By The Pricking Of My Thumbs

This was a typical Christie, as far as murder mysteries go, but the detectives were the slightly lesser known Tommy and Tuppence (real name Prudence) Beresford. Although it was good, it lacked something that the Poirots and Marples all have. The story and twist were fantastic, but there was something wrong with the the actual plot, which was good, but not quite right in some way.

Right, so, to start off with the story, the setup of the mystery was very good. It all starts out with a visit to an old people's home to visit Tommy's aunt, where Tuppence meets a Mrs Lancaster, who makes a very odd comment: "Was it your poor child?" However, a couple of months afterwards, when the old people's home re-enters the Beresfords' lives, Mrs Lancaster has mysteriously disappeared, leaving no traceable address and relation. Tuppence, who is curious by nature, decides to go looking for Mrs Lancaster, but there are no leads to go on apart from a small picture of a house that Tuppence is sure she's seen before. So far, so good.

The twist, I definitely can't reveal, it's just too good! If you lot, like me, are nosy in the extreme and just can't wait to find out the end, you'll just have to read the book, because there's no WAY I'm giving this one away! 

The "something wrong" with this book is that there are two very obvious plot lines that, it's so obvious to see, will most definitely come together in some way or another. The first plot line is the one about the disappearance of Mrs Lancaster and Tuppence's quest to find her, but the second, fronted more by Tommy, is about the criminal activity of a Mr Eccles, a very legitimate solicitor, who always seems to be conveniently out of the way whenever any major criminal act, like a bank robbery, occurs. It isn't very clear how these two stories will connect up, but you're sure, from the very mention of the second story, that they will, somehow. From the offset, this doesn't seem quite right, and some of the particulars of the Mrs Lancaster story (which I couldn't possibly reveal) don't ring very clear or well, which is somewhat annoying in an Agatha Christie, as you expect it to be seamless in every way.

Anyway, apart from the irritating plot flaws, this was very, very good indeed! I'll be attempting to finish off the Henry James Selected Stories next, so keep your eyes peeled!