This book was a faithful companion as I cooled my heels in my local hospital's emergency ward for several hours. Perhaps for that reason, I quite enjoyed it. I could tune out the other people and all the kerfuffle. Thank you, Dame Agatha.
Old age seems to have been on Christie's mind as she penned this novel. It is the penultimate Tommy and Tuppence mystery and our featured couple have aged. One of the tasks associated with late adulthood is taking time for even more elderly relatives and, eventually, settling their last affairs. Tommy and Tuppence start this tale by visiting Tommy's aunt in a care facility. The aunt refuses to visit with Tuppence, who has a curious experience in the common room with another resident. This is the inciting incident.
For once, it is not Tommy who gets clonked on the head and goes missing. Tuppence manages to get herself in trouble while he is away at a conference which is a men-only affair. Resentful, Tuppence follows her nose, trying to locate someone she is concerned about. At several points in the action, Tuppence reflects on her age and how much more difficult it is to pursue a case and recover from injury.
Since I find myself in much the same condition, wishing that I could do some of the things I did easily as a younger woman, I completely sympathized with Tuppence (and presumably with Christie also). Getting older is preferable to the alternative, but Bette Davis spoke a truth when she declared that aging is not for sissies.
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