Postern of Fate

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 show more 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. show less

I read pretty much every Agatha Christie mystery I could find when I was young. I have come across a few now that I am older so looked forward to reading this one. I didn't remember it but I probably did read it before.

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford are retired, but they can't keep their curiosity down. In WWII they performed admirably as spy catchers, and they seem quite capable of continuing in that vein, however much they may protest.

So when the two move to a little village by the sea and find themselves trying to cope with an overload of books left behind by previous occupants, it is only natural that Tuppence will be intrigued by anything other than the parade of electricians and builders who have invaded their home. She takes down a show more children's book and finds letters underlined in it by a boy named Alexander. The first sentence she reads from these underlinings is "Mary Jordan did not die naturally.". Well.

Little by little the couple is drawn in by this sentence and by one or two other finds, and before you know it they are pursuing some lost articles that may be of importance even now, seventy years or so after Mary Jordan died.

It's a "cozy mystery". Christie pretty much invented the form, and nobody does it better. In fact, I won't read any other "cozys", just hers. Others get too cute while she explores the idiosyncrasies of her characters and makes them believable. I enjoyed getting caught up in the days of the vanishing upper middle class in England as well, the families with their steadfast servants and their amazing gardens. Thus I enjoyed this one all the way through. It was altogether too quick a read. show less

This was Christie's last novel, but it's also one of the most confusing of her novels. There's lots of talking, and when I say lots of talking, I mean that it could probably do with being about 100 pages shorter. The idea behind the mystery is intriguing, but so much time is spent getting to it and then lots of time wasted investigating the past that I found myself flicking forward to see how many pages I had left before it was all over. The most frustrating thing though is that the revelation about the mystery all happens in the last three chapters and yet none of the investigating beforehand seems to have built up towards said conclusion. The whole novel ends up being a mish-mash of random ideas, none of which really follow through show more and I found this somewhat disappointing. There were moments when the pace of the story picked up or the characters were particularly engaging, but overall it felt like you really had to work at reading this story to get anywhere. show less

Tuppence finds the message - Mary Jordan did not die naturally. It has been so long since Mary Jordan died that she is questioning people about stories passed down. She is asking people what they were told by their parents or grandparents heard. A lot of rumors. I didn't like the espionage story-line. The ending mad sense to be done that way, but it wasn't very satisfying. Tommy and Tuppence's relationship was a lot of fun. The next to the last chapter felt like Christie was saying goodbye.

A Tommy and Tuppence Finale & Christie's Final Book
A review of the William Morrow Paperbacks eBook (February 10, 2010) of the Collins Crime Club (UK October 1973) and Dodd, Mead & Co. (US late 1973) hardcover originals.

“Four great gates has the City of Damascus . . . Postern of Fate—the Desert Gate . . . 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?” - excerpt from the poem Gates of Damascus (1911) by [author:James Elroy Flecker|86168]* (1884-1915).

[2.5 rounded up]
Postern of Fate does not have the classic Christie twists and reveals. The banter between the lead characters is often very rambling and repetitive. This was the 83-year-old show more Christie with a final adventure to close the book on her long-time characters Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, who are also reality aged into their 70s for this outing.

The retired couple have moved into an old house and while doing renovations come across the books from the old library, one of which has a secret message that hints at murder being done in the household. Of course Tuppence is eager to pursue this extremely cold (60-years-previous) case and Tommy agrees to help investigate through his former intelligence network sources.

The truth comes together from both village gossip and clues that relate to WWI era espionage. The book is extremely drawn out at 337 pages, but I guess the editors did not dare to suggest edits to their constant best-seller Christie. My 2.5 stars rounded up to 3 is a kind rating based more on my overall love of Christie.

Although the final Poirot novel [book:Curtain|81903] (1975) and the final Miss Marple novel [book:Sleeping Murder|16300] (1976) were published later, they were actually written in the 1940s when Christie was at the height of her powers.

This novel Postern of Fate counts against my Complete Agatha Christie binge read goal, so I now have 14 novels (including 4 remaining Westmacotts), 3 short story collections, 10.5 full-length theatrical plays, 5 shorter radio plays) and 1 autobiography left to go.

Footnote
* Flecker's best known poem is likely The Golden Road to Samarkand an excerpt of which is inscribed in the base of the memorial clock tower of the SAS Regiment in Hereford, England in tribute to its members who died in service.

We are the Pilgrims, master; we shall go
Always a little further; it may be
Beyond that last blue mountain barred with snow
Across that angry or that glimmering sea.

Trivia and No Link
Unlike most of Agatha Christie's novels and short stories, Postern of Fate has not been adapted for a feature film or TV-series.

Addendum
This is a reckoning of my remaining Agatha Christie TBR novels. The novels read are stroked through and those yet to be read are counted on the right hand side of the listing. The reckoning does not include the 3 posthumous novelizations of Agatha Christie stage plays made by Australian writer Charles Osborne, although I was initially counting them as I worked through the binge.
Note: The stroke-throughs cannot be seen on all platforms (mobile phones for instance), but the number count on the right hand side of the remaining titles should be clear enough.
1. The Mysterious Affair at Styles
2. The Secret Adversary
3. The Murder on the Links
4. The Man in the Brown Suit
5. The Secret of Chimneys
6. The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
7. The Big Four
8. The Mystery of the Blue Train
9. The Seven Dials Mystery
10. The Murder at the Vicarage
11. The Sittaford Mystery
12. Peril at End House
13. Lord Edgware Dies
14. Murder on the Orient Express
15. Why Didn't They Ask Evans? 1
16. Three Act Tragedy
17. Death in the Clouds
18. The A.B.C. Murders
19. Murder in Mesopotamia
20. Cards on the Table
21. Dumb Witness
22. Death on the Nile
23. Appointment with Death
24. Hercule Poirot's Christmas
25. Murder Is Easy 2
26. And Then There Were None 3
27. Sad Cypress
28. One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
29. Evil Under the Sun
30. N or M?
31. The Body in the Library
32. Five Little Pigs
33. The Moving Finger
34. Towards Zero
35. Death Comes as the End
36. Sparkling Cyanide 4
37. The Hollow
38. Taken at the Flood
39. Crooked House
40. A Murder Is Announced
41. They Came to Baghdad 5
42. Mrs McGinty's Dead
43. They Do It with Mirrors
44. After the Funeral
45. A Pocket Full of Rye
46. Destination Unknown 6
47. Hickory Dickory Dock
48. Dead Man's Folly
49. 4.50 from Paddington
50. Ordeal by Innocence 7
51. Cat Among the Pigeons
52. The Pale Horse 8
53. The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side
54. The Clocks
55. A Caribbean Mystery
56. At Bertram's Hotel
57. Third Girl
58. Endless Night
59. By the Pricking of My Thumbs
60. Hallowe'en Party
61. Passenger to Frankfurt 9
62. Nemesis
63. Elephants Can Remember
64. Postern of Fate
65. Curtain 10
66. Sleeping Murder

As Mary Westmacott
66. Giant's Bread 11
67. Unfinished Portrait 12
68. Absent in the Spring 13
69. The Rose and the Yew Tree
70. A Daughter's a Daughter
71. The Burden 14 show less

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 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.

I found several elements of this novel difficult to visualize, but I love how much book rearranging plays into the plot. Tommy and Tuppence are now over 70 but still can't seem to retire from intrigue. I like how Christie has let their relationship develop over the years. They might be one of my literary models for a successful long-term marriage. And now I want a Manchester terrier and to buy a house that includes a stocked library.