By the Pricking of My Thumbs: A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery: The Official Authorized Edition

Written by Agatha Christie

Narrated by Hugh Fraser

Tommy and Tuppence Beresford, Agatha Christie’s delightful sleuthing duo, investigate the strange and troubling doings behind the scenes at a gothic British nursing home in By the Pricking of My Thumbs

When Tommy and Tuppence visit an elderly aunt in her gothic nursing home, they think nothing of her mistrust of the doctors; after all, Ada is a very difficult old lady.

But when Mrs. Lockett mentions a poisoned mushroom stew and Mrs. Lancaster talks about ""something behind the fireplace,"" Tommy and Tuppence find themselves caught up in a spine-chilling adventure that could spell death for either of them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Jul 3, 2012
• ISBN: 9780062229496

Agatha Christie

Agatha Christie (1890-1976) was an English author of mystery fiction whose status in the genre is unparalleled. A prolific and dedicated creator, she wrote short stories, plays and poems, but her fame is due primarily to her mystery novels, especially those featuring two of the most celebrated sleuths in crime fiction, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. Ms. Christie’s novels have sold in excess of two billion copies, making her the best-selling author of fiction in the world, with total sales comparable only to those of William Shakespeare or The Bible. Despite the fact that she did not enjoy cinema, almost 40 films have been produced based on her work.

Reviews for By the Pricking of My Thumbs

[Kat · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Amazing story! Wonderful, creepy twist towards the end. I should not have listened while I was alone lol
A.C. is one of the greatest writers ever!!! ❤️

[mirihawk · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An aged Tommy and Tuppence - how marvelous! I don't think I've read any but the first one before this. Hugh Fraser is a marvelous reader - the Audible version is highly recommended.

[Dian · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very interesting story. Well read by Hugh Fraser. The best of Tommy and Tuppence I think

[Clare Gaia Russell · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It's a later years T & T mystery that is quite a page turner.

[auntie0nanuuq · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

"By the pricking of my thumbs...... Something wicked this way comes"

Well now that's odd, because the book does not have Miss Marple in it, but the movie does...... Sigh.

Tommy & Tuppence are a modern couple who have grown older and are retired..... Tommy worked for the spy network" and Tuppence would always insert herself into his business (nosy Parker).

In this story they are off to visit Tommy's acerbic Aunt Ada who is staying in a home for elderly women.... Aunt Ada can not stand Tuppence so Tuppence goes off to sit in the "lounge" where she meets elderly Mrs. Lancaster who asks Tuppence: "Was it your child?"

A few weeks pass and Aunt Ada has died as has another older woman, neither of whom were "sick" or predisposed. In Aunt Ada's room Tuppence comes upon a painting that hadn't been there before, which was given to Aunt Ada by Mrs. Lancaster. It is view of a house by a canal w/ a humpback bridge (the house which Tuppence has seen before) and Tuppence wants to give it back to Mrs. Lancaster......

Unfortunately Mrs. Lancaster is no longer in the home, she has been moved away...... Thus begins the mystery of the: painting; house by the canal; dead elderly women; murdered child; criminal ring......

All in all this was quite a good story, what I didn't like was Tuppence's endless blathering chatter..... For someone as keen as a "terrier" she comes off quite often as rather mindless. Minus 1 star.

[Katherine Settle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hugh Frazier, the reader, is the bomb! He inhabits each character delightfully, with gives perfect timing to Christie's dry wit. A few laugh out loud moments, and an ending I truly didn't see coming. I also found the work far more timely than I expected, and I enjoyed the older versions of Tommy and Tuppence, although of course, they are immortal.

[JamieReneeKeith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Tommy and Tuppence are wonderful.

[berych · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

i just finish this mystey novel and i really enjoy reading it..i like the little details and the light words..expressing the ideas in a lovely way .very interesting the story itself ..it makes me want to discover who is the killer too.. it is the second novel that i've read after THEY CAME TO BAGHDAD ..i love it

[mrsrk-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Tommy & Tuppence Beresford are my all-time favorites of Mrs. Christie's characters. I love her books and the TV series made about the couple.

[drled_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Synopsis: Tuppence and Tommy are 'older' and are out of the mystery/spy business. However, Tommy still meets with former colleagues to talk about the spy game. He has an elderly aunt in an old folks home who he looks after and while they are there, Tuppence makes the acquaintance an elderly lady who may be endanger because of what she knows about a long-ago murder. When the aunt dies and the lady disappears, Tuppence goes in search. But just who is in danger and what does a painting of a house on a canal have to do with the disappearance?Review: Vintage Agatha Christi with all of the twists and turns of her writings.

