What do you think?
Rate this book
Tommy & Tuppence Mysteries #5
Postern of Fate
Tommy and Tuppence Beresford have just become the proud owners of an old house in an English village. Along with the property, they have inherited some worthless bric-a-brac, including a collection of antique books. While rustling through a copy of The Black Arrow, Tuppence comes upon a series of apparently random underlinings.
However, when she writes down the letters, they spell out a very disturbing message: "Mary Jordan did not die naturally." And sixty years after their first murder, Mary Jordan's enemies are still ready to kill. . . .
However, when she writes down the letters, they spell out a very disturbing message: "Mary Jordan did not die naturally." And sixty years after their first murder, Mary Jordan's enemies are still ready to kill. . . .
256 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published October 1, 1973
About the author
Agatha Christie
4,520 books68k followersAgatha Christie also wrote romance novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott, and was occasionally published under the name Agatha Christie Mallowan.
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction", Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime". She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.
This best-selling author of all time wrote 66 crime novels and story collections, fourteen plays, and six novels under a pseudonym in romance. Her books sold more than a billion copies in the English language and a billion in translation. According to Index Translationum, people translated her works into 103 languages at least, the most for an individual author. Of the most enduring figures in crime literature, she created Hercule Poirot and Miss Jane Marple. She atuhored The Mousetrap, the longest-running play in the history of modern theater.
Associated Names:
Agata Christie
Agata Kristi
Агата Кристи (Russian)
Агата Крісті (Ukrainian)
Αγκάθα Κρίστι (Greek)
アガサ クリスティ (Japanese)
阿嘉莎·克莉絲蒂 (Chinese)
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,327 reviews
August 22, 2013
People seem to really dislike this one, but if you go into it understanding it is the last of the books she wrote during the period where her mental faculties were failing, when she was writing things like 'Elephants Can Remember,' it really isn't completely horrible. Tommy and Tuppence are elderly in this story, and much of the banter centers around not being able to remember things - you can tell this was a preoccupation with Christie. Interesting enough as a story though it links a little with 'Passenger to Frankfurt,' a book I feel deserves the reputation for 'Christie's Worst Book' which this book has received.
Generally, whenever Christie tries to get into 'international conspiracy/thriller' territory rather than murder/mysteries, it becomes ridiculous. 'Frankfurt' was much more condemnatory of the 'children these days with their murder and long hair' than this one, but the slight touches upon that theme are the book's low point to my taste.
If you can possibly imagine these books as being part of a continuum of a writing career that spanned fifty years instead of just as something that 'ought to be as good as her best stuff,' this book will hold interest - it is a fascinating glimpse into the way the human mind eventually weakens with age, for one. That sounds frightfully rude, and I do not mean it to be so, but there you are.
For another, this book was notable to me because it is about 90% dialog. People say she dictated these later books into tape recorders to be typed up, so that would explain that little bit of trivia.
The presence of Hannibal the dog really makes me wish that Christie had written an animal story at some point. She did a good job with a dog character in 'Dumb Witness,' as well - she had a real knack for that sort of thing.
By all means do not read this book first if you've never read Christie. Don't read it second or third or even twentieth. But don't decide to never read it if you've read most of her stuff, because not everything has to be 'And Then There Were None' to be worth reading, and Christie's worst is still more entertaining than a lot of other people's best.
Generally, whenever Christie tries to get into 'international conspiracy/thriller' territory rather than murder/mysteries, it becomes ridiculous. 'Frankfurt' was much more condemnatory of the 'children these days with their murder and long hair' than this one, but the slight touches upon that theme are the book's low point to my taste.
If you can possibly imagine these books as being part of a continuum of a writing career that spanned fifty years instead of just as something that 'ought to be as good as her best stuff,' this book will hold interest - it is a fascinating glimpse into the way the human mind eventually weakens with age, for one. That sounds frightfully rude, and I do not mean it to be so, but there you are.
For another, this book was notable to me because it is about 90% dialog. People say she dictated these later books into tape recorders to be typed up, so that would explain that little bit of trivia.
The presence of Hannibal the dog really makes me wish that Christie had written an animal story at some point. She did a good job with a dog character in 'Dumb Witness,' as well - she had a real knack for that sort of thing.
By all means do not read this book first if you've never read Christie. Don't read it second or third or even twentieth. But don't decide to never read it if you've read most of her stuff, because not everything has to be 'And Then There Were None' to be worth reading, and Christie's worst is still more entertaining than a lot of other people's best.
October 8, 2022
Agatha Christie's last novel.
Published in 1973, 3 years before her death at 85 years of age, this was better than you might imagine.
However, it simply isn't her best work for that very reason.
The mystery isn't interesting and the conclusion to the said mystery is even less interesting. Even by Christie's standards, the plot was far-fetched and muddled.
That part of the story really showed her age.
And yet.
Tommy & Tuppence were still wonderful characters. I truly loved seeing them one last time.
They'd lost none of the flirty sparks that made them my favorite Christie couple. Their interactions were still a great representation of what a fun relationship looks like in its golden years.
Read it for Tommy and Tuppence.
Published in 1973, 3 years before her death at 85 years of age, this was better than you might imagine.
However, it simply isn't her best work for that very reason.
The mystery isn't interesting and the conclusion to the said mystery is even less interesting. Even by Christie's standards, the plot was far-fetched and muddled.
That part of the story really showed her age.
And yet.
Tommy & Tuppence were still wonderful characters. I truly loved seeing them one last time.
They'd lost none of the flirty sparks that made them my favorite Christie couple. Their interactions were still a great representation of what a fun relationship looks like in its golden years.
