Postern of Fate: A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition
Written by Agatha Christie
Narrated by Hugh Fraser
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
Tommy and Tuppence Beresford return in Agatha Christie’s classic Postern of Fate, to investigate a deadly poisoning sixty years after the fact.
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. . . .
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie is the most widely published author of all time, outsold only by the Bible and Shakespeare. Her books have sold more than a billion copies in English and another billion in a hundred foreign languages. She died in 1976, after a prolific career spanning six decades.
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Titles in the series (5)
The Secret Adversary: A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Partners in Crime: A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5N or M?: A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5By the Pricking of My Thumbs: A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Postern of Fate: A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
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Reviews for Postern of Fate
56 ratings22 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I'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 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.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5One 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 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. - Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5I 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5As 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 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.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5This 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 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A sentimental favourite! It was Christie’s last book.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I 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 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not 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 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Last 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 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I 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 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A 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 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is another Tommy and Tuppance book. It was a good mystery, but less exciting the other Christie books.
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5In 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
- Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5In which a retired pair of amateur detectives discover an age-old mystery right under their noses.
So it has come to this. "Postern of Fate" was Agatha Christie’s final written work, and it is undoubtedly her worst. Yes, worse than those tawdry thrillers she churned out in the 1920s, or the spurious supernatural short story collections of the ’40s. In her defence, the octogenarian Dame Agatha was probably suffering from early onset dementia, but her editors should’ve seen sense in not damaging her legacy by publishing this tripe.
This is the 5th novel in the Tommy & Tuppence series, which began with two delightful little throwaway books in the ’20s, matured into a charming-but-pointless ’40s novel, and was already teetering on the brink with the laborious "By The Pricking of My Thumbs". The only redeeming factor is to see the continuation of these lovely characters, who aged along with Christie since their first novel (her second) in 1922. Conversations meander onto tangential topics page after page (Christie reportedly would speak into a dictaphone, or recite to a typist, and then basically just check what spilled out for spelling errors – even if this is a myth, it doesn’t seem unlikely!).
The murder mystery is nonsensical, and our heroes have stopped being characters, instead becoming mouthpieces for an outdated generation. I’m a big fan of Dame Agatha, so one day I will buy a copy of this for the sake of completion. But for now, I’m quite happy not to have this cluttering up my shelf.
Tommy and Tuppence ranking: 5th out of 5 - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Not 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5There 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.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A 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 with very little actual evidence. Take a pass .
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book was still enjoyable, but not one of her best.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This 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 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I 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 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.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5I could not get into this one. First book by A.C. that could not keep my attention. Love Tommy/Tuppence characters though, they are still a great pair.