[therebelprince · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The ramblings of an old lady lead Tommy and Tuppence Beresford on the hunt for a killer.

In the later years of Christie’s career, she focussed many of her stories on crimes from the past. This sub-genre would yield a couple of her greatest works, as we shall see, but it was by no means a surefire recipe for success.

20 years after their last appearance (and 40 years after their first), Christie again resurrected her married couple Tommy and Tuppence for their fourth adventure. Each of these novels is worse than the last, and this is no exception. There are some genuinely creepy moments in this tale, and Tuppence remains an interesting character (Christie always liked writing strong people, as evidenced by her novels written under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott). Tommy is less so, but he’s not as vital to the plot, really.

Christie can’t quite seem to decide where she’s going with this novel, and it shows in a haze of underdeveloped characters spewing out tracts of unintelligible dialogue. There’s a mildly interesting idea in here somewhere, but it’s well-buried. If you’re a seasoned Christie fan, and enjoyed the first three books in this series, then I would recommend this (although you can skip their last adventure, the dire "Postern of Fate"). Otherwise, stay away

Tommy & Tuppence Ranking: 4th out of 5

[jonrob_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although all AC's later books show some falling-off of standards, this is one of the better books from her last 10 years (despite some loose ends which she would not have left during her heyday). When Tommy and Tuppence visit an elderly relative in a care home, they get involved in the mystery surrounding another resident, Mrs. Lancaster. Is she in some sort of danger? Tuppence thinks so, and when Tommy is away at a conference she sets out to investigate using a picture of a house by a canal as a clue. There are some genuinely atmospheric moments (such as when she finds a doll in the chimney of the unused part of the house) and not too much of the "I know this is a trap, but I'm still going to walk into it" theme which can be a source of annoyance in the Beresford's earlier adventures.

[drapple_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was my first Tommy and Tuppence book. I enjoyed the characters and the mystery was top rate! Tuppence ends up in danger several times while trying to solve the mystery of a missing old lady.

[cassandra2020 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This the first of the 'Tommy and Tuppence' books I've read and somehow I wasn't taken by it. It had all the hallmarks of an Agatha Christie book: well written, 'of it's era', plenty of mystery and intrigue, nice and easy to read, but......

Maybe the characters just didn't fit with me, maybe I prefer the others because Miss Marple and Poirot are such well known 'friends' now. I found the husband/wife relationship irksome. I know that relationships, even in the sixties, were like that, but it annoyed me to read all the 'little woman' style comments.

That aside, the story skipped along at a pace and whilst I had a vague idea of how it would all pan out, I still found the twists and turns entertaining.

Definitely no more Agatha Christie for me this year - need a break to clear my head :-)

[alexthehunn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

One of the later mysteries, this is none the less an enjoyable puzzler. As ever, the solution eluded me.

[Sue Mihovilovich · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Chapters 4 and 5 missing
Really annoying

[dirtpriest_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

By the Pricking of My Thumbs was quite different from the near Victorian age Poirot and Miss Marples that I have been reading this summer. It's a Tommy and Tuppence story and is, as Porua said in her (his?) thread, it is more of a thriller story rather than a classic mystery. With the setting in the '60's somewhere, the difference was quite startling. T&T were involved in some WWII intelligence operations (and books), but this is set well after their retirement. They visit an old aunt in a nursing home, who later dies and leaves a painting of a house to her dear family. Tuppence is sure she has seen the house from a railway car and sets out to, and actually does, find it. Along with a decades old unsolved child-murder mystery which unfolds very quickly at the end. There was alot of build-up to a very rapid finish. I would not say this is my favo(u)rite of Christie's mysteries, but it's not too bad, and I really would like to read more of the Tommy and Tuppence books, just to be thorough. Apparently she wrote this one because she was tired of fans asking her what had happened to the two characters.

[sasham-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This really started slowly compared to many other Christie's. There is no body to kick things along. But by about 1/2 way I really got into the story and it finished well.

[markkeeffe · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Not a bad yarn. Likeable characters well described in the usual Agatha Christie manner. Good light reading but I'm a bit over it at the moment.

