The Worst Agatha Christie story.

I didn't listen beyond the three - quarter mark. Never have I listened to anything so tedious. The actors performances were excellent, sadly they were let down by the story.

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1 person found this helpful

Very tedious cold war espionage plot - i think

I love Agatha Christie and have most of the audio books. High Fraser is a great narrator. But this book is tedious. I've tried listening twice but just can't keep any interest. The plot starts well, with a mystery lady who is a spy. But then meanders around being very waffly and long drawn out for an eternity. Got no idea if it comes together at the end. Seems to be about double and trip!e agents post the kim philby era. published 1970. Sad to say, not a classic!

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Not a clue.

A very different Christie story. I was totally confused from beginning till end. Good Narrator though.

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4 people found this helpful

Preposterous but fun

A ridiculous story with a rushed, confusing and incomplete ending, beautifully narrated by the wonderful Hugh Fraser.

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Bonkers from start to finish

This one is completely daft, but if you approach it on its own terms, it's good fun (and the more tedious passenges are great for falling asleep to if you suffer from insomnia). While the story is nonsensical, characters aren't great, and the whole thing rambles on, it's a fascinating insight into what was on the minds of people of Christie's age and background around 1970s--civil unrest, youth movements, spies and defections, weaponized science, and somehow Hitler still comes into it! Hugh Fraser's reading is marvellous as always. As I said, it's a great one if you have insomnia; the plot is so surreal it will never make sense anyway, so you may as well drift in and out of sleep while you listen. I have a soft spot for this one.

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Not a traditional Agatha Christie

If you are after a traditional Agatha Christie murder mystery then this audiobook is not for you. Passenger to Frankfurt is a thriller that focuses on concepts of youth revolution, and, whilst as well written as all Agatha Christie works are, it does at times get bogged down in expounding theories of international politics. It came across to me more as the personal musings of an 80 year old woman trying to make sense of the 1970s world around her, than as a fast-paced thriller. More theory and concept, than action and adventure. Not a bad book by any means, but just don't expect a cosy Poirot country house murder mystery.

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11 people found this helpful

GREAT BUCHAN TYPE SPY TALE FROM AGATHA CHRISTIE!

Without having checked that this title did not feature either Hercule Poirot or Miss Marple as the work's central figure, instead I found I enjoyed the book without either of the two aforementioned private or amateur detectives. The deliciously familiar voice of narrator, Hugh Fraser provided a link with Agatha Christie. The author demonstrates her immense versatility with this spy thriller. I can unreservedly recommend 'PASSENGER TO FRANKFURT'. From the start the book pulled me in and needed no fantastic gadgets or other escapology to aid the hero and heroine, not to help prop up the story. Christie's work certainly stands the test of time, and part of her genius lies in the pace and sense of anticipation that give her books the hypnotic power over almost countless millions of readers. I found the protagonists sympathetic, and interesting enough for my continued listening. It might have been the less than usual genre for Agatha Christie, or possibly the lack of swearing, fruity descriptions of dead bodies, or fantastic methods of killing that have become an expected feature in much contemporary work of this sort. but the plot is terrific and leaves the narrative flow unimpeded. It might, in a strange way, have worked in a counter-intuitive way, I am impervious to the bloody descriptions and flow of filthy language provided it is in context. Whatever the formula, Agatha Christie's 'Passenger to Frankfurt' is a delicious treat. I give the book full marks in every respect, story, narrator and a Christie weaving her usual magic allowing me a the treat of forgetting the world except the one in which this excellent plot unfolds.

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2 people found this helpful

World Domination!

I read this book when it was first published, and I've just enjoyed It again but listening this time. Hugh Fraser is brilliant. When Agatha Christie wrote this book the world was completely different from what It is now. It was a time when people were living in an insecure world; fear for the future of Mankind made them apprehensive as rumours of unrest, civil and otherwise, were spread by the media (not a term used much at that time). Home-grown spies were coming out of the woodwork and defecting, before they could be arrested as the traitors they were, to the countries who'd paid them to betray their country. And this was happening in other parts of the world, too. Scientists disappeared in what the newspapers called 'The Brain Drain'. Where they went or who they worked for or what they were doing, we had no idea but it all added to the unrest. It really was an era of great suspicion. Who or what could you trust? And I think the reader has to take this into account when reading or listening to the book. Yes, our flamboyant central figure is a bit over the top but it got him noticed which I think was his goal; a character to be taken with a pinch of salt and not considered a threat. A good book and I wonder, with the world in the turmoil it is today, if Miss Christie had had a vision of the future.

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Can't rate it as I can't listen to it!

Would you try another book written by Agatha Christie or narrated by Hugh Fraser?

If I could have listened to this one, or had a response from your help team, then probably yes. Already have a large collection of Agatha Christie audio books downloaded from iTunes without any problem.

What will your next listen be?

Won't be buying another one!

Any additional comments?

Very disappointed with the whole thing 😠

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tedious plot

I love Christie but struggled to get to the end of this one. The plot was so far fetched it simply was too unbelievable and I didn't engage with the characters. Rather disappointing.

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3 people found this helpful