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Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie
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Postern of Fate (original 1973; edition 2000)

by Agatha Christie

Series: Tommy and Tuppence (5)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
2,777445,135 (3.18)71
"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.… (more)
Member:smammers
Title:Postern of Fate
Authors:Agatha Christie
Info:Signet (2000), Paperback, 240 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:hardcover, mystery

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Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie (1973)

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» See also 71 mentions

English (38)  Spanish (3)  Danish (2)  Swedish (1)  All languages (44)
Showing 1-5 of 38 (next | show all)
Read this decades ago and hated it, but decided to read it again to see if it could really be that bad. It is! At least this time I knew I could skim over the 85% of the text that is filler, and that helped make reading it a little bit bearable -- as long as you don't give it too much thought, because the plot holes are as big as the sky. ( )
  TanteLeonie | Feb 16, 2024 |
I almost got half way through this. The bantering conversation would be okay except there's way, way too much of it. ( )
  jimclay75051 | Feb 13, 2024 |
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. ( )
  eas7788 | Aug 1, 2023 |
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 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. ( )
  funstm | Dec 30, 2022 |
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 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.
  Poodlequest | Jul 1, 2022 |
Showing 1-5 of 38 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors (26 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Agatha Christieprimary authorall editionscalculated
Crepax, LucianaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fraser, HughNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Jacono, CarloCover artistsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Janus, EddaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Laine, Anna-LiisaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Pekkanen, PanuTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Epigraph
Four great gates has the city of Damascus...
Postern of Fate, the Desert Gate, Disaster's Cavern, Fort of Fear...
Pass not beneath, O Caravan, or pass not singing. Have you heard
That silence where the birds are dead yet something pipeth like a bird?...

James Elroy Flecker
From "Gates of Damascus"
Dedication
For Hannibal and his master
First words
"Books!" said Tuppence.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Wikipedia in English (1)

"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.

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Average: (3.18)
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1 16
1.5 3
2 59
2.5 25
3 126
3.5 7
4 88
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