Call number
MYST CHR
Collection
Genres
Series
Publication
Dodd Mead (1973), Edition: 1st, 310 pages
Description
"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..."--P. [4] of cover.
Subjects
User reviews
LibraryThing member ParadisePorch
In the 1973 Postern of Fate, we find Tommy & Tuppence Beresford retired and having just bought a new-to-them old house. There is an old mystery (from WWII) connected with the house, but the point of the book (if there is one) seems to be to catalogue all the books that Christie read and loved as a
The writing, quite uncharacteristic of Christie, sounds as if the author was a doddering old woman (well, she was 83) who was dictating a vague idea of a story. (But, where were her editors?!) The book meanders, repeats, meanders some more. It was maddening, and I finished it only because it fulfilled two of my more difficult reading challenges – Birth Year Reading Challenge, and Vintage Mysteries – Lethal Locations. (Who knew that the “Postern of Fate’ was a gate into Damascus?)
Read this if: you are a complete Christie freak and want to know all about her childhood reading, or must read all her work. Otherwise – don’t read this. 1 star for the Christie connection
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child. The writing, quite uncharacteristic of Christie, sounds as if the author was a doddering old woman (well, she was 83) who was dictating a vague idea of a story. (But, where were her editors?!) The book meanders, repeats, meanders some more. It was maddening, and I finished it only because it fulfilled two of my more difficult reading challenges – Birth Year Reading Challenge, and Vintage Mysteries – Lethal Locations. (Who knew that the “Postern of Fate’ was a gate into Damascus?)
Read this if: you are a complete Christie freak and want to know all about her childhood reading, or must read all her work. Otherwise – don’t read this. 1 star for the Christie connection
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LibraryThing member riverwillow
There is a lot to like in this book, but also much to dislike as there are inconsistencies in the plot, which itself is muddled and confused. What I really like is how Christie has added her own childhood memories, I believe that her family actualy had a toy cart nicknamed Truelove.
LibraryThing member crazy4reading
I just finished this book late last night. I enjoyed the book. The main characters are Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. They are an elderly couple that have solved mysteries in the past. This is the first book I have read by Agatha Christie with Tommy and Tuppence.
I found the couple very entertaining
Tommy and Tuppence have purchased a house. The house is very old and has had many names such as: The Laurels and The Swallows Nest. Tuppence is organizing books that they purchased along with the house. The books are old and she fondly remembers reading some of them when she was a youngster. As she is looking through one of the books she comes across a cryptic message that was left in the book. The message is left by certain letters being underlined in the book. The message read: Mary Jordan did not die naturally. It was one of us. I think I know which one. That starts the ball rolling on this wonderfully entertaining story.
I found the couple very entertaining
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with the style of speech and the way they interacted with each other. Some times they were able to finish each others thoughts or were confused by what the other was saying. That made me think of most elderly couples even if they haven't been a couple for long.Tommy and Tuppence have purchased a house. The house is very old and has had many names such as: The Laurels and The Swallows Nest. Tuppence is organizing books that they purchased along with the house. The books are old and she fondly remembers reading some of them when she was a youngster. As she is looking through one of the books she comes across a cryptic message that was left in the book. The message is left by certain letters being underlined in the book. The message read: Mary Jordan did not die naturally. It was one of us. I think I know which one. That starts the ball rolling on this wonderfully entertaining story.
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LibraryThing member nadineeg
Last book Christie wrote, appears to be unedited as it does need quite a bit of trimming. Some items are not explained. Very wordy, but if you recall that these are a couple of 70 plus years, who via other books have established repartee and humour, then the conversations are credible. Dedicated to
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a dog who appears in the book obviously much loved by Agatha. I got the feeling that the final chapters were constructed from notes and conversations rather than actual dictation of the writer. Show Less
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
I'd never read any Christie before, so I figured I should check her out, since she's such a classic author. This was her last published book; it's a mystery, of course. A couple of retired detectives buy a house in a quaint English town - but find a cryptic message in an old children's book that
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leads them to start investigating a sixty-year-old possibility of death by foul play.... However, their questions may stir up things safer left forgotten. Show Less
LibraryThing member dsbs
Not one of her better books; the mystery's a bit silly - it took two thirds of the book to get there - but the book was more character based than story, which is a bit unusual for a Christie. It was also a LOT more chatty; Tommy and Tuppence tend to blabber in their old age, apparently. Still, it's
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fun to watch them age. They're a great couple, and very different from most Christie character couples. I loved the stuff about their little dog; so sweet. Show Less
LibraryThing member Oreillynsf
Not one of the best, or even the best Tommy and Tuppence mysteries, but I did appreciate all of the color that Chrisite gave her sleuths. Tommy and Tuppence starred in far fewer Christie mysteries than Poirot or Miss Marple, but they were always my favorites and I feel fortunate to have gotten this
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deeper perspective on them as people even if the storyline itself was a little weak. Show Less
LibraryThing member ffortsa
Now here's a book I shouldn't have bothered with. It's one of Christie's Tuppence and Tommy stories, which I usually can put up with, but this one is totally aggravating. The Beresfords move into a new house, and Tuppence finds a secret message in a copy of Treasure Island, stating that a woman
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named Mary Jordan didn't die of naturally causes. This propels Tuppence to start investigating a decades-old circumstance that leads the pair into the foggy realm of national security, where everything is told in inference and nothing is resolved. A totally miserable experience. Show Less
LibraryThing member 50MinuteMermaid
One of Christie's clumsiest works, even to the point of actual errors of continuity. A quick read but a weak introduction to the leads (Tommy and Tuppence) and a generally uninteresting book.
