The Wheel Spins

By: Ethel Lina White

Narrated by: Candida Gubbins

Travelling home from a European holiday, Iris Carr ends up alone at the station after a quarrel with her friends. Struck by a mysterious assailant and waking up just in time to board the train which will take her on her journey to London, things seem to be looking up after a chance meeting with the affable Miss Froy. But when Iris passes out and reawakens, Miss Froy is nowhere to be found. The other passengers deny any knowledge of her existence and as the train speeds across Europe, Iris spirals deeper and deeper into a strange conspiracy.

Adapted for the screen as The Lady Vanishes by Alfred Hitchcock in 1938, Ethel Lina White's suspenseful mystery remains her best-known novel, worthy of acknowledgement as a classic of the genre in its own right.

©2023 Martin Edwards (P)2023 Soundings

Fun to listen to the book and watch the movies

There are three different movies based on this book all of them titled "The Lady Vanishes". The first an old black-and-white Alfred Hitchcock classic film is a great movie! Old-fashioned but lots of fun. The two more recent movies are also worth watching. The 2nd British version is my favorite. The latest version featuring Cybil Shepherd, Elliot Gould and Angela Lansbury is my least favorite but I love the story and the book so I'm in for all 3! Listening to the book really adds to the experience. The narrator was fantastic! I will look for more books that she narrates because I enjoyed her so much. 5️⃣ ⭐️ all around!

This Book Lost Me

I wanted to love this book. I thought I’d enjoy it as a classic mystery, and instead I got so annoyed by how long it took for the characters to figure out what was going on under their very noses. I understand it’s supposed to be a psychological thriller, but for me, it was just annoying.
The narrator was great though!

Engaging characters and a train-journey mystery!

I thoroughly enjoyed my first reading/listening of a mystery by ELW. The main character, Iris, initially appears incredibly self-absorbed and snobby when she avoids interacting with the other English guests of the hotel after her group of friends depart for England ahead of her. The remaining guests are friendly with each other, except for the honeymoon couple. In contrast, Iris is the one who exerts herself to help someone whom she’d just met, while the others show themselves to be self-absorbed snd selfish when a matter of true importance arises.
I had seen the most recent movie version of “The Lady Vanishes” on BBC, which I enjoyed. I am glad now to have read the book from which the movie versions were adapted, and I am very much looking forward to watching the original movie version by Alfred Hitchcock, which is rated to be the best of the three.
The narration by Candida Gubbins was excellent, and the audiobook was very enjoyable.