Postern of Fate by
Agatha Christie
pbk out January 01
(HarperCollins)
at £5.99
This was the very last novel that Christie wrote. It sold well, and continues to sell, but
this owes more to the worldwide affection of readers for the Queen of Crime than to
the quality of the story. In truth, it is a very tired effort. The protagonists are Tommy
and Tuppence Beresford, who cropped up in Christie novels (none of them, frankly,
are classics) from the start of her career to its end. The starting point for the mystery is
that of an inheritance that includes a collection of books. Tuppence promptly discerns an
intriguing message in a copy of The Black Arrow - 'Mary Jordan did not die
naturally. It was one of us. I think I know which'. Thus the scene is set for one of
those 'crimes in the past' that preoccupied the author in her later years. But the
mystery is unravelled slowly and with limited ultimate satisfaction. This novel is far
removed from the ingenious masterpieces which have earned Agatha Christie her
well-deserved fame. For passionate Christie fans only.
(
Martin Edwards
- author of the highly acclaimed Harry Devlin Mysteries)
Postern of Fate by
Agatha Christie