It *does*, however, raise some interesting questions for me about Christie's moralizing and shoring-up of
It *does*, however, raise some interesting questions for me about Christie's moralizing and shoring-up of
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the contemporary/20th century imperialist mentality in England at the time she was writing. It's a tempting thought to throw together a little study on her works that focuses on her often hawkish undertones. Show Less
LibraryThing member Coffeehag
I didn't expect to like the Tommy and Tuppence mysteries by Agatha Christie, but this one has me looking forward to more.
The two former detectives have decided to retire in their declining years to a large house in a country village. Things are not as tame as they seem, however. Tuppence discovers
It turns out that Tommy and Tuppence aren't the only ones who know something about the old house. Things get dangerous as the two begin to uncover a mystery that is over 60 years old.
The two former detectives have decided to retire in their declining years to a large house in a country village. Things are not as tame as they seem, however. Tuppence discovers
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a code in a copy of Robert Louis Stevenson's The Black Arrow. Her curiosity id piqued and she must find out who "Mary Jordon" is, who, according to a young boy who left the book behind, "did not die naturally."It turns out that Tommy and Tuppence aren't the only ones who know something about the old house. Things get dangerous as the two begin to uncover a mystery that is over 60 years old.
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LibraryThing member plainteapot
As a person who generally loves Agatha Christie's works, this was not my favourite book to read. The idea of the mystery was excellent, but it felt like a build up went a bit too long and generally went all over the place. The ending (I won't spoil it) was not worthy of how great the idea was and
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felt out of place. It's a decent bedtime read, but probably not a book I would read over and over again to enjoy in my spare time. The only great part of this book were the dialogue of Tommy and Tuppence. I enjoyed watching them banter back and forth, so if you love them as two people, not as two detectives, you'll at least enjoy that part of the book. Show Less
LibraryThing member cindysisland
I read the entire book hoping for it to go somewhere, but it was sadly anticlimactic. Everything happened at a distance and when crucial conversations took place, the characters were very vague. You never knew quite what was going on... at least it was short.
LibraryThing member dale01
A sentimental favourite! It was Christie’s last book.
LibraryThing member LDVoorberg
A mystery written for a different era -- there's very little actual sleuthing in this one and a LOT of slow-paced conversation about the mystery. Repetitive and slow conversations! Ugh. Not suitable for audio, not very intriguing, and not very plausible to solve a mystery that's 40 or 50 years old
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with very little actual evidence. Take a pass . Show Less
LibraryThing member smik
This is the last novel that Agatha Christie ever wrote. In previous titles, NEMESIS and ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER she had brought the careers of her other sleuths to a close, although the final novels published relating to Hercule Poirot (CURTAIN) and Miss Marple (SLEEPING MURDER) were both written in
Tommy and Tuppence appear together in four full-length novels and one collection of short stories. The collection of short stories is Partners in Crime, (1929), the four novels are THE SECRET ADVERSARY (1922), N or M? (1941), BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS (1968); and POSTERN OF FATE (1973).
Unlike Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple the Beresfords actually age in real time, beginning in their early 20s in 1922 and in POSTERN OF FATE they are in their 70s.
Rather appropriately the mystery in this story begins with a code which Tuppence breaks with ease. While Tommy was the one who worked in Intelligence and then as a private detective, and Tuppence was the one who raised the children and kept the home fires burning, it always seemed to be it was Tuppence whom Christie favored.