Read it for Tommy and Tuppence.
December 5, 2020
This was the last book written by Agatha Christie.(A couple of unpublished earlier books were published after her death).
I am a bit surprised by the negative reviews.I enjoyed it.It was written by a woman in her mid 80s and she didn't do a bad job.
Christie's early sleuths,Tommy and Tuppence Beresford,make their final appearance.Christie herself appears nostalgic for those days and there are lots of references to their earlier adventure,N or M.
Yes,the book rambles a bit but I didn't mind much.Tomy and Tuppence move into a new house and as Tuppence looks at some books left behind,she discovers a message in one of them,"Mary Jane did not die naturally,it was one of us."
Tommy and Tuppence,as old as they are now,are still determined to solve a crime that took place long ago.The eleven year boy,who left the message in the book,himself died.
Tommy and Tuppence are subjected to a gun attack themselves and a murder takes place as well,as they proceed with their investigations.
Not bad,and sad too as it was her last book !
I am a bit surprised by the negative reviews.I enjoyed it.It was written by a woman in her mid 80s and she didn't do a bad job.
Christie's early sleuths,Tommy and Tuppence Beresford,make their final appearance.Christie herself appears nostalgic for those days and there are lots of references to their earlier adventure,N or M.
Yes,the book rambles a bit but I didn't mind much.Tomy and Tuppence move into a new house and as Tuppence looks at some books left behind,she discovers a message in one of them,"Mary Jane did not die naturally,it was one of us."
Tommy and Tuppence,as old as they are now,are still determined to solve a crime that took place long ago.The eleven year boy,who left the message in the book,himself died.
Tommy and Tuppence are subjected to a gun attack themselves and a murder takes place as well,as they proceed with their investigations.
Not bad,and sad too as it was her last book !
September 7, 2020
1.5 stars -- Woof, this is pretty terrible. There are brief glimpses of the lovely Christie prose that we know and love (and the plot set up was promising), but overall, this is basically a mess that cannot deliver on the promise of the premise. My second to least favorite of the Christie oeuvre
December 7, 2007
A very tedious, dull and disappointing finale for the Tommy and Tuppence series. Not even sure why she wrote it--and I rather wish I had not wasted my time reading it...
June 26, 2018
Mary Jordan did not die naturally
Book #12 in my Agatha Christie Challenge saw me explore the author's 74th detective novel and my first full length Tommy and Tuppence(Prudence) Beresford story. This story was just an o.k experience as I tired of the characters and dialogue quickly.
The older couple have moved to a new lodging "The Laurels" and stumble upon a mysterious cipher that indicates a murder mystery from the early 1900's. As the couple investigate, a series of mishaps descends on their home and T&T soon begin to wonder if someone wants to keep the past in the past.
I hate to be harsh on A.C. especially as I am having such a great time exploring her books. On the other hand, I suppose it's quite reasonable that I am just not going to love them all.
Book #12 in my Agatha Christie Challenge saw me explore the author's 74th detective novel and my first full length Tommy and Tuppence(Prudence) Beresford story. This story was just an o.k experience as I tired of the characters and dialogue quickly.
The older couple have moved to a new lodging "The Laurels" and stumble upon a mysterious cipher that indicates a murder mystery from the early 1900's. As the couple investigate, a series of mishaps descends on their home and T&T soon begin to wonder if someone wants to keep the past in the past.
I hate to be harsh on A.C. especially as I am having such a great time exploring her books. On the other hand, I suppose it's quite reasonable that I am just not going to love them all.
December 24, 2012
I love Agatha Christie. Adore her, even. I read her on practically every vacation, because she's brilliant and fun. Which is why I hated this book so much. It was dreadful for anyone to have written, but especially Christie. Postern of Fate is a mystery with no suspects, no action, no clues, no climax. Did she even have an editor for this? The second to last chapter was a random family reunion that had nothing to do with the story. Perhaps it would've been a good epilogue, but you just don't stick random scenes about your detectives' grandkids in the middle of the mystery's unraveling. The last chapter was supposed to be the "big reveal" but it was so boring that I checked Facebook three times in as many pages. Sadly, this was her last book. I guess she'd just lost her touch. Or her mind.
Tommy and Tuppence and their trusty dog Hannibal were delightful as always, but not even they could salvage this snoozefest. (Probably because they didn't even share scenes most of the time...Tuppence was always in the garden, Tommy was always in London. Hint: if your detectives shine when they're interacting with each other, don't split them up.)
I finished it on principle, but I'm donating my copy back to Goodwill.
Tommy and Tuppence and their trusty dog Hannibal were delightful as always, but not even they could salvage this snoozefest. (Probably because they didn't even share scenes most of the time...Tuppence was always in the garden, Tommy was always in London. Hint: if your detectives shine when they're interacting with each other, don't split them up.)
I finished it on principle, but I'm donating my copy back to Goodwill.
December 17, 2013
Forewarned is forearmed: POSTERN OF FATE was the last book Christie wrote, and is and generally conceded to be her worst (actually, she was dictating into a tape recorder at this time, and had been doing so since the late 1960s, which accounts for the rather conversational tone of the later novels). She was still at the height of her powers with 1967's ENDLESS NIGHT (quite a departure for her), but her subsequent decline was marked and swift (it's now believed that an undetected early senility may have contributed to this). Had POSTERN OF FATE been the last Christie book actually published, it's possible that her reputation might not have recovered from the downward spiral of the later, weaker books (especially the disaster that is POSTERN OF FATE). The success of the film MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS renewed interest in Christie's books, and fortunately she had CURTAIN and SLEEPING MURDER in 'cold storage,' so when she died in January of 1976 her status as "Queen of Crime" was inviolable.
