A Murder Seen From a Passing Train: 5 Agatha Christie Books to Finish This Weekend
Mystery and memorable company
Christie’s novels draw readers into the lives of their suspects as well as the puzzle at the center of each story. Her characters include an artist, an elderly witness to murder and a young aristocrat plotting a staged car accident.
The appeal lies in the mix of intrigue and character. As the investigation unfolds, readers spend time among people whose secrets and motives gradually come into view.
Poirot revisits a poisoning
In Five Little Pigs, a woman was convicted of poisoning her artist husband and died in prison. Years later, Hercule Poirot questions five witnesses and asks them to write their accounts of the day of the murder.
Their recollections bring the past back into focus, including the garden, the household and the people around the couple. The cast includes a wife living with her husband’s young mistress and an herbalist absorbed in his potions; the characters are presented with distinct hopes and quirks.
A murder seen from a train
4:50 From Paddington opens with Elspeth McGillicuddy witnessing a murder from a passing train. When no body is found, others dismiss her account, while Miss Marple is also accustomed to being underestimated because of her age.
Marple brings in Lucy Eyelesbarrow, an Oxford-educated mathematician who works in wealthy households. At Rutherford Hall, home to the eccentric Crackenthorpe family, Lucy’s domestic role helps her move around without drawing suspicion as she investigates.
Key points
- Five Little Pigs centers on a poisoning case revisited through five witnesses’ accounts.
- Hercule Poirot leads the renewed investigation in Five Little Pigs.
- 4:50 From Paddington begins with Elspeth McGillicuddy witnessing a murder from a train.
- Lucy Eyelesbarrow uses her work at Rutherford Hall to investigate the Crackenthorpe family.