This novel is also about memory. The house that the Beresfords have bought has changed hands many times since Mary Jordan died and, as in ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER, most of the knowledge about the "Frowline" is mixture of hearsay and innuendo. But the discovery of a gravestone in the local churchyard sets both Beresfords off on a hunt for the truth. Tuppence explores what elderly villagers remember while Tommy goes through more official channels. This is rather evocative of the strategy adopted by Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver in ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER. I think it is also Christie exploring how her own memory works.
It turns out that the house that the Beresfords have bought has been "of interest" to British intelligence for decades as a possible hiding place for documents that the government would rather not see made publicly available.
In ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER there were references to cases that Poirot had solved, and there are similar passing references here to the previous novels in which the Beresfords featured.
Those who are looking in this novel for signs that Agatha Christie was "past it" or had Alzheimer's won't find it here. The novel is carefully plotted by a writer who still has something to say. However I think some of the episodes of dialogue between the Beresfords is a bit limp, nothing that I could imagine a husband and wife, even after about fifty years of married life, saying to each other.
In addition some of the plot strands get confusing with informants not clearly explaining the information they are passing on.
I think the novel is also a little outdated in its writing style although it may not have been at time of publication. It reflects a belief Christie held for all her life: that there are some persistent forces of evil that regenerate from one generation to the next. Sometimes they are not at first seen for the malignancies that they are.
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about 1940).Tommy and Tuppence appear together in four full-length novels and one collection of short stories. The collection of short stories is Partners in Crime, (1929), the four novels are THE SECRET ADVERSARY (1922), N or M? (1941), BY THE PRICKING OF MY THUMBS (1968); and POSTERN OF FATE (1973).
Unlike Hercule Poirot and Jane Marple the Beresfords actually age in real time, beginning in their early 20s in 1922 and in POSTERN OF FATE they are in their 70s.
Rather appropriately the mystery in this story begins with a code which Tuppence breaks with ease. While Tommy was the one who worked in Intelligence and then as a private detective, and Tuppence was the one who raised the children and kept the home fires burning, it always seemed to be it was Tuppence whom Christie favored.
This novel is also about memory. The house that the Beresfords have bought has changed hands many times since Mary Jordan died and, as in ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER, most of the knowledge about the "Frowline" is mixture of hearsay and innuendo. But the discovery of a gravestone in the local churchyard sets both Beresfords off on a hunt for the truth. Tuppence explores what elderly villagers remember while Tommy goes through more official channels. This is rather evocative of the strategy adopted by Hercule Poirot and Ariadne Oliver in ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER. I think it is also Christie exploring how her own memory works.
It turns out that the house that the Beresfords have bought has been "of interest" to British intelligence for decades as a possible hiding place for documents that the government would rather not see made publicly available.
In ELEPHANTS CAN REMEMBER there were references to cases that Poirot had solved, and there are similar passing references here to the previous novels in which the Beresfords featured.
Those who are looking in this novel for signs that Agatha Christie was "past it" or had Alzheimer's won't find it here. The novel is carefully plotted by a writer who still has something to say. However I think some of the episodes of dialogue between the Beresfords is a bit limp, nothing that I could imagine a husband and wife, even after about fifty years of married life, saying to each other.
In addition some of the plot strands get confusing with informants not clearly explaining the information they are passing on.
I think the novel is also a little outdated in its writing style although it may not have been at time of publication. It reflects a belief Christie held for all her life: that there are some persistent forces of evil that regenerate from one generation to the next. Sometimes they are not at first seen for the malignancies that they are.
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LibraryThing member DrApple
This is another Tommy and Tuppance book. It was a good mystery, but less exciting the other Christie books.
LibraryThing member mysterymax
A very late Christie book. If she hadn't become the Queen of Mystery by the time this was written I don't think the book could have been published. They obviously felt anything with her name on it would sell, which was probably true. Tedious retelling of details, no characters developed as the bad
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guys, no real case. I had apparently read this in 2015 but I hadn't commented on it and couldn't remember it, so the re-read. Blimey, it was awful. Show Less
LibraryThing member huntersun9
Oof. This is a bad one. There are loads of rambling, unhelpful conversations and nary a new clue for many dozens of pages. I skimmed most of it. Having said that, I read recently that this was the last novel Christie wrote and there is strong evidence that she was experiencing some form of dementia
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towards the end of her life. It has a good premise so Christie's imagination was really hanging on. But the story just doesn't get off the ground and I found myself thinking that Tommy & Tuppence's usually entertaining banter was just draining. I'm glad to say goodbye to T & T and pick up with Poirot, which will take me back to the early years of Christie's career. Show Less
LibraryThing member Poodlequest
As with most other reviews, I found this one sadly disappointing. The characters spend much of their time rambling on in a kind of stream of consciousness musing. Although Tommy and Tuppence always did have a bit of banter in their conversations, and you could imagine that developing into rambling
There are some good ideas, which sadly don't really go anywhere. I like the way that Tommy and Tuppence have aged from young 20-something young adventurers in their first book to 70-somethings in this one. But unfortunately, this one is not a good swansong. It would have been nice to have had a few more stories written when they (and Christie) were younger.