But skip POSTERN OF FATE unless you're absolutely committed to reading all of Christie's books. Or save it for a very rainy day.
12/14/13: For some reason I've felt driven to re-read this one, perhaps simpy out of nostalgia for the person I was who read it almost 40 years ago. And perhaps to re-view it with a kinder eye, making allowances for the circumstances under which it was written. One thing I'll say half-way through is that it's very 'talky.'
12/17/13: I raised my rating by one star. Christie might have been able to handle one such as this perhaps a decade earlier, but she gets lost in the muddle here. It's an affectionate look back at her childhood home, Ashfield, but as a novel it's not only poorly-written but poorly edited, with inconsistencies, meandering conversations, and endless repetitions.
But skip POSTERN OF FATE unless you're absolutely committed to reading all of Christie's books. Or save it for a very rainy day.
12/14/13: For some reason I've felt driven to re-read this one, perhaps simpy out of nostalgia for the person I was who read it almost 40 years ago. And perhaps to re-view it with a kinder eye, making allowances for the circumstances under which it was written. One thing I'll say half-way through is that it's very 'talky.'
12/17/13: I raised my rating by one star. Christie might have been able to handle one such as this perhaps a decade earlier, but she gets lost in the muddle here. It's an affectionate look back at her childhood home, Ashfield, but as a novel it's not only poorly-written but poorly edited, with inconsistencies, meandering conversations, and endless repetitions.
March 30, 2016
The last novel Agatha Christie wrote (published 1973), and it can best be described as out-of-focus. The whole thing reads like a first draft. Where were her editors? (Perhaps her reputation didn't allow serious editing to occur.) Tommy and Tuppence are back, having just moved into a new house, and they unearth a cold case mystery dating back 60 years of the murder of a beautiful pre-WWI spy.
However, Agatha was preoccupied with navel-gazing and recollections of childhood, and the central mystery only occasionally interrupts these endless remembrances. Weirdly, all the characters develop poor memories as no one can ever recall a proper name or term, usually offering 2 or 3 terms for it (for example, in referring to a governess, they also mention "what we now call an au pair girl, but may have also been called a mademoiselle or fraulein, or whatever the term was."). In short, the book is at least 100 pages too long by far.
Still, the book was less painful than just meandering and kept my eyes rolling. It's sad that this was her last novel, but even Meryl Streep has flops. I don't really recommend this, but AC completists may be interested. The personal memories are interesting in a way as a personal insight into AC, but a judicious amount would have enhanced the novel rather than detracted.
However, Agatha was preoccupied with navel-gazing and recollections of childhood, and the central mystery only occasionally interrupts these endless remembrances. Weirdly, all the characters develop poor memories as no one can ever recall a proper name or term, usually offering 2 or 3 terms for it (for example, in referring to a governess, they also mention "what we now call an au pair girl, but may have also been called a mademoiselle or fraulein, or whatever the term was."). In short, the book is at least 100 pages too long by far.
Still, the book was less painful than just meandering and kept my eyes rolling. It's sad that this was her last novel, but even Meryl Streep has flops. I don't really recommend this, but AC completists may be interested. The personal memories are interesting in a way as a personal insight into AC, but a judicious amount would have enhanced the novel rather than detracted.
April 5, 2017
An odd, confused book. A large chunk of information from her autobiography is repeated here, applying it to the world of Tommy and Tuppence. No trace of any logical reasoning. Totally unlike the Dame Agatha I know and love!
I understand that this is the last book written by her, just before her death. In Malayalam we have a saying: "One should stop singing when one's voice is still good." Applies perfectly here.
Enough said.
I understand that this is the last book written by her, just before her death. In Malayalam we have a saying: "One should stop singing when one's voice is still good." Applies perfectly here.
Enough said.
July 16, 2024
this was...something
May 11, 2020
"I like people who stick together and enjoy their marriage and go on enjoying it." So says one of the Beresfords' friends, and I agree. The chief charm of Postern of Fate is seeing dear Tommy and Tuppence once more. Unlike Miss Marple and Poirot, who start out elderly and retired (respectively) in the 1920/30s and age very little for the rest of Dame Agatha's career, Tommy and Tuppence age believably over the years. The "young adventurers" were introduced in Christie's second novel, The Secret Adversary (1922) so it is fitting that she wrote one last novel about them at the end of her career, having already penned a last one for Poirot (Curtain) and Miss Marple (Sleeping Murder). The Beresfords are *exactly* as I would have hoped--unlike Curtain, which broke my heart by having Poirot so elderly and ill, Postern of Fate ends cheerfully, with T&T in their lovely country home with their children and grandchildren (and dog!) around them, and a new mystery successfully solved.
For some reason, Postern of Fate has a poor reputation; I actually dreaded reading it because I had heard such negative reviews. I'm happy to say I was greatly relieved. Dame Agatha, in the last few years of her life in the 1970s, wrote a couple of novels that were strange (Passenger to Frankfurt) or weak (Elephants Can Remember), but Postern of Fate returns us to classic Agatha style. It's true that the novel could use a good editor; I seem to recall that by this time Dame Agatha's eyesight was not good, and so she was dictating. We are reading her thoughts as she spoke them. Therefore, there are an abundance of the "well, you know" type of tics common in verbal speech but usually removed in writing. But all that could easily have been tightened up, and the actual premise is wonderfully intriguing: a clue in a children's book points to a murder of long ago and presages more murders to come. Clues dot T&T's quintessential English country house and its garden, and there's a tie back to their earlier careers as British intelligence agents. The ending is not one of Dame Agatha's epic shockers or anything, but by the time I got there I had enjoyed myself enough not to mind. I didn't really have enough clues to have solved it, but that was better than solving it early and with ease, as I did with Elephants. I would say that By the Pricking of My Thumbs is my favorite T&T novel, but this is a pleasant encore performance.
