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Title: By the Pricking of My Thumbs by Agatha Christie, Alex Jennings ISBN: 1-57270-233-8 Publisher: The Audio Partners Pub. Date: 09 November, 2001 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 5 List Price(USD): $27.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.14 (22 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: The Best of the Tommy & Tuppence Novels is Quietly Chilling
Comment: BY THE PRICKINGS OF MY THUMBS certainly offers the sense of adventure, wit, and charm we have come to expect from Christie's Tommy and Tuppence Beresford--but unlike their other outings, which might best be described light-hearted romps, this novel possesses a quietly chilling tone that intensifies as the story progresses.
The story finds Tuppence interested in a painting recently inherited from Tommy's aunt, a painting of a country house by a bridge. Convinced that she has seen the original subject, she decides to track it down--and when she does, she stumbles into stories of a series of unsolved child murders that occurred in the district many years before... and some one is displeased enough about her curiosity to become lethal.
This is the best of Christie's Tommy and Tuppence novels, a neat mixture of the characters' bright and witty personalities, an interesting story that takes several unexpected turns, and a surprisingly charged atmosphere that haunts the memory. While most serious critics dismiss the Tommy and Tuppence books, BY THE PRICKINGS OF MY THUMBS is the equal of any of Christie's best work, and long-time fans and newcomers alike should find it a thoroughly enjoyable--and unexpectedly disquieting--read.
Rating: 5
Summary: Tommy and Tuppence In Their Most Chilling Adventure
Comment: Shakespeare said it first in his classic Macbeth--"By the pricking of my thumbs, Something wicked this way comes." And wicked is definitely the key to the mystery the charming Beresfords get involved in this time. It all begins with a visit to the Sunny Ridge nursing home to call on Tommy's elderly Aunt Ada. While there, Tuppence meets another guest, a Mrs. Lancaster, who startles Tuppence by asking "Was it your poor child?" Mrs. Lancaster is apparently referring to the body of a child concealed behind a fireplace. A few weeks later Aunt Ada dies and when Tommy and Tuppence go to collect her things, they discover that Mrs. Lancaster has given Ada a painting of a pink house by a canal that is hauntingly familiar to Tuppence. Mrs. Lancaster has also been mysteriously whisked away from the nursing home by relatives who left no forwarding address.
A rowboat added to the painting by someone other than the artist, a nursing home murder, a grave with no body, and a letter in a secret compartment are some of the clues that lead to the uncovering of crimes both old and new.
This is on-the-edge-of-your-seat excitement from a master storyteller and you probably will want to read it all in one sitting. Mrs. Christie dedicated this book to readers around the world who kept writing and asking her what had become of Tommy and Tuppence. How nice to know that although they have reached their middle-ages they still have unquenchable spirit.
Rating: 2
Summary: The weakest Tommy and Tuppence novel
Comment: While Tommy Beresford visits his feeble old Aunt Ada at Sunny Ridge rest home, his wife Tuppence meets old Mrs. Lancaster in the sitting room. The solitary woman is drinking a glass of milk because "It is not poisoned today." Suddenly she looks at the fireplace and asks: "Was it your poor child? That is where it is, you know." When three weeks later Aunt Ada dies, Tommy and Tuppence revisit the rest house. Intrigued by the fact that old Mrs. Lancaster has suddenly disappeared without a trace, the old sleuth starts her own dangerous investigation.
The title is from Macbeth, "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."
To many readers it is a complete mystery why Agatha Christie kept returning to that somewhat tedious couple Tommy and Tuppence. Compared to her other sleuths Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot, this couple turns out bleak and soulless. In By the Pricking of My Thumbs (1968) it only gets worse. Not only are Tommy and Tuppence clearly suffering from senility, they also get involved in a story that completely lacks the ingenuity of their earlier appearances. Although a lot of promising subplots are started, during the story Agatha slowly kills all of them. What is left is an ending that is not only unbelievable and boring, but also completely wrong.
I would not advice anyone to read this novel. But if you still do, please keep in mind that Agatha Christie wrote some brilliant novels that cannot be compared to this debacle.
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Title: Postern of Fate by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0451200535 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 10 July, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: N or M? by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0451201132 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 12 December, 2000 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: The Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0451201205 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: Partners in Crime by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0451201175 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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Title: A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie ISBN: 0451201191 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 09 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $5.99 |
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