The overall idea is an intriguing one - a murder and a conspiracy that took place decades earlier, casting a shadow over the present. But unfortunately it doesn't really deliver. Much of the investigation just seems to be padding that doesn't yield any information. The plot mostly limps forward on occasional expositions from senior government figures.
It was interesting to see Christie return to the idea of some 'Baker Street irregulars' in the form of a bunch of villages youths, who Albert doesn't trust - ironically he was one of the urchins in the first Tommy & Tuppence novel - but even they are only in for one chapter and don't actually contribute anything.
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in their old age, unfortunately the more obvious explanation is Christie dictating the story and frequently losing her train of thought.There are some good ideas, which sadly don't really go anywhere. I like the way that Tommy and Tuppence have aged from young 20-something young adventurers in their first book to 70-somethings in this one. But unfortunately, this one is not a good swansong. It would have been nice to have had a few more stories written when they (and Christie) were younger.
The overall idea is an intriguing one - a murder and a conspiracy that took place decades earlier, casting a shadow over the present. But unfortunately it doesn't really deliver. Much of the investigation just seems to be padding that doesn't yield any information. The plot mostly limps forward on occasional expositions from senior government figures.
It was interesting to see Christie return to the idea of some 'Baker Street irregulars' in the form of a bunch of villages youths, who Albert doesn't trust - ironically he was one of the urchins in the first Tommy & Tuppence novel - but even they are only in for one chapter and don't actually contribute anything.
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LibraryThing member funstm
This is either pure genius or total insanity. And I honestly don't know which one I'm leaning towards.
I've loved all four of the Tommy and Tuppence novels. They've been well written, hilarious, strong mysteries and I've adored every minute. This one had moments of that but it was also fairly
Did Christie plan that? It was apparently the last book she wrote. She would've been 82 years at the time and she was experiencing dementia. Tommy and Tuppence are also of advanced age and experiencing dementia. Did Christie get confused while writing? Or did she plan for the writing to emulate the behaviour of herself and her characters?
It made it hard to follow but it also accurately captured the forgetfulness that plagues the elderly.
I'm sad that there weren't more Tommy and Tuppence because they were terrific - smart, brave, funny and with a knack for solving crimes. They were supportive of one another and were still as in love by the end as they were from the very start.
This might not have been the best Agatha Christie novel but it wasn't a terrible read - just not quite up to the high standards she'd set for the majority of her career. 3 stars.
I've loved all four of the Tommy and Tuppence novels. They've been well written, hilarious, strong mysteries and I've adored every minute. This one had moments of that but it was also fairly
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scattered. Did Christie plan that? It was apparently the last book she wrote. She would've been 82 years at the time and she was experiencing dementia. Tommy and Tuppence are also of advanced age and experiencing dementia. Did Christie get confused while writing? Or did she plan for the writing to emulate the behaviour of herself and her characters?
It made it hard to follow but it also accurately captured the forgetfulness that plagues the elderly.
I'm sad that there weren't more Tommy and Tuppence because they were terrific - smart, brave, funny and with a knack for solving crimes. They were supportive of one another and were still as in love by the end as they were from the very start.
This might not have been the best Agatha Christie novel but it wasn't a terrible read - just not quite up to the high standards she'd set for the majority of her career. 3 stars.
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LibraryThing member eas7788
Not much of a mystery--definitely not a whodunnit--and not even much of a spy novel. But there is intrigue, and the postwar setting is very vivid. Tommy and Tuppence are enjoyable, as are Hannibal and Albert.
LibraryThing member BookAngel_a
I would have given this book two stars but for one exception: I'm a bookaholic, and I liked the book theme woven throughout the plot. The mystery starts out with a children's book, and arranging books on shelves. Tuppence frequently gets distracted by her books, and I can totally relate. I did not
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however like the spy/espionage element and I was a little confused by the ending. I got the feeling I had missed something important at the end, which is unusual for me. Show Less
LibraryThing member jimclay75051
I almost got half way through this. The bantering conversation would be okay except there's way, way too much of it.
Pages
310
ISBN
0396068812 / 9780396068815