And so ends my Year of Agatha, which was actually closer to 18 months. I found previously undiscovered gems, as well as some I may not read again. I may work on the Westmacotts at some point, and I want to go back and edit some of these, but for now I'm going to stop at 80 reviews, having experienced all the detective fiction the Queen of Crime ever wrote. The 81st review is my own book, a study of P. D. James!
For some reason, Postern of Fate has a poor reputation; I actually dreaded reading it because I had heard such negative reviews. I'm happy to say I was greatly relieved. Dame Agatha, in the last few years of her life in the 1970s, wrote a couple of novels that were strange (Passenger to Frankfurt) or weak (Elephants Can Remember), but Postern of Fate returns us to classic Agatha style. It's true that the novel could use a good editor; I seem to recall that by this time Dame Agatha's eyesight was not good, and so she was dictating. We are reading her thoughts as she spoke them. Therefore, there are an abundance of the "well, you know" type of tics common in verbal speech but usually removed in writing. But all that could easily have been tightened up, and the actual premise is wonderfully intriguing: a clue in a children's book points to a murder of long ago and presages more murders to come. Clues dot T&T's quintessential English country house and its garden, and there's a tie back to their earlier careers as British intelligence agents. The ending is not one of Dame Agatha's epic shockers or anything, but by the time I got there I had enjoyed myself enough not to mind. I didn't really have enough clues to have solved it, but that was better than solving it early and with ease, as I did with Elephants. I would say that By the Pricking of My Thumbs is my favorite T&T novel, but this is a pleasant encore performance.
And so ends my Year of Agatha, which was actually closer to 18 months. I found previously undiscovered gems, as well as some I may not read again. I may work on the Westmacotts at some point, and I want to go back and edit some of these, but for now I'm going to stop at 80 reviews, having experienced all the detective fiction the Queen of Crime ever wrote. The 81st review is my own book, a study of P. D. James!
June 27, 2018
2.5/5. Probably my least favourite Christie I've read yet (and I've read/listened to almost all of them). Christie's old age (she was over 80 when she wrote this) really shows in this book as some things don't really add up in the end. Tommy and Tuppence were great as always though.
February 26, 2017
Postern of Fate was Dame Agatha's last book. And knowing this, made reading the book rather sad. Not only because it is the last book she wrote but also because she seemed to have written it in a way to emphasize that this truly was Tommy and Tuppence Beresford's last hurrah.
So, we have Tommy and Tuppence in their seventies, moving into a new home in the country, and being reminded by their acquaintances of the great adventures they used to get into. As they start to get settled in their new house, Tuppence finds a book that contains a coded message to indicate that Mary Jordan did not die of natural causes.
But who was Mary Jordan?
The unravelling of the mystery ensues.
While the first half of the book was not horrible and seemed to merely meander through the nostalgia of the earlier adventures of T&T, the rest of the book seemed to pursue a similar line of conspiracy theory as the abominable Passenger to Frankfurt (yes, some of the characters in Passenger also appear in Postern of Fate) and the slightly less annoying Destination Unknown.
Not that I don't enjoy a good conspiracy story, but not if it is told in such a rambling manner, without a logical train of thought, and, of course, not when it is anywhere near as ridiculous as or even reminding me of Passenger to Frankfurt.
So, with all these points against it, do I regret reading it? No. But then, I am a Christie fan/completist and appreciate that she is thought to have struggled with dementia in the late years of her life. A theory which the quality of her writing and plotting in her later books seems to support.
So, we have Tommy and Tuppence in their seventies, moving into a new home in the country, and being reminded by their acquaintances of the great adventures they used to get into. As they start to get settled in their new house, Tuppence finds a book that contains a coded message to indicate that Mary Jordan did not die of natural causes.
But who was Mary Jordan?
The unravelling of the mystery ensues.
While the first half of the book was not horrible and seemed to merely meander through the nostalgia of the earlier adventures of T&T, the rest of the book seemed to pursue a similar line of conspiracy theory as the abominable Passenger to Frankfurt (yes, some of the characters in Passenger also appear in Postern of Fate) and the slightly less annoying Destination Unknown.
Not that I don't enjoy a good conspiracy story, but not if it is told in such a rambling manner, without a logical train of thought, and, of course, not when it is anywhere near as ridiculous as or even reminding me of Passenger to Frankfurt.
So, with all these points against it, do I regret reading it? No. But then, I am a Christie fan/completist and appreciate that she is thought to have struggled with dementia in the late years of her life. A theory which the quality of her writing and plotting in her later books seems to support.
April 8, 2021
Okay it's not great! But I've honestly read worse things.
A good mystery with my favourite of Christie's detectives as the main characters.
Yes there's lots of dialogue, the plot gets a bit muddled and the clues are easy to spot and the mystery fairly easy to solve but still a fairly lighthearted read and again it proves murder and mystery is not just for the young!
Oh and any book that gives dialogue to a dog can't be that bad surely 😉
A good mystery with my favourite of Christie's detectives as the main characters.
Yes there's lots of dialogue, the plot gets a bit muddled and the clues are easy to spot and the mystery fairly easy to solve but still a fairly lighthearted read and again it proves murder and mystery is not just for the young!