[twilightblue · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Interesting little story, Tuppence goes looking for the owner of a painting that was given to her husbands' aunt. She has a sense of dread something has happened to dear old Mrs. Lancaster.Kept me guessing as to who the culprit was. 1st Christie novel I have read. Enjoyed it.

[riverwillow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Tommy, but mainly Tuppence, investigate a mystery surrounding one of the old ladies at Tommy's Aunt Ada's nursing home. I'm not a fan of Tommy and Tuppence, but this wasn't too terrible a read.

[crashmyparty · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wow that doll face is creepy! At the time I never guessed the significance of it the story but I should have realised that with Christie, every little detail plays a part. This was my first introduction to Tommy and Tuppence, who I have stumbled upon quite a few years later (according to the book's timeline) from their previous adventures. This did not impact my reading experience in any way, as like with the Poirot books, Christie's mystery books can be picked up at any point throughout the series and don't have to be read in chronological order.On reading the first few chapters, I couldn't help but find myself having a giggle - Christie manages to infuse her novels with wit and humour that really makes an enjoyable experience for the reader. However, while Christie mysteries are often labelled 'cozy' or 'armchair' - and I see the reason for this, they're the type of book you can picture yourself reading tucked up in a comfy armchair beside the fireplace! - and her main characters can be an older, certainly very unlikely, couple, nonetheless these books be accredited with clever twists and turns and always thrilling anticipation as you find yourself coming closer and closer to catching the killer. There's those moments when you catch onto something and the moments when you realise you were wrong but you 'had an idea about that guy!'Agatha Christie is still, and always will be, the queen of mysteries.

[figgles_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Fun but a little improbable!

[smik_3 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is Tommy and Tuppence Beresford's last "outing". Tommy has worked in "intelligence" all of his life, Tuppence has raised a family, and now they are retired. Tommy still gives lectures and consults in the intelligence field, and is about to go off to a conference for a few days, leaving Tuppence at a loose end.The story begins when they visit Tommy's Aunt Ada in a geriatric nursing home and Tuppence, rejected by Aunt Ad! Spends her time with a Mrs Lancaster who makes a strange reference to a child in the chimney. Mrs Lancaster subsequently disappears, Aunt Ada dies, and Tuppence is not satisfied with explanations of where Mrs Lancaster has gone. And so the case begins. Tommy returns home from his conference to find that Tuppence has gone off sleuthing and has disappeared.What I find interesting about these later Christie novels is how she has returned to each of her major characters and updated what has happened to them. (Although in the case of both Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot these novels were written well ahead of when they were needed.) Unlike Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot though, the Beresfords have aged in "real" time. While the Secret Service became Tommy's career, Tuppence has only been allowed "out of the house", so to speak, occasionally, apart from some active service in intelligence in World War II, and here you get a sense of wasted talent. A bit of feminism from Christie?Another of the quirky things about this novel is that Christie seems to be exploring the nature of senility and dementia. For example some of the residents of Sunny Ridge where Aunt Ada lives are downright cranky at times, and many get their memories muddled up, and some even believe at times they are someone famous. At other times they clearly remember events from decades before, and recognize faces from the past.What creates a serial killer? You could say that the last few pages of the novel focus on that issue.An elderly woman believes that she has been chosen, but that at the same time she is suffering retribution."What I'd done was murder, wasn't it, and you can only atone for murder with other murders, because the other murders wouldn't really be murders, they would be sacrifices."At the end of the novel Tommy tells Tuppence "Don't ever do it again." and she agrees. "I'm too old."This indeed is their swan song.I've been looking for signs that Christie's own mental powers were diminishing at this stage of her life, and I've come away feeling that she still had a lot to say. True, this is an unlikely tale, an escapist cozy, but I found it impressive.

[reading_fox · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A sequel to the Timothy and Tuppenc series of investigations. TnT have grown up and are now comfortably middleaged. Timothey goes to visit his aging aunt Aga in her nursing home, and Tuppence meets an old lady who's words of warning she takes to heart. Later when Aga has died they inherit a picture from this same Mrs Lancaster and Tuppence goes to investigate while Tim stays at home.This probably isn't the best book to star the TinT series with as I have done. There is a lot of reference to previous adventures. However Agatha Christie's style is unchanged, she really can spin a good suspense story. At no stage is ther any gore, and only very minimal violence but the suspense and intimidation is still there. th eplot twists are masterful, although there are a lot of characters to keep track of. I wasn't sure when the story was supposed to be set, early 60's maybe, though there are still sevants, and may insights into life at that time.