Either way, it's a great listen full of family secrets and suspicious house guests that will reel you in and keep you hooked