Oh and any book that gives dialogue to a dog can't be that bad surely 😉
February 16, 2020
Δεν πρέπει να θεωρείται από τα καλά βιβλία της μεγάλης συγγραφέας. Ενώ οι πρώτες σελίδες έδειξαν μια γραφή κι ένα θέμα ελπιδοφόρο για τη συνέχεια, μετά η φλυαρία αλλά και ο άνευρη πλοκή του, μάλλον κούραζε.
February 27, 2017
Terrible. I know that Christie was fond of recycling plot elements. I know many prolific authors forget what they said about a character (age etc) from one volume of a series to the next. But even for Christie this is hack-work. Ugh.
At first it was nice to see Tommy and Tuppence as characters that age and evolve like real people. After all, Christie wrote Poirot as a man nearing retirement age in the 1920s, and he continued to detect for about 50 years. Miss Marple never aged a day. Hastings aged a bit, but then he was just Poirot's Watson. But she gets her chronology all mixed up. In 1922 when she published The Secret Adversary, Tommy and Tuppence were "bright young things" in their twenties who had taken part in WW1. In this book, published in 1973, they are "over seventy" but the war happened "before their time." Along with everyone else's! The whole story took place "before" the time of all the elderly non-characters who are obviously in their eighties and nineties and can only retail gossip from their own grandparents--about something that happened just before WW1?? (Excuse me very much, but seventy from 73 is 1903!) The Queen of Crime must have let her crown get too tight. The male characters keep referring to Tuppence as "she" or "your wife", and saying how clever she is--and she was, in the other books. But in this installment, she bumbles and waffles constantly, in spite of writing things down. Miss Marple was sharp to the last--too bad Tuppence couldn't manage the same.
Talk of "show don't tell!" Everything of interest is said or done "off camera", so to speak, to be related second-hand later in the sketchiest possible way. It's always chopped off before either of the Ts actually hears or sees anything, and too much is left for the reader's imagination. Not to mention, of course, a wearisome amount of political soapboxing thinly disguised as plot elements. The "library scene" where all is revealed goes on forever and is so badly told that I had to read some sentences twice. The business about spinach was recycled from an earlier novel, and I've never heard of a census that required you to list anyone who is sleeping under your roof on a given date, even if it's just the aftermath of a party. As for the ending and its "revelations"--ugh.
I love real strawberries, but never have I come across "strawberry" soda, candy or gum that tasted anything like a fresh berry. This example of Christie's work is nothing like her usual stuff. A few months ago I remarked in a review of another book, "Worst Christie to date." Well, this one takes that place.
At first it was nice to see Tommy and Tuppence as characters that age and evolve like real people. After all, Christie wrote Poirot as a man nearing retirement age in the 1920s, and he continued to detect for about 50 years. Miss Marple never aged a day. Hastings aged a bit, but then he was just Poirot's Watson. But she gets her chronology all mixed up. In 1922 when she published The Secret Adversary, Tommy and Tuppence were "bright young things" in their twenties who had taken part in WW1. In this book, published in 1973, they are "over seventy" but the war happened "before their time." Along with everyone else's! The whole story took place "before" the time of all the elderly non-characters who are obviously in their eighties and nineties and can only retail gossip from their own grandparents--about something that happened just before WW1?? (Excuse me very much, but seventy from 73 is 1903!) The Queen of Crime must have let her crown get too tight. The male characters keep referring to Tuppence as "she" or "your wife", and saying how clever she is--and she was, in the other books. But in this installment, she bumbles and waffles constantly, in spite of writing things down. Miss Marple was sharp to the last--too bad Tuppence couldn't manage the same.
Talk of "show don't tell!" Everything of interest is said or done "off camera", so to speak, to be related second-hand later in the sketchiest possible way. It's always chopped off before either of the Ts actually hears or sees anything, and too much is left for the reader's imagination. Not to mention, of course, a wearisome amount of political soapboxing thinly disguised as plot elements. The "library scene" where all is revealed goes on forever and is so badly told that I had to read some sentences twice. The business about spinach was recycled from an earlier novel, and I've never heard of a census that required you to list anyone who is sleeping under your roof on a given date, even if it's just the aftermath of a party. As for the ending and its "revelations"--ugh.
I love real strawberries, but never have I come across "strawberry" soda, candy or gum that tasted anything like a fresh berry. This example of Christie's work is nothing like her usual stuff. A few months ago I remarked in a review of another book, "Worst Christie to date." Well, this one takes that place.
July 21, 2008
The last of the Tommy and Tuppence books from Ms. Christie and I have to say the worst. It's all a bit wishy washy and there's no clear resolution, which is odd for Christie. Until the end I had been expecting a lot more, but it was a bit of a damp squib, sad though I am to say that about one of the Queen of Crime's works.
August 6, 2019
The last two novels written by Christie- Passenger to Frankfurt and Postern of Fate are the most boring of her works. She uses both the novels to advertise her world views and opinion about various periods in history. I could not make out abc of the plot in Postern of fate. The climax is so dull that you are left wondering how the queen of crime and mystery could have written such a thin plot. The entire novel could have been squeezed in fewer than fifty pages. For an author who made such a great beginning with The Mysterious affair at Styles, the last novel is a huge disappointment.
