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ginaparrish's review against another edition
3.0
This book has gotten way more crap than it deserves. First off, it was one of the last books Christie wrote and the fifth in a series. For the most part, you can read Christie’s books out of order. (I am about to finish reading them all chronologically, so I know.) Not so with her Tommy and Tuppence novels. If you read it alone, I can see why it isn’t her best. But to cap off the Tommy and Tuppence saga I rather enjoyed it. You wouldn’t read the fifth Harry Potter before reading the others first, would you? Then you can’t really judge this one apart from the rest.
The reason I enjoyed it is because it revisits characters that I enjoy. And though I haven’t enjoyed as many of Christie’s later novels, I wouldn’t go as far as to say she was losing her mental faculties. Many of her books since the beginning involve elderly people who should remember something important but don’t. There is a lot of banter, but there is a lot of banter in general in her books, especially in Tommy and Tuppence.
The mystery part was a tad lacking in this one, and it was moderately easy to solve. But honestly there was a lot less ideology than some of her other spy novels so I liked that. If you are a true Christie fan, and you have read her other Tommy and Tuppence, you will be glad you read this one.
The reason I enjoyed it is because it revisits characters that I enjoy. And though I haven’t enjoyed as many of Christie’s later novels, I wouldn’t go as far as to say she was losing her mental faculties. Many of her books since the beginning involve elderly people who should remember something important but don’t. There is a lot of banter, but there is a lot of banter in general in her books, especially in Tommy and Tuppence.
The mystery part was a tad lacking in this one, and it was moderately easy to solve. But honestly there was a lot less ideology than some of her other spy novels so I liked that. If you are a true Christie fan, and you have read her other Tommy and Tuppence, you will be glad you read this one.
amyschmelzer's review against another edition
3.0
So I liked the cozy feel of the mystery. I read it without having read books 1-4 in the series, which I don’t recommend doing as this book refers to N and M multiple times. I don’t really understand what that means. The banter between Tuppence and Tommy reminded me of my in-laws who are of a similar age. Overall the book is okay but nothing special.
emmabeckman's review against another edition
3.0
Not her best. But I’m actually not sure that I’ve read any other tommy & tuppence books, so probably not the best place for me to have started.
Also usually AC books take me like max 3 days to finish and this one took 2 weeks because I moved across the country and started grad school and that was A Lot. But I finished it eventually. Probably not the best book to read over a long period of time either. Would have been better in just a couple sittings.
Also usually AC books take me like max 3 days to finish and this one took 2 weeks because I moved across the country and started grad school and that was A Lot. But I finished it eventually. Probably not the best book to read over a long period of time either. Would have been better in just a couple sittings.
mborer23's review against another edition
4.0
I love Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, and this is the last novel to feature them. It's also the last novel Christie ever wrote (although not the last to be published.) Perhaps fittingly, mortality flits around every corner (such as in the poem where the title comes from) and loss is a major theme: loss of life, loss of youth, loss of memory.
Tommy and Tuppence are now grandparents in their 70s, settling down into retirement in a peaceful cottage they've just bought. When Tuppence stumbles upon clues to a very cold murder case indeed, they're thrown into one last mystery with espionage at its heart. Possibly reflecting the author's own state of mind, the Beresfords here are still energetic and curious, but they forget things, get confused over names and details, say the same things a few different times, and occasionally contradict themselves.
Some continuity lapses: the name Mrs. Blenkensop (Tuppence's false identity from "N or M?") is spelled Blenkinsop throughout this book; the Beresfords' daughter Deborah is mentioned to be the mother of twins, although when we meet her children at the end, they're all different ages; Albert, whose wife Milly was very much alive in "By the Pricking of My Thumbs," is here seen mourning his late wife Amy.
Interestingly, however, one earlier lapse is here corrected. In the previous novel, "By the Pricking of My Thumbs," Tuppence mentions her two children Derek and Deborah, but seemingly forgets about Betty, the child they adopted after the events of "N or M?" In this book, Betty is restored to the family and is said to be a college graduate doing ethnographic work in Africa.
Overall, this is an interesting read, even if it's not quite as exciting as the other Beresford stories, and includes the usual deus ex machina (or in this case, canis ex machina) climax.
Tommy and Tuppence are now grandparents in their 70s, settling down into retirement in a peaceful cottage they've just bought. When Tuppence stumbles upon clues to a very cold murder case indeed, they're thrown into one last mystery with espionage at its heart. Possibly reflecting the author's own state of mind, the Beresfords here are still energetic and curious, but they forget things, get confused over names and details, say the same things a few different times, and occasionally contradict themselves.
Some continuity lapses: the name Mrs. Blenkensop (Tuppence's false identity from "N or M?") is spelled Blenkinsop throughout this book; the Beresfords' daughter Deborah is mentioned to be the mother of twins, although when we meet her children at the end, they're all different ages; Albert, whose wife Milly was very much alive in "By the Pricking of My Thumbs," is here seen mourning his late wife Amy.
Interestingly, however, one earlier lapse is here corrected. In the previous novel, "By the Pricking of My Thumbs," Tuppence mentions her two children Derek and Deborah, but seemingly forgets about Betty, the child they adopted after the events of "N or M?" In this book, Betty is restored to the family and is said to be a college graduate doing ethnographic work in Africa.
Overall, this is an interesting read, even if it's not quite as exciting as the other Beresford stories, and includes the usual deus ex machina (or in this case, canis ex machina) climax.
frannieman's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
rishik_kr's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
ccath's review against another edition
1.0
Not my favorite book from the author, I felt it too scattered
eizelman's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
fairybookaholic's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0