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Pop in de schoorsteen, De

Pop in de schoorsteen, De

Auteur Agatha Christie
Eerste Uitgave1968
Uitgave1976
UitgeverijA.W. Sijthoff
Vormroman
TaalNederlands
Bladzijden191 bladzijden
Gelezen2004-04-04
Score6/10

Inhoud

Tommy en Tuppence zijn niet zo jong meer en leiden een rustig bestaan. Wanneer Tommy's tante Ada echter plotseling sterft en er een medebewoonster uit het bejaardentehuis verdwenen is, krijgt de oude speurderskoorts Tuppence weer te pakken. Ze volgt een spoor naar een klein dorpje, een geheimzinnig huis en een kerkhof. Volgens Tommy jaagt ze op hersenschimmen, maar dan blijkt ook Tuppence ineens te zijn verdwenen.

Bespreking

The weakest Tommy and Tuppence novel

While Tommy Beresford visits his feeble old Aunt Ada at Sunny Ridge rest home, his wife Tuppence meets old Mrs. Lancaster in the sitting room. The solitary woman is drinking a glass of milk because "It is not poisoned today." Suddenly she looks at the fireplace and asks: "Was it your poor child? That is where it is, you know." When three weeks later Aunt Ada dies, Tommy and Tuppence revisit the rest house. Intrigued by the fact that old Mrs. Lancaster has suddenly disappeared without a trace, the old sleuth starts her own dangerous investigation.

The title is from Macbeth, "By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."

To many readers it is a complete mystery why Agatha Christie kept returning to that somewhat tedious couple Tommy and Tuppence. Compared to her other sleuths Miss Jane Marple and Hercule Poirot, this couple turns out bleak and soulless. In By the Pricking of My Thumbs (1968) it only gets worse. Not only are Tommy and Tuppence clearly suffering from senility, they also get involved in a story that completely lacks the ingenuity of their earlier appearances. Although a lot of promising subplots are started, during the story Agatha slowly kills all of them. What is left is an ending that is not only unbelievable and boring, but also completely wrong.

I would not advice anyone to read this novel. But if you still do, please keep in mind that Agatha Christie wrote some brilliant novels that cannot be compared to this debacle.