July 7, 2018
ملاحظة: لا تقرأ هذه الرواية إذا كنت ستقرأ لأغاتا كريستي لأول مرة... ولا تحكم عليها من هذه الرواية
لقد كتبتها في آخر سنوات عمرها وكانت بطلب من المعجبين ولم تكن أجمل ما كتبت
ـــ
لم تعجبني الرواية ولم أستمتع بها.. تحمست لها بسبب العنوان والملخص التشويقي الموجود في الغلاف الخلفي .. لقد بدأت بشكل مرح ولطيف. زوجان في منتصف العمر يعيشان حياة هادئة (توماس + توبينس) بعد حياة صاخبة في مجال في التحريات والجاسوسية.. الزوج لديه عمة اسمها أده، متعكرة المزاج وعصبية لا تشعر بالثقة بسبب بعض القضايا الغامضة.. هناك قاتل أو قاتلة يختبئ في منزل المسنين
بعد زيارة للعمة أده في منزل المسنين تلتقي زوجته بعجوز اسمها 'السيدة لانكتسر' يبدو أنها مريضة نفسيًا تتكلم عن طفل مقتول وبعد وفاة العمة وذهابهم للحصول على أغراض العمة، يكشف خبر آخر وهو مغادرة 'لانكستر' لكن بسبب حوارهم القديم وهدية غامضة يتم افتراض أنها اختفت بشكل قسري. إذن تبدأ مغامرة (توبنس) التي تحاول أن تجد عنوان المنزل الموجود في اللوحة ويبدأ السرد الممل... مقابر قديمة... ضربة في الرأس...ممرضة ومجموعة محادثات مع سكان في قرية معزولة ليتم فك اللغز في الأخير
لكن ما هي المشكلة؟ / لماذا لا أرشح الرواية؟
العنوان يكشف جنس المجرمة وهذا غير موجود في النص الأصلي الإنجليزي. أعتبر ذلك خطأ
هناك مئات الأخطاء اللغوية ولا يوجد احترام لعلامات الترقيم ولا لطريقة كتابة الأسماء الأجنبية
لا توجد حوارات عميقة أو مرحلة ولا تحليل للشخصيات ولا تشويق ولكن ذلك الغموض المزعج الذي لا يشجعك على إنهاء الكتاب ولكني أجبرت نفسي على إنهائه لأني مصاب بمتلازمة إنهاء الكتب التي لا تعجبني ععععععع
----
لقد كانت رواية مهداة إلى معجبي الشخصيتين (توبي وتوبنس) وبالتالي كتبتها بهذه النية كما أن الرواية كانت من بين آخر ما كتبته وهذا ما يبرر ضعفها ربما
لقد كتبتها في آخر سنوات عمرها وكانت بطلب من المعجبين ولم تكن أجمل ما كتبت
ـــ
لم تعجبني الرواية ولم أستمتع بها.. تحمست لها بسبب العنوان والملخص التشويقي الموجود في الغلاف الخلفي .. لقد بدأت بشكل مرح ولطيف. زوجان في منتصف العمر يعيشان حياة هادئة (توماس + توبينس) بعد حياة صاخبة في مجال في التحريات والجاسوسية.. الزوج لديه عمة اسمها أده، متعكرة المزاج وعصبية لا تشعر بالثقة بسبب بعض القضايا الغامضة.. هناك قاتل أو قاتلة يختبئ في منزل المسنين
بعد زيارة للعمة أده في منزل المسنين تلتقي زوجته بعجوز اسمها 'السيدة لانكتسر' يبدو أنها مريضة نفسيًا تتكلم عن طفل مقتول وبعد وفاة العمة وذهابهم للحصول على أغراض العمة، يكشف خبر آخر وهو مغادرة 'لانكستر' لكن بسبب حوارهم القديم وهدية غامضة يتم افتراض أنها اختفت بشكل قسري. إذن تبدأ مغامرة (توبنس) التي تحاول أن تجد عنوان المنزل الموجود في اللوحة ويبدأ السرد الممل... مقابر قديمة... ضربة في الرأس...ممرضة ومجموعة محادثات مع سكان في قرية معزولة ليتم فك اللغز في الأخير
لكن ما هي المشكلة؟ / لماذا لا أرشح الرواية؟
العنوان يكشف جنس المجرمة وهذا غير موجود في النص الأصلي الإنجليزي. أعتبر ذلك خطأ
هناك مئات الأخطاء اللغوية ولا يوجد احترام لعلامات الترقيم ولا لطريقة كتابة الأسماء الأجنبية
لا توجد حوارات عميقة أو مرحلة ولا تحليل للشخصيات ولا تشويق ولكن ذلك الغموض المزعج الذي لا يشجعك على إنهاء الكتاب ولكني أجبرت نفسي على إنهائه لأني مصاب بمتلازمة إنهاء الكتب التي لا تعجبني ععععععع
----
لقد كانت رواية مهداة إلى معجبي الشخصيتين (توبي وتوبنس) وبالتالي كتبتها بهذه النية كما أن الرواية كانت من بين آخر ما كتبته وهذا ما يبرر ضعفها ربما
May 7, 2017
I had good memories of this book when I read it years ago. I wonder now what I liked. Must have been just Tommy & Tuppence and the village setting. At any rate, this is not a good book. There is no way I can twist this novel to claim it is a good, or even coherent, book.
Tommy & Tuppence are now grown old and have retired to a village and purchased an old house. In the process of redoing the place, Tuppence comes across a book in which the book owner had inscribed a code. She deciphers it and realises that a mystery is awaiting: 'Mary Jordan did not die naturally'. So far, this is thrilling stuff, right? But this is about it. After this, the book simply degenerates into mindless, incoherent rambling so much so as you have absolutely no clue what people are even talking about.
Long conversations with prominent financiers and politicians about 'something' happening 'somewhere' and they knew 'someone'. We, the reader, are plunged into a morass of words that means nothing at all. Who is someone? Where is this action taking place? What is this something that happened? Was it First World War or Second World War? I couldn't even make that out! I have a feeling Christie wanted this to be a big spy thriller but she was supremely vague about everything. Just random phrases here and there about 'Common Market', 'Hitler Youth', 'Fascists', 'Mussolini', 'Communists' and so on and none of it made any sense whatsoever.
