Postern of Fate (original 1973; edition 1974)

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 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 ( )

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 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.

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 deeper perspective on them as people even if the storyline itself was a little weak. ( )

I love Agatha Christie and wouldn't ever call her a bad writer... but I have to admit that this book isn't all that great. It's actually pretty dull. ( )

Rather weak late effort from Christie, but any book about Tommy & Tuppence is an entertaining read. ( )