By The Pricking of My Thumbs

Posted on July 28, 2009

For August, our book club is reading anything by Agatha Christie. When I was a young teenager, I really enjoyed Agatha Christie and read a lot of her books. But, as that was decades ago, I decided that I could read anything and it would be ‘like new’ again.

I chose to read By The Pricking of My Thumbs because it was not a Miss Marple or Hercule Poirot mystery. In this book the reader meets a lovely ex-spy couple: Tommy and Tuppence Beresford. This dynamic duo appears in five of Christie’s books, and I enjoyed them so much I would be very interested in reading the other four.

In this book, Tommy and Tuppence (how can you not love a woman named Tuppence?) become involved in a murderous plot after Tommy’s Aunt Ada passes away. Among her possessions left to Tommy is a painting of a house, which Tuppence recognizes. Tuppence wants to give the painting back to the original owner, but she has disappeared! And so it begins. . .

I enjoyed this book; it was an easy read. Easy to pick back up but just as easy to put down at the end of one of its short chapters. Throughout the book, many characters are introduced quickly, reappear later, disappear again, and it becomes a little confusing at times.

I also love mysteries that I solve right along with the detective. In this book, the twist is so big, so far from anything ever suggested at any time of the book, that when it was revealed just a few pages from the very end I felt like putting the book down and declaraing it unfair. But, if you love great plot twists, Law & Order style, you’ll love this book.