In the end, there is a murderer but I have no clue what the murder was about. Why is this random person going around trying to murder people and the higher echelons of the British society hyperventilating about it? This is about as vague as it gets. The murderer character too appears out of nowhere at the time they are revealed as the murderer. We never get to see them before. It's just frustrating.
I did enjoy the Tuppence scenes a bit because she is fun, but it led nowhere in the end. Unless you are a T&T fan and enjoy the more personal aspects of their relationship, give this book a miss.
Tommy & Tuppence are now grown old and have retired to a village and purchased an old house. In the process of redoing the place, Tuppence comes across a book in which the book owner had inscribed a code. She deciphers it and realises that a mystery is awaiting: 'Mary Jordan did not die naturally'. So far, this is thrilling stuff, right? But this is about it. After this, the book simply degenerates into mindless, incoherent rambling so much so as you have absolutely no clue what people are even talking about.
Long conversations with prominent financiers and politicians about 'something' happening 'somewhere' and they knew 'someone'. We, the reader, are plunged into a morass of words that means nothing at all. Who is someone? Where is this action taking place? What is this something that happened? Was it First World War or Second World War? I couldn't even make that out! I have a feeling Christie wanted this to be a big spy thriller but she was supremely vague about everything. Just random phrases here and there about 'Common Market', 'Hitler Youth', 'Fascists', 'Mussolini', 'Communists' and so on and none of it made any sense whatsoever.
In the end, there is a murderer but I have no clue what the murder was about. Why is this random person going around trying to murder people and the higher echelons of the British society hyperventilating about it? This is about as vague as it gets. The murderer character too appears out of nowhere at the time they are revealed as the murderer. We never get to see them before. It's just frustrating.
I did enjoy the Tuppence scenes a bit because she is fun, but it led nowhere in the end. Unless you are a T&T fan and enjoy the more personal aspects of their relationship, give this book a miss.
December 18, 2014
I love this book. Tommy and Tuppence may be doddering old people, but they are still as cute as ever, and they still have "it"- they can still solve a mystery with the weirdest clues you ever saw.
I love how Tuppence wants to re-read all the books of her childhood, and this leads her to a mystery. She's my kind of woman. I also appreciate that despite their flaws and their age, Tommy and Tuppence continue to be great together and to possess marvelous skills.
What confuses me terribly though, is the timeline. They are investigating a murder that happened around WW1, which was a long time ago and clues are hard to come by. Fair enough. What really confuses me is that the age of this mystery is continually stressed, and our detectives are even led to visit an old people's home for clues. The elderly people refer to this event as something that happened before their time. This does not make any sense. Tommy and Tuppence were alive in WW1; Tommy was a soldier and Tuppence was a nurse. Therefore the timeline is completely whacked when they interview people older than they are and the older people say that this mystery took place before their time. And Tuppence looks at photographs of the people in the mystery and makes fun of the style of their clothing as though it happened before her birth. This mystery should be contemporary with Tommy and Tuppence's youth! It really, really makes no sense.
I still enjoy this book, I re-read it, and I own it. But the timeline is nonsensical.
I love how Tuppence wants to re-read all the books of her childhood, and this leads her to a mystery. She's my kind of woman. I also appreciate that despite their flaws and their age, Tommy and Tuppence continue to be great together and to possess marvelous skills.
What confuses me terribly though, is the timeline. They are investigating a murder that happened around WW1, which was a long time ago and clues are hard to come by. Fair enough. What really confuses me is that the age of this mystery is continually stressed, and our detectives are even led to visit an old people's home for clues. The elderly people refer to this event as something that happened before their time. This does not make any sense. Tommy and Tuppence were alive in WW1; Tommy was a soldier and Tuppence was a nurse. Therefore the timeline is completely whacked when they interview people older than they are and the older people say that this mystery took place before their time. And Tuppence looks at photographs of the people in the mystery and makes fun of the style of their clothing as though it happened before her birth. This mystery should be contemporary with Tommy and Tuppence's youth! It really, really makes no sense.
I still enjoy this book, I re-read it, and I own it. But the timeline is nonsensical.
May 15, 2012
This book starts off very strongly. The premise is exciting, eerie and provocative. However, I must say it's the worst Christie novel I've ever read. I finished it yesterday and am still so utterly confused by the ending. There's a whole list Tuppence makes full of "clues" and many of them are never answered or even touched upon. There are no real suspects or even solidified characters. The ending is lackluster with no twist or even resolution and a great deal of the novel is long dialogues that bored me to death. Please do yourself a favor and skip it.
August 9, 2018
Είχε μεγάλες προοπτικές σαν υποθεση,αλλά δυστυχώς δεν εξελίχθηκε ωραία. Μου άφησε μια αισθηση ανολοκλήρωτου. Ελπίζω τα άλλα να είναι καλύτερα.
December 8, 2015
I went into this book with rock-bottom expectations, since I had read people's Goodreads reviews and previously decided to skip this, the last book Agatha Christie ever wrote. I changed my mind when I realized how close I was to reading all of her works, and I'm glad I gave this book a chance, because it was not as bad as I expected: when you read this understanding that an elderly lady struggling with dementia wrote this near the end of her life, an otherwise dull book becomes impressive. Even though the mystery was lacking, the characters were delightful, their dog was amusing, and the interactions overall were engaging enough to keep me reading. Even though I wish that the mystery had been more complex and resolved better, I enjoyed the tantalizing premise and charming characters enough to rate this book three stars.
A common theme in the book was the struggle to remember things, and the forgetfulness theme is interesting considering the personal experiences of the author. It also made for some humorous moments, and I shall end this review with one of them: "It's a long way to Tipperary, it's a long way to go, it's a long way to Tipperary, and the rest of it I don't know."
A common theme in the book was the struggle to remember things, and the forgetfulness theme is interesting considering the personal experiences of the author. It also made for some humorous moments, and I shall end this review with one of them: "It's a long way to Tipperary, it's a long way to go, it's a long way to Tipperary, and the rest of it I don't know."
December 24, 2020
I was sad to reach the end of the Tommy and Tuppence series, especially after listening to excellent audio versions of all five books. This was Christie's last novel and critics thought it showed she was slipping. Certainly it was not as tightly written as the other 4 books in the series, but I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting one of my favorite literary couples.
July 4, 2016
I've read all of the Tommy and Tuppence books now *cries* . They'll always be my favourite married sleuths. I just adore Tommy's tender and caring nature to Tuppence (and how he worries) and Tuppence is just so sassy. This is an amazing, fabulous read that had me engrossed at every page :)
September 10, 2023
Faina ir intriguojanti užuomazga – Tommy ir Tuppence Beresfordai nusiperka provincijoje seną namą ir ima jame įsikūrinėti. Sykiu su namu jiems atiteko ir ankstesniųjų savininkų biblioteka. Ir štai vienoje knygoje Tuppence aptinka užkoduotą pranešimą: „Merė Džordan mirė ne sava mirtimi. Tai padarė vienas iš mūsų.“ Kas ta Merė Džordan? Kas paliko užkoduotą pranešimą knygos puslapiuose? Tuppence, o sykiu, žinoma, ir jos vyras Tommy pabandys išsiaiškinti, kas gi iš tikrųjų nutiko kone prieš šešiasdešimt metų, dar Pirmojo pasaulinio karo laikais.
Tai čia supasakojau viską, kas knygoje yra gero. Užuomazga. O paskui jau knygą galima drąsiai mest į šalį. Tiek žodinės trydos Agathos knygose dar nebuvau sutikęs. Aibė pašnekesių apie nieką, aibė pasikartojimų, viskas skendi migloje, o ir pabaigoje tos miglos iš esmės neišsisklaido. Ne, žinoma, sužinosime, kas ta Merė Džordan ir kas kaltas dėl jos mirties. Bet čia kaip su tais kinų gamybos eglutės žaislais – atrodo taip pat, blizga taip pat, bet nedžiugina.
Du iš penkių. Ir tie du tik iš pagarbos Agathai.
Tai čia supasakojau viską, kas knygoje yra gero. Užuomazga. O paskui jau knygą galima drąsiai mest į šalį. Tiek žodinės trydos Agathos knygose dar nebuvau sutikęs. Aibė pašnekesių apie nieką, aibė pasikartojimų, viskas skendi migloje, o ir pabaigoje tos miglos iš esmės neišsisklaido. Ne, žinoma, sužinosime, kas ta Merė Džordan ir kas kaltas dėl jos mirties. Bet čia kaip su tais kinų gamybos eglutės žaislais – atrodo taip pat, blizga taip pat, bet nedžiugina.
Du iš penkių. Ir tie du tik iš pagarbos Agathai.
June 24, 2023
Oh dear. This was actually abysmal… Agatha Christie’s last and worst book. See my review of Elephants Can Remember for a deeper dive (the prevailing theory is that she was developing dementia while writing her late-career books). This one is rambling, soooo long, very vague, and very unconvincing in every way.
Here’s a sample:
“If I said there was something that happened years ago that might result in something being known that would be—possibly—interesting nowadays, sometimes that would give one a bit of information about things that might be going on nowadays, that might be true enough.”
That’s… yeah, how you feel reading that sentence gives you a pretty good idea of how you feel reading this book. It’s so sad! Our poor Agatha.
This is why, in my quest to read all of Agatha Christie’s books, I decided to start stacking these late ones together and get them out of the way, so that I can now return to her earlier stuff! I didn’t want to finish my canonical reading on such a sad note. Back to the fun ones I go!
Here’s a sample:
“If I said there was something that happened years ago that might result in something being known that would be—possibly—interesting nowadays, sometimes that would give one a bit of information about things that might be going on nowadays, that might be true enough.”
That’s… yeah, how you feel reading that sentence gives you a pretty good idea of how you feel reading this book. It’s so sad! Our poor Agatha.
This is why, in my quest to read all of Agatha Christie’s books, I decided to start stacking these late ones together and get them out of the way, so that I can now return to her earlier stuff! I didn’t want to finish my canonical reading on such a sad note. Back to the fun ones I go!
July 12, 2021
"Τέσσερις πύλες έχει της Δαμασκού η πόλη {...}
Του Πεπρωμένου η Πύλη είναι μια, η Θύρα της Ερήμου είν' η άλλη, η Σήραγγα του Ολέθρου η τρίτη και η στερνή είν' η Καστρόπορτα του Φόβου{...}
Μην τις διαβείς, ω Καραβάνι, αλλά κι αν τις διαβείς, μην τραγουδήσεις."
Του Πεπρωμένου η Πύλη είναι μια, η Θύρα της Ερήμου είν' η άλλη, η Σήραγγα του Ολέθρου η τρίτη και η στερνή είν' η Καστρόπορτα του Φόβου{...}
Μην τις διαβείς, ω Καραβάνι, αλλά κι αν τις διαβείς, μην τραγουδήσεις."
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,327 reviews