“4:50 From Paddington” by Agatha Christie – The Unlikely Witness

Agatha Christie has for long been known as the indisputable master of murder mystery novels, always being capable of delivering a solid plot that drags the reader along exactly where it wants to, keeping them oblivious to the clues under their noses and leading to the unexpected unveiling of the criminal nobody even suspected.

Though she did tend to follow certain archetypes or had similar settings from one story to the next, there always managed to be that high-class uniqueness to it all, as can be perfectly seen with 4:50 From Paddington, a Miss Marple mystery.

This is yet again one of her books dealing with a large and wealthy family estate, and this time Jane Marple is launched yet again into the unforgivingly-murderous English country life following a confession by her friend.

A woman by the name of Elspeth was riding calmly in her carriage, and for a brief moment her train passed another one. During that one moment, Elspeth witnessed a terrible tragedy taking place on the other train: a man strangling a woman until her body falls limp.

However, nobody believes her story, mainly because she is the sole witness to it all, and perhaps even more strangely, no dead body has been discovered. Needless to say, that will never be enough to deter the cunning Jane Marple from sifting through a sea of red herrings and unmasking the culprit none of us ever thought of.

Though the title may not be evocative of much for some murder mystery fans, in my opinion 4:50 From Paddington is one of the more engaging Agatha Christie works out there, especially amongst those that find themselves somewhat overshadowed by her other grandiose works.

The mystery itself is really something to behold as we take great pleasure in watching Miss Marple methodically go from one clue to the next, at the same time easily overcoming the many challenges posed by her old age.

Even though the clues seem to be right there (and become more painfully apparent once you've finished the story), the reader's attention is directed in other areas and at the end of it, even though we did have all the tools needed to solve the crime, we still find ourselves completely exposed and appalled by the conclusion.

In terms of structure and quality, this is definitely a work of literature that ought to be used as a measuring stick for greatness.

Even when it comes to the characters Christie outdid her usual self, introducing alongside the few stereotypical actors you'd expect to see, some more complex and unusual characters, such as Lucy Eyelesbarrow for example, who strategically helps Miss Marple and shows a real knack for hands-on detective work.

The dialog does keep you interested in the characters and when you start to think about it, they all feel equally suspicious, and their motivations murky at best.

All things taken into consideration, 4:50 From Paddington is certainly one of those novels you could point at to show people what Agatha Christie's masterful prose is all truly about: an engaging mystery, an entertaining cast of characters (especially the main one, of course), and a propensity to consistently surprise us time and time again.

It is a book I can definitely recommend to anyone looking to become acquainted with Christie's works, or simply to relax and be challenged by the kind of murder mystery that can be considered a classic.

---

Agatha Christie (15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) Personal site Agatha Christie is thought of by many as being the grandmother of murder mysteries. Throughout her novels, which include the classics And Then There Were None and Death on the Nile, Christie developed many groundbreaking techniques for her time, most of which are being used in one way or another by modern murder mystery writers.