“Mrs. McGillicuddy panted along the platform in the wake of the porter carrying her suitcase.”

From Agatha Christie’s 4:50 from Paddington.

After a day of shopping, Mrs. McGillicuddy boarded a train to travel to visit her friend Mrs. Marple. On the journey, another train momentarily pulls up alongside Ms. McGillicuddy’s train and since both trains have matching speed and direction, she is horrified to witness a man strangle a woman through the windows. Her report is practically ignored by the train conductor, so Mrs. McGillicuddy has nothing to do but continue to her friend’s home and share the experience with Ms. Marple. The elderly, mystery-loving Ms. Marple believes her friend and reaches out to the local police, but since they are unable to find any body, the case is set aside. Ms. Marple takes matters into her own hands, and after riding the train deduces that the woman’s body must have been thrown from the train near Rutherford Hall. Ms. Marple then asks Lucy, a skilled short-term housekeeper to take a job at Rutherford Hall to work for the Crackenthorpe family and search for the body in her spare time. Just as Ms. Marple expected, Lucy soon discovers the murdered woman’s body, and the police are brought in to discover the woman’s identity. With a family full of possible murders and no idea who the murdered woman was, Lucy finds herself quickly wrapped up in a dark mystery with thrilling ramifications.

This classic murder mystery by Agatha Christie is a cunning and surprising ride. While Ms. Marple is not the primary detective for the majority of the book, her influence on the direction of the mystery is always present just below the surface. This mystery is possibly one of Christie’s lesser-known mysteries, but 4:50 from Paddington is a must-read for